Galip Akaydin

How to Handle Speciose Clades? Mass Taxon-Sampling as a Strategy towards Illuminating the Natural History of Campanula (Campanuloideae)

Background Speciose clades usually harbor species with a broad spectrum of adaptive strategies and complex distribution patterns, and thus constitute ideal systems to disentangle biotic and abiotic causes underlying species diversification. The delimitation of such study systems to test evolutionary hypotheses is difficult because they often rely on artificial genus concepts as starting points. One of the most prominent examples is the bellflower genus Campanula with some 420 species, but up to 600 species when including all lineages to which Campanula is paraphyletic. We generated a large alignment of petD group II intron sequences to include more than 70% of described species as a reference. By comparison with partial data sets we could then assess the impact of selective taxon sampling strategies on phylogenetic reconstruction and subsequent evolutionary conclusions. Methodology/Principal Findings Phylogenetic analyses based on maximum parsimony (PAUP, PRAP), Bayesian inference (MrBayes), and maximum likelihood (RAxML) were first carried out on the large reference data set (D680). Parameters including tree topology, branch support, and age estimates, were then compared to those obtained from smaller data sets resulting from “classification-guided” (D088) and “phylogeny-guided sampling” (D101). Analyses of D088 failed to fully recover the phylogenetic diversity in Campanula, whereas D101 inferred significantly different branch support and age estimates. Conclusions/Significance A short genomic region with high phylogenetic utility allowed us to easily generate a comprehensive phylogenetic framework for the speciose Campanula clade. Our approach recovered 17 well-supported and circumscribed sub-lineages. Knowing these will be instrumental for developing more specific evolutionary hypotheses and guide future research, we highlight the predictive value of a mass taxon-sampling strategy as a first essential step towards illuminating the detailed evolutionary history of diverse clades.

Profiling of in vitro neurobiological effects and phenolic acids of selected endemic Salvia species

The ethyl acetate and methanol extracts from 16 Salvia L. species were screened for their inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase, lipoxygenase, and tyrosinase; the enzymes linked to neurodegeneration. Their antioxidant activity was also tested using DPPH radical scavenging, metal-chelation, and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Total flavonoid content of the extracts was determined by AlCl3 reagent, while HPLC technique was applied for analysis of various phenolic acids in the extracts. The extracts exerted weak cholinesterase and tyrosinase inhibition, and remarkable inhibition against lipoxygenase (13.07±2.73-74.21±5.61%) at 100μgml-1. The methanol extracts showed higher antioxidant activity in DPPH radical scavenging and FRAP assays. The extracts were analyzed for their gallic, protocateuchic, p-hydroxy-benzoic, vanillic, caffeic, chlorogenic, syringic, o- and p-coumaric, ferulic, rosmarinic, and tr-cinnamic acid contents and the methanol extract of Salvia ekimiana (153.50mg100g-1) was revealed to be the richest in terms of rosmarinic acid.

Characterization of Volatile Compounds of Eleven Achillea Species from Turkey and Biological Activities of Essential Oil and Methanol Extract of A. hamzaoglui Arabacı & Budak.

According to distribution of genus Achillea, two main centers of diversity occur in S.E. Europe and S.W. Asia. Diversified essential oil compositions from Balkan Peninsula have been numerously reported. However, report on essential oils of Achillea species growing in Turkey, which is one of the main centers of diversity, is very limited. This paper represents the chemical compositions of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of eleven Achillea species, identified simultaneously by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The main components were found to be 1,8-cineole, p-cymene, viridiflorol, nonacosane, α-bisabolol, caryophyllene oxide, α-bisabolon oxide A, β-eudesmol, 15-hexadecanolide and camphor. The chemical principal component analysis based on thirty compounds identified three species groups and a subgroup, where each group constituted a chemotype. This is the first report on the chemical composition of A. hamzaoglui essential oil; as well as the antioxidant and antimicrobial evaluation of its essential oil and methanolic extract.

Evaluation of in vitro antiprotozoal activity of Ajuga laxmannii and its secondary metabolites.

Abstract Context Some Ajuga L. (Lamiaceae) species are traditionally used for the treatment of malaria, as well as fever, which is a common symptom of many parasitic diseases. Objective In the continuation of our studies on the identification of antiprotozoal secondary metabolites of Turkish Lamiaceae species, we have investigated the aerial parts of Ajuga laxmannii. Materials and methods The aerial parts of A. laxmannii were extracted with MeOH. The H2O subextract was subjected to polyamide, C18-MPLC and SiO2 CCs to yield eight metabolites. The structures of the isolates were elucidated by NMR spectroscopy and MS analyses. The extract, subextracts as well as the isolates were tested for their in vitro antiprotozoal activities against Plasmodium falciparum, Trypanasoma brucei rhodesiense, T. cruzi and Leishmania donovani at concentrations of 90–0.123 μg/mL. Results Two iridoid glycosides harpagide (1) and 8-O-acetylharpagide (2), three o-coumaric acid derivatives cis-melilotoside (3), trans-melilotoside (4) and dihydromelilotoside (5), two phenylethanoid glycosides verbascoside (6) and galactosylmartynoside (7) and a flavone-C-glycoside, isoorientin (8) were isolated. Many compounds showed moderate to good antiparasitic activity, with isoorientin (8) displaying the most significant antimalarial potential (an IC50 value of 9.7 μg/mL). Discussion and conclusion This is the first report on the antiprotozoal evaluation of A. laxmannii extracts and isolates. Furthermore, isoorientin and dihydromelilotoside are being reported for the first time from the genus Ajuga.

Flavonoid, Phenylethanoid and Iridoid Glycosides from Globularia aphyllanthes

A new flavone glycoside, 6-hydroxyluteolin 7-O-[6m-benzoyl-β -D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)]-β - D-glucopyranoside (aphyllanthoside, 1) was isolated from the MeOH extract of the aerial parts of Globularia aphyllanthes. Besides this new compound, two flavonoid glycosides (6-hydroxyluteolin 7-O-[6m-(E)-caffeoyl-β -D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)]-β -D-glucopyranoside and isoquercitrin), three phenylethanoid glycosides (verbascoside, rossicaside A, and trichosanthoside A), and 11 iridoid glycosides (aucubin, catalpol, 10-O-benzoylcatalpol, globularin, asperuloside, besperuloside, asperulosidic acid, daphylloside, scandoside, alpinoside and baldaccioside) were also obtained and characterized. Identification of the isolated compounds was carried out by spectroscopic analysis including 1D and 2D NMR experiments as well as HRMS Graphical Abstract Flavonoid, Phenylethanoid and Iridoid Glycosides from Globularia aphyllanthes

Limonium gueneri (Plumbaginaceae), a New Species from Turkey

Limonium gueneri Dogan, Duman & Akaydın sp. nova (Plumbaginaceae) is described and illustrated from Patara (C2 Antalya, Turkey), where it grows on calcareous slopes on the coast. It is probably closely related to L. ocymifolium (Poir.) Kuntze, an East Mediterranean species. The diagnostic morphological characters are discussed. A taxonomic key for the coastline species of Turkish Limonium without sterile branches is also presented along with some notes on the ecology and biogeography of the new species.

An undescribed species of Acantholimon boiss. sect. Staticopsis (Plumbaginaceae) from Turkey, with some notes on its ecology, conservation status, and relationships

A new species, Acantholimon turcicum Dogan & Akaydin (Plumbaginaceae), is described and illustrated. The species grows on calcareous mountain scree in Astragalus spp. steppe on Hazar Mountain above Sivrice (B7 Elazig). Diagnostic morphological characteristics from the closely related species are discussed and conservation status of the species is given, along with a discussion dealing with its taxonomic relationships. A revised key to the Acantholimon species with circinnate leaf basis is also provided for the species found in Turkey.

Comparative morphological, palynological and anatomical characteristics of Turkish rare endemics Helianthemum germanicopolitanum and Helianthemum antitauricum (Cistaceae)

The genus Helianthemum Mill. includes 12 annual or perennial species in the Flora of Turkey, four of which are endemic. In this study, morphological, micromorphological, anatomical and palynological characteristics of the rare endemic H.germanicopolitanum Bornm. and H. antitauricum P.H. Davis & Coode are studied for the first time. H. germanicopolitanum is grown on chalky and limestone slopes in Çankırı province. H. antitauricum is grown on rocky limestone slopes in Adana and Kayseri provinces. In morphological studies, detailed descriptions of these species and characteristic features are given. Besides, pollen and seed morphology are studied by SEM. The pollen grains of both species are tricolporate, medium sized and prolate-spheroidal. Exine ornamentation is identified as perforate under LM and striate-perforate under SEM. The seed characteristics clearly appear to have taxonomic significance. The seed coat of H. germanicopolitanum characterized by the rugulate–verrucate ornamentation clearly differs from that of H. antitauricum by striate. Finally, anatomical research characters are studied on H. germanicopolitanum and H. antitauricum samples.