Misako Mishima

Trends in site-number change of rDNA loci during polyploid evolution in Sanguisorba (Rosaceae)

Abstract. To elucidate the evolutionary dynamics of rDNA site number in polyploid plants, we determined 5S and 18S-5.8S-26S rDNA sites for ten species of Sanguisorba (2n=14, 28, 56) and a single species of each of three outgroup genera, Agrimonia (2n=28), Rosa (2n=14), and Rubus (2n=14) by the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method. We also estimated phylogenetic relationships among these species using matK chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) sequences, and reconstructed the evolutionary history of rDNA site number based on the maximum parsimony method. The 2n=14 and 2n=28 plants of all genera except Rosa carried two 5S rDNA sites, whereas Rosa and 2n=56 plants carried four sites. The 2n=14 plants had two 18S-5.8S-26S rDNA sites, whereas Sanguisorbaannua and 2n=28 plants had four or six sites. Phylogenetic analysis showed that polyploidization from 2n=14 to 2n=28 has occurred once or three times in Sanguisorba and Agrimonia. The 5S rDNA sites duplicated during each ancestral polyploidization were evidently lost after each polyploidization. However, the duplicated 18S-5.8S-26S rDNA sites were all conserved after each polyploidization. Thus, the duplicated 5S rDNA sites tend to have been eliminated, whereas those of 18S-5.8S-26S rDNA tend to have been conserved in Sanguisorba. In the most parsimonious hypothesis, 2n=14 in S. annua is a secondary, putatively dysploid state, reduced from 2n=28.

Range shift and introgression of the rear and leading populations in two ecologically distinct Rubus species

BackgroundThe margins of a species’ range might be located at the margins of a species’ niche, and in such cases, can be highly vulnerable to climate changes. They, however, may also undergo significant evolutionary changes due to drastic population dynamics in response to climate changes, which may increase the chances of isolation and contact among species. Such species interactions induced by climate changes could then regulate or facilitate further responses to climatic changes. We hypothesized that climate changes lead to species contacts and subsequent genetic exchanges due to differences in population dynamics at the species boundaries. We sampled two closely related Rubus species, one temperate (Rubus palmatus) and the other subtropical (R. grayanus) near their joint species boundaries in southern Japan. Coalescent analysis, based on molecular data and ecological niche modelling during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), were used to infer past population dynamics. At the contact zones on Yakushima (Yaku Island), where the two species are parapatrically distributed, we tested hybridization along altitudinal gradients.ResultsCoalescent analysis suggested that the southernmost populations of R. palmatus predated the LGM (~20,000 ya). Conversely, populations at the current northern limit of R. grayanus diverged relatively recently and likely represent young outposts of a northbound range shift. These population dynamics were partly supported by the ensemble forecasting of six different species distribution models. Both past and ongoing hybridizations were detected near and on Yakushima. Backcrosses and advanced-generation hybrids likely generated the clinal hybrid zones along altitudinal gradients on the island where the two species are currently parapatrically distributed.ConclusionsClimate oscillations during the Quaternary Period and the response of a species in range shifts likely led to repeated contacts with the gene pools of ecologically distinct relatives. Such species interactions, induced by climate changes, may bring new genetic material to the marginal populations where species tend to experience more extreme climatic conditions at the margins of the species distribution.

Isolation of compound microsatellite markers for the endangered plant Neolitsea sericea (Lauraceae).

UNLABELLED PREMISE OF THE STUDY The development of compound microsatellite markers was conducted in Neolitsea sericea to investigate genetic diversity and population genetic structure of this endangered insular species. • METHODS AND RESULTS Using the compound microsatellite marker technique, 10 compound microsatellite markers that were successfully amplified showed polymorphism when assessed in 55 individuals from two populations in East China and Japan. Overall, the number of alleles ranged from 3 to 17, with an average of 7.9 alleles per locus. In addition, these primers could be easily amplified in Neolitsea aurata var. paraciculata and N. aurata var. chekiangensis. • CONCLUSIONS The highly polymorphic markers developed and characterized in this study will be useful for population genetic studies of N. sericea.

Dimorphism of Leaf Galls Induced by Pseudasphondylia neolitseae (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on Neolitsea sericea (Lauraceae) and Their Distributional Patterns in Kyushu, Japan

Pseudasphondylia neolitseae (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) induces two different types of gall (upper and lower types) on the leaves of Neolitsea sericea (Lauraceae). In the upper type, the adaxial side of the gall projects more prominently than the abaxial side, and vice versa in the lower type. The lower type galls were found mainly in northwestern and northern Kyushu, while the upper type were found mainly in southwestern and southern Kyushu and their distributional patterns were parapatric with a little overlapping. The coexistence of both types on a single host tree was relatively rare. Whenever they coexisted on a single tree, they always appeared together on the same leaf, although the relative abundance of one type to another was biased toward one side. The ploidy level of host plants was not related to the gall types, because almost all host trees examined were diploid. Therefore, the gall types are not determined by the differentiation of ploidy level of host plant, and possibly determined by the gall midge. The parapatric distribution pattern of the two gall types may suggest that P. neolitseae is now entering into the initial stage of speciation, if gall dimorphism leads to reproductive isolation.

Sexual Isolation between Two Known Intraspecific Populations of Hartigiola (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) That Induce Leaf Galls on Upper and Lower Surfaces of Fagus crenata (Fagales: Fagaceae), Indicating Possible Diversification into Sibling Species

ABSTRACT Hartigiola faggalli (Monzen), a cecidomyiid species that induces leaf galls on Fagus crenata Blume (Fagales: Fagaceae), was studied to assess the degree of sexual isolation between known intraspecific populations derived from two different gall types. “Upper-type galls” form on the lateral veins of upper leaf surfaces, whereas “lower-type galls” develop between the lateral veins of lower leaf surfaces. The two populations were distinguished based on slight differences in theirDNAsequences. They coexisted in F. crenata forests. Emergence, swarming, mating, and oviposition occurred sequentially each day and almost simultaneously in both populations. Thus, they were not isolated from each other in time or space. However, 85% of 134 swarming males flew to females of the same population when responding to female sex pheromone. About 92% of 251 mating pairs were homogenic, and IPSI indicated a significantly homogenic mating. The female sex pheromone and male sensitivity to the pheromone seemed to differ between the two populations. After mating, females of each population oviposited their eggs only on either the upper or lower surfaces of fresh leaves. The strongly assortative mating combined with differences in pheromones and gall morphology indicates that the two populations are almost completely reproductively isolated and that they have diversified into the stage of sibling species.

Description and ecological traits of a new species of Pitydiplosis (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) that induces leaf galls on Pueraria (Fabaceae) in East Asia, with a possible diversification scenario of intraspecific groups.

A gall midge that induces thick lenticular galls on leaflets of Pueraria species (Fabaceae) in Japan, mainland China, Taiwan and South Korea is described as Pitydiplosis puerariae sp. nov. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Tanaostigmodes puerariae (Hymenoptera: Tanaostigmatidae), described earlier from mainland China as an inducer of the lenticular gall, is regarded to be an inquiline. Pitydiplosis puerariae is distinguishable from the only known congener, the Nearctic Pitydiplosis packardi, by the male genitalia with entire aedeagus and with hypoproct that is as long as cerci and bilobed with a U‐shaped emargination. DNA sequencing data indicate the existence of three genetically different intraspecific groups: (i) “YNT‐montana group” induces galls on Pueraria montana on the Yaeyama Islands, Japan and in northern Taiwan; (ii) “CT‐montana group” on P. montana in central Taiwan; (iii) and “JCK‐lobata group” on Pueraria lobata in mainland China, South Korea and Japan north of Okinoerabu Island. A possible diversification scenario of the three groups is hypothesized based on DNA sequencing data and geohistorical information. A distribution gap of the gall midge on five islands between Tokunoshima and Ishigaki Islands, Japan was confirmed by intensive field surveys. Ecological traits and adult behavior of Pity. puerariae are also described. Its possibility as a potential biological control agent against P. lobata seems counter‐indicated.

KOKOPIN app: a mobile platform for biogeography

KOKOPIN is a social platform enabling field research of biodiversity using an iPhone application. Our applications camera and meta-data tagging functions facilitate easy data collection. Customizable groups are another unique feature of this system. This paper introduces our initial design process, and some on-going field projects using KOKOPIN. KOKOPINs development was motivated by the Dandelion Survey in West Japan, a participatory biodiversity research project. The system consists of an iPhone App and backend servers. The platform was designed to accept a variety of data types optimized by a project administrator. As examples of usage, biodiversity data from the Campus Flora Project and the Wooden Assets Management of the Kyushu University Museum were reported. The application was designed as a versatile platform, and recently it started to be accepted not only for biogeography research but also for non-biological services.

Discovery of an oak gall wasp (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) inducing galls on deciduous oak trees in India

We report for the first time the occurrence of an oak gall wasp Andricus mukaigawae (Mukaigawa) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) on the deciduous oak Quercus griffithii Hook. F & Thomson ex Miq. in India. Andricus mukaigawae is the only cynipid species that has been observed to induce galls on deciduous oak species in India to date. In addition, this is the first record of a gall wasp species with a distribution extending all the way from the eastern Palearctic region to the Indian subcontinent, suggesting the existence of a close relationship between cynipid faunas on deciduous oak trees in the two regions.