Reyjane Patrícia de Oliveira

Molecular Phylogenetics of Galeandra (Orchidaceae: Catasetinae) Based on Plastid and Nuclear DNA Sequences

Abstract Galeandra is a neotropical genus with its center of diversity in the Amazon region. It comprises approximately 18 species of epiphytic and terrestrial herbs that are easily recognizable by their funnel-shaped labellum. We examined the phylogenetic relationships among species of Galeandra inferred from nucleotide sequences from three plastid (psbA-trnH, rpoB-trnC, and trnS-trnG) and two nuclear (ITS and ETS) DNA regions. The five data matrices were analyzed individually and in combined analyses using parsimony and maximum likelihood. We found that the epiphytic species G. devoniana is sister to the remainder of the genus, and that the other species form two groups, one consisting of epiphytic species and the other composed of terrestrial species. Adaptation to the terrestrial environment from a probable epiphytic ancestor was of great importance in the evolution of Galeandra. The relationships found in this study do not support previous infrageneric classifications.

A molecular phylogeny of Raddia and its allies within the tribe Olyreae (Poaceae, Bambusoideae) based on noncoding plastid and nuclear spacers.

The plastid spacer trnD-trnT and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) were sequenced for 37 samples of herbaceous bamboos (Poaceae: Olyreae), including all Raddia species and allied genera, as well as two members of the woody bamboos (tribes Bambuseae and Arundinarieae), in order to examine their relationships. The sequences were analyzed using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference. Both the individual and combined analyses of ITS and trnD-trnT supported Olyreae as a monophyletic group. All species of Raddia also formed a well-supported monophyletic group, and combined datasets allowed us to outline some relationships within this group. Individual analyses indicated incongruence regarding the sister group of Raddia, with ITS data weakly indicating Raddiella malmeana whereas trnD-trnT data supported Sucrea maculata in this position. However, the combined analysis supported Sucrea as sister to Raddia, although the monophyly of Sucrea is not well supported. Parodiolyra is paraphyletic to Raddiella in all analyses; Olyra is also paraphyletic, with species of Lithachne, Arberella and Cryptochloa nested within it. Eremitis and Pariana appeared as an isolated clade within Olyreae, and the position of the New Guinean Buergersiochloa remains uncertain within this tribe.

Morphometrics of herbaceous bamboos of the Raddia brasiliensis complex (Poaceae − Bambusoideae): implications for the taxonomy of the genus and new species from Brazil

Morphometric studies were conducted using 25 quantitative characters in 14 populations of the Raddia brasiliensis complex, occurring from Ceará to Rio de Janeiro States, Brazil, in order to identify how many entities exist in this group and how they can be distinguished morphologically. Results of the discriminant and cluster analyses show that we are dealing with five distinct taxa, four of them here described as new species. A group of populations from northern Espírito Santo and southern Bahia showed high differentiation in relation to other areas. They are here considered as the new species R. megaphylla. Two other distinct populations also showed significant differentiation, described as R. lancifolia and R. stolonifera. Raddia brasiliensis s.s. turned out to be polymorphic and closely related to another new species, R. soderstromii. They present some ecological preferences related to soil and water conditions. These conclusions were supported by genetic data based on allozymes analysis.

A contribuição da anatomia foliar para a taxonomia de Raddia Bertol. (Poaceae: Bambusoideae)

Raddia is an herbaceous bamboo genus with nine species in Brazil, one of which extends beyond Brazilian borders. The leaf anatomy of these species was analyzed using optical and scanning electron microscopy, in order to obtain useful characters for the taxonomy of the genus. Other herbaceous bamboos were used for comparison and no characters exclusive to Raddia were found. Leaf anatomy traits had little to do with species delimitation within the genus, sometimes separating only groups of species. Of these traits, the most important were as follows, in transverse section: form of the midrib, position of the intermediate vascular bundle, number of vascular bundles adjacent to the intermediate bundle and form of the fusoid cells. A surface view of the epidermis (SEM) showed differences among the species as regards occurrence, density and distribution of the papillae. Raddia megaphylla R.P. Oliveira & Longhi-Wagner and R. guianensis (Brongn.) Hitchc. & Chase had the largest number of exclusive characters of the species studied. A type of trichome unknown in Bambusoideae was recorded for R. stolonifera R.P. Oliveira & Longhi-Wagner.

Olyra bahiensis (Poaceae - Olyreae): uma nova espécie para a mata atlântica do estado da Bahia, Brasil

A new species of Olyra is described and illustrated. Olyra bahiensis R.P.Oliveira & Longhi-Wagner is related to O. ciliatifolia Raddi (widely distributed in South America), and to O. juruana Mez, O. amapana Soderstr. & Zuloaga, and O. loretensis Mez (occurring in the Amazonian Basin), sharing the presence of trichomes covering completely the female floret. The new species occurs in the Atlantic rain forest of Southern Bahia, in the same area where other many species of grasses are found. The populations of O. bahiensis present small number of individuals, growing in shaded areas associated with cocoa plantations. An analytical key for O. bahiensis and allied species is also presented.

Museomics resolve the systematics of an endangered grass lineage endemic to north-western Madagascar

Background and Aims Recent developments in DNA sequencing, so-called next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods, can help the study of rare lineages that are known from museum specimens. Here, the taxonomy and evolution of the Malagasy grass lineage Chasechloa was investigated with the aid of NGS. Methods Full chloroplast genome data and some nuclear sequences were produced by NGS from old herbarium specimens, while some selected markers were generated from recently collected Malagasy grasses. In addition, a scanning electron microscopy analysis of the upper floret and cross-sections of the rachilla appendages followed by staining with Sudan IV were performed on Chasechloa to examine the morphology of the upper floret and the presence of oils in the appendages. Key Results Chasechloa was recovered within tribe Paniceae, sub-tribe Boivinellinae, contrary to its previous placement as a member of the New World genus Echinolaena (tribe Paspaleae). Chasechloa originated in Madagascar between the Upper Miocene and the Pliocene. It comprises two species, one of them collected only once in 1851. The genus is restricted to north-western seasonally dry deciduous forests. The appendages at the base of the upper floret of Chasechloa have been confirmed as elaiosomes, an evolutionary adaptation for myrmecochory. Conclusions Chasechloa is reinstated at the generic level and a taxonomic treatment is presented, including conservation assessments of its species. Our study also highlights the power of NGS technology to analyse relictual or probably extinct groups.

Pariana multiflora (Poaceae, Bambusoideae, Olyreae), a New Species from Eastern Brazil, with Notes on the Leaf Anatomy of the Genus

Abstract A new species of Pariana, found only in remnants of the Atlantic moist forest in the state of Espírito Santo in eastern Brazil, is described. The inflorescence structure in the new Pariana multiflora resembles those of P. lanceolata and P. carvalhoi, two species endemic to the Atlantic moist forests in southern Bahia, and all three are considered CR (critically endangered) by IUCN Red List criteria. The new species differs mainly by a greater number of inflorescences (up to five) per fertile culm and by the purple adaxial surface of the leaf blade, as well as by conical papillae and long unicellular trichomes that are present on both adaxial and abaxial leaf blade surfaces. Description of its morphology and leaf anatomy, compared with the other two mentioned species, based on optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, as well as illustrations and ecological data, are provided.

Piresia palmula: A New Species of Herbaceous Bamboo (Poaceae, Olyreae) Endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest, Southern Bahia, Brazil

Abstract Piresia is a low growing perennial grass in the tribe Olyreae (Poaceae, Bambusoideae). It differs from other herbaceous bamboos in having dimorphic culms: aerial ones bear broad and flat leaf blades at the top and rarely develop an inflorescence, and decumbent ones usually bear reduced leaves or bladeless leaf sheaths, with inflorescences that are raceme-like, few-flowered, and often hidden under the litter. Four species are accepted in this genus, and a fifth one is described and illustrated herein, Piresia palmula. This new species resembles P. leptophylla in having narrow leaf blades, but differs in the number of aerial culms, texture of leaf blades, and in the number and size of inflorescences on both aerial and decumbent culms. Both species are associated with rainforest remnants, but display distinct patterns of geographic distribution and environmental conditions. Piresia leptophylla occurs in northern South America and northeastern Brazil (Bahia to Paraíba), often in sandy soils, especially in “Restinga” forests, whereas the new species is known only from Michelins Ecological Reserve, in southern Bahia, growing on rocky substrate in a humid environment. For these reasons it is considered as CR (critically endangered) according to IUCN criteria.

Chusquea clemirae (Bambusoideae, Poaceae): A New Woody Bamboo from the Montane Atlantic Rainforest of Bahia State, Brazil

Abstract Chusquea Kunth is the most diverse genus of bamboos with about 160 species accepted and an estimate of more than 50 to be described. This is an exclusively American genus with about 40 species recognized in Brazil, these occurring in montane grasslands or more commonly in montane forests. In Bahia State six species are known and a new species ( Chusquea clemirae ) is herein described, illustrated, and compared with sympatric or morphologically similar species. In addition, it is classified as a probable member of C. subg. Chusquea mainly based on internode length, shape and direction of the central bud, type of branching, and length and width of the foliage leaf blades. Its culms are slightly lignified with a spongy medulla and are solid to hollow; a vertically oriented central bud and other vegetative features clearly distinguish it from other Chusquea. This new species was found exclusively in a montane Atlantic Rainforest area in southern Bahia (the Serra Bonita Private Natural Heritage Reserve), and it has a restricted occurrence within the reserve.

A Tiny New Brazilian Species of Diandrolyra (Poaceae, Bambusoideae, Olyreae), with Notes on the Systematics of the Genus

Abstract A new species of Diandrolyra Stapf (Poaceae, Bambusoideae, Olyreae), D. pygmaea Soderstrom & Zuloaga ex R. P. Oliveira & L. G. Clark, from Bahia, Brazil, is described and illustrated. This species is known only from southern Bahia, growing in the Atlantic Forest region. It is compared and contrasted with its congeners, D. bicolor Stapf and D. tatianae Soderstrom & Zuloaga, and the Bahian distribution of the three species is mapped. Distinguishing features of D. pygmaea include its small stature and two (or three) pairs of spikelets per racemose inflorescence.