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1. Taxonomic updates to Artocarpus subgenus Artocarpus (Moraceae) and allied taxa with a particular focus on the species native to Singapore

   https://doi.org/10.26492/gbs73(2).2021-08  

   Gardner, E.M.; Zerega, N.J.C. (October 2021, The Gardens bulletin Singapore)

   The breadfruit genus Artocarpus J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (Moraceae) has sixteen species in Singapore, fourteen of them native. In this precursory study to the treatment of Artocarpus for the Flora of Singapore, we present updated phylogenomic analyses of Artocarpus subgenus Artocarpus based on 517 nuclear genes. The following taxonomic changes based on recent phylogenetic analyses, review of herbarium specimens, and field observations, are proposed. Artocarpus subg. Cauliflori (F.M.Jarrett) Zerega is reduced to a section within Artocarpus subg. Artocarpus, and Artocarpus sect. Glandulifolium F.M.Jarrett is raised to subgenus status. The new monotypic subgenus Artocarpus subg. Aenigma E.M.Gardner & Zerega is proposed for Artocarpus sepicanus Diels, whose phylogenetic position remains uncertain and may be of ancient hybrid origin. Artocarpus elasticus Reinw. ex Blume, A. scortechinii King and A. corneri Kochummen are recognised as distinct species. Artocarpus clementis Merr. is reinstated as distinct from A. lanceifolius Roxb. Artocarpus calophyllus Kurz and A. melinoxylus Gagnep. are reinstated as distinct from both A. chama Buch.-Ham. and A. rigidus Blume. Artocarpus nigrescens Elmer is reinstated as distinct from A. treculianus Elmer. Keys to the subgenera, the sections of Artocarpus subg. Artocarpus and to the species found in Singapore are presented. A nomenclatural synopsis of subgenera Artocarpus, Aenigma and Glandulifolium is presented with taxonomic notes to aid in identification. Seventeen lectotypes, six of them in a second step, and two neotypes are designated. 

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2. The Genus Paronychia (Caryophyllaceae) in South America: Nomenclatural Review and Taxonomic Notes with the Description of a New Species from North Peru

   https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12051064  

   Iamonico, Duilio; Montesinos_Tubée, Daniel B (March 2023, Plants)

   All the names in Paronychia described from South America are investigated. Five names (P. arbuscula, P. brasiliana subsp. brasiliana var. pubescens, P. coquimbensis, P. hieronymi, and P. mandoniana) are lecto- or neotypified on specimens preserved at GOET, K, LP, and P. The typification of nine names, first proposed by Chaudhri in 1968 as the “holotype” are corrected according to Art. 9.10 of ICN. Three second-step typifications (Art. 9.17 of ICN) are proposed for P. camphorosmoides, P. communis, and P. hartwegiana. The following nomenclatural changes are proposed: P. arequipensis comb. et stat. nov. (basionym: P. microphylla subsp. microphylla var. arequepensis), P. compacta nom. nov. pro P. andina (Philippi non Gray; Art. 53.1 of ICN), P. jujuyensis comb. et stat. nov. (basionym: P. hieronymi subsp. hieronymi var. jujuyensis), P. compacta subsp. boliviana comb. nov. (basionym: P. andina subsp. boliviana), and P. compacta subsp. purpurea comb. nov. (basionym: P. andina subsp. purpurea). A new species (P. glabra sp. nov.) is proposed based on our examination of live plants and herbarium specimens. P. johnstonii subsp. johnstonii var. scabrida is synonymized (syn. nov.) with P. johnstonii. Finally, P. argyrocoma subsp. argyrocoma is excluded from South America since it was based on misidentified specimens (deposited at MO) of P. andina subsp. andina. A total of 30 species (43 taxa including subspecies, varieties, subvarieties, and forms) are recognized, highlighting that for some (Paronychia chilensis, P. communis, P. setigera) we provisionally accept Chaudhri’s infraspecific classification, since the high phenotypic variability of these taxa is quite complicated and further investigations need to solve their taxonomy. 

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3. Morphological and genetic data challenge species and subspecies in the Lerista microtis group (Squamata: Scincidae)

   https://doi.org/10.11646/ZOOTAXA.5437.3.2  

   FARQUHAR, JULES E; PRATES, IVAN; DOUGHTY, PAUL; RABOSKY, DANIEL L; CHAPPLE, DAVID G (April 2024, Zootaxa)

   The subspecies rank has been widely applied by taxonomists to capture infraspecific variation within the Linnaean classification system. Many subspecies described throughout the 20th century were recognised largely based on perceived variation in single morphological characters yet have since been found not to correspond to separately evolving population lineages, thus requiring synonymy or elevation to full species under lineage-based views of species. These modern lineage-based taxonomic resolutions have resulted from a combination of new molecular genetic techniques, improved geographical sampling of specimens, and more sophisticated analyses of morphological variation (e.g., statistical assessments rather than solely univariate descriptive ones). Here, we revisit the current taxonomic arrangement of species-level and subspecific taxa in the Lerista microtis (Gray) group, which is distributed along a narrow ~2000 km strip on the southern coast of Australia. From specimens of the L. microtis group, an additional species (Lerista arenicola) and two additional subspecies (L. m. intermedia and L. m. schwaneri) were described. We collected data on mensural, meristic, and colour pattern characters to explore morpho-spatial relationships among these taxa. Although our morphological analyses revealed some distinctiveness among specimens from locations assigned to each taxon, this variation is continuous along Australia’s southern coastline, assuming the form of a geographic cline rather than discrete forms. For many characters, however, spatial patterns were inconsistent with the original descriptions, particularly of the subspecies. Moreover, analysis of genome wide restriction-associated DNA loci revealed multiple instances of paraphyly among taxa, with phylogenetic clustering of specimens assigned to distinct species and subspecies. These emerging patterns provide no support for L. arenicola as a species evolving separately from L. microtis. Additionally, our findings challenge the presumed distinctiveness and coherence of the three subspecies of L. microtis. We thus synonymise L. arenicola and the L. microtis subspecies with L. microtis and provide a redescription of a single yet morphologically variable species—an arrangement that best reflects evolutionary history and the continuous nature of morphological variation across space. 

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4. High species richness in the lichen genus Peltigera (Ascomycota, Lecanoromycetes): 34 species in the dolichorhizoid and scabrosoid clades of section Polydactylon, including 24 new to science

   https://doi.org/10.3767/persoonia.2023.51.01  

   Magain, N.; Miadlikowska, J.; Goffinet, B.; Goward, T.; Pardo-De la Hoz, C.J.; Jüriado, I.; Simon, A.; Mercado-Díaz, J.A.; Barlow, T.; Moncada, B.; et al (August 2023, Persoonia - Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Fungi)

   Applying molecular methods to fungi establishing lichenized associations with green algae or cyanobacteria has repeatedly revealed the existence of numerous phylogenetic taxa overlooked by classical taxonomic approaches. Here, we report taxonomical conclusions based on multiple species delimitation and validation analyses performed on an eight-locus dataset that includes world-wide representatives of the dolichorhizoid and scabrosoid clades in section Polydactylon of the genus Peltigera . Following the recommendations resulting from a consensus species delimitation approach and additional species validation analysis (BPP) performed in this study, we present a total of 25 species in the dolichorhizoid clade and nine in the scabrosoid clade, including respectively 18 and six species that are new to science and formally described. Additionally, one combination and three varieties (including two new to science) are proposed in the dolichorhizoid clade. The following 24 new species are described: P. appalachiensis , P. asiatica , P. borealis , P. borinquensis , P. chabanenkoae , P. clathrata , P. elixii , P. esslingeri , P. flabellae , P. gallowayi , P. hawaiiensis , P. holtanhartwigii , P. itatiaiae , P. hokkaidoensis , P. kukwae , P. massonii , P. mikado , P. nigriventris , P. orientalis , P. rangiferina , P. sipmanii , P. stanleyensis , P. vitikainenii and P. willdenowii ; the following new varieties are introduced: P. kukwae var. phyllidiata and P. truculenta var. austroscabrosa ; and the following new combination is introduced: P. hymenina var. dissecta . Each species from the dolichorhizoid and scabrosoid clades is morphologically and chemically described, illustrated, and characterised with ITS sequences. Identification keys are provided for the main biogeographic regions where species from the two clades occur. Morphological and chemical characters that are commonly used for species identification in the genus Peltigera cannot be applied to unambiguously recognise most molecularly circumscribed species, due to high variation of thalli formed by individuals within a fungal species, including the presence of distinct morphs in some cases, or low interspecific variation in others. The four commonly recognised morphospecies: P. dolichorhiza , P. neopolydactyla , P. pulverulenta and P. scabrosa in the dolichorhizoid and scabrosoid clades represent species complexes spread across multiple and often phylogenetically distantly related lineages. Geographic origin of specimens is often helpful for species recognition; however, ITS sequences are frequently required for a reliable identification. 

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5. Population structure and hybridization under contemporary and future climates in a heteroploid foundational shrub species (Artemisia tridentata)

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1155868  

   Grossfurthner, Lukas P.; Milano, Elizabeth R.; Hohenlohe, Paul A.; Waits, Lisette P.; Richardson, Bryce A. (May 2023, Frontiers in Plant Science)

   Current and past climatic changes can shift plant climatic niches, which may cause spatial overlap or separation between related taxa. The former often leads to hybridization and introgression, which may generate novel variation and influence the adaptive capacity of plants. An additional mechanism facilitating adaptations to novel environments and an important evolutionary driver in plants is polyploidy as the result of whole genome duplication. Artemisia tridentata (big sagebrush) is a landscape-dominating foundational shrub in the western United States which occupies distinct ecological niches, exhibiting diploid and tetraploid cytotypes. Tetraploids have a large impact on the species’ landscape dominance as they occupy a preponderance of the arid spectrum of A. tridentata range. Three distinct subspecies are recognized, which co-occur in ecotones – the transition zone between two or more distinct ecological niches – allowing for hybridization and introgression. Here we assess the genomic distinctiveness and extent of hybridization among subspecies at different ploidies under both contemporary and predicted future climates. We sampled five transects throughout the western United States where a subspecies overlap was predicted using subspecies-specific climate niche models. Along each transect, we sampled multiple plots representing the parental and the potential hybrid habitats. We performed reduced representation sequencing and processed the data using a ploidy-informed genotyping approach. Population genomic analyses revealed distinct diploid subspecies and at least two distinct tetraploid gene pools, indicating independent origins of the tetraploid populations. We detected low levels of hybridization (2.5%) between the diploid subspecies, while we found evidence for increased admixture between ploidy levels (18%), indicating hybridization has an important role in the formation of tetraploids. Our analyses highlight the importance of subspecies co-occurrence within these ecotones to maintain gene exchange and potential formation of tetraploid populations. Genomic confirmations of subspecies in the ecotones support the subspecies overlap predicted by the contemporary climate niche models. However, future mid-century projections of subspecies niches predict a substantial loss in range and subspecies overlap. Thus, reductions in hybridization potential could affect new recruitment of genetically variable tetraploids that are vital to this species’ ecological role. Our results underscore the importance of ecotone conservation and restoration. 

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