Conservation measures for Rosa arvensis Huds. in Flanders (Belgium) based on congruent genetic and phenotypic population differentiation

Phylogeography and Population Genetics of Rosa chinensis var. spontanea and R. lucidissima Complex, the Important Ancestor of Modern Roses

Rosa chinensis var. spontanea and R. lucidissima complex are the morphologically very similar key ancestors of modern roses with high importance in rose research and breeding. Although widely distributed in subtropical central and southwestern China, these two taxa are highly endangered. We sampled a total of 221 specimens and 330 DNA samples from 25 populations across the two taxa's whole range. Leaf morphological traits were compared. Two chloroplast DNA intergenic spacers (trnG-trnS, petL-psbE) and ITS were used for population genetics and phylogenetic study to delimit the boundary between the two taxa, assess the genetic variation, uncover the possible evolutionary mechanism responsible for the differentiation within the complex, and make the conservation recommendations. The complex exhibited high levels of genetic variation (h _TcpDNA = 0.768, h _TITS = 0.726) and high population differentiation even over small geographic distance. We suggest R. chinensis var. spontanea and R. lucidissma be treated as independent taxa, and the northern populations around and within the Sichuan Basin being R. chinensis var. spontanea, having broader leaflets and paler full-blooming flowers, while those in the middle and southern Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the adjacent regions being R. lucidissma, having narrower leaflets and darker full-blooming flowers. Transitional areas between the southeastern Sichuan Basin and northeastern Guizhou are the contact or the hybridization zone of the two taxa. Ancestral haplotypes of the complex (R. lucidissma) evolved at about 1.21-0.86 Mya in southeastern Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and its adjacent regions and survived there during the Quaternary Oscillation. Ancestral haplotypes of R. chinensis var. spontanea deviated from R. lucidissma at about 0.022-0.031 Mya at the transitional areas (Daloushan and Wulingshan Mountains) between the northeastern edge of Yunnan-Guizhou Plaeteau and the southeastern border of Sichuan Basin, where they survived the LGM. The evolution of the complex included spatial isolation and inter-species hybridization. The complex's endangered status might be the result of over-exploitation for its ornamental and medical value, or due to reforestation of some originally open habitats. We provide specific recommendations for the two taxa's in situ and ex situ conservation.

Can local adaptation research in plants inform selection of native plant materials? An analysis of experimental methodologies

Local adaptation is used as a criterion to select plant materials that will display high fitness in new environments. A large body of research has explored local adaptation in plants, however, to what extent findings can inform management decisions has not been formally evaluated. We assessed local adaptation literature for six key experimental methodologies that have the greatest effect on the application of research to selecting plant materials for natural resource management: experimental environment, response variables, maternal effects, intraspecific variation, selective agents, and spatial and temporal variability. We found that less than half of experiments used reciprocal transplants or natural field conditions, which are both informative for revegetation and restoration. Population growth rate was rarely (5%) assessed, and most studies measured only single generations (96%) and ran for less than a year. Emergence and establishment are limiting factors in successful revegetation and restoration, but the majority of studies measured later life‐history stages (66%). Additionally, most studies included limited replication at the population and habitat levels and tested response to single abiotic selective factors (66%). Local adaptation research should be cautiously applied to management; future research could use alternative methodologies to allow managers to directly apply findings.

Yalongjiang River Has Had an Important Role in the Dispersal and Divergence of Rosa soulieana in the Hengduan Mountains of China

The Hengduan Mountains are the core of the Sino-Himalayan Floristic Region. Rosa soulieana Crép. is an important wild rose species that is widely distributed in the Hengduan Mountains. To provide better future utilization of this wild rose, and also to add some possible proof of the effect of geomorphological and ecological characteristics of the Hengduan Mountains on the current spatial distribution and genetic diversity of local species, the genetic diversity and genetic structure of 556 individuals from 37 populations of R. soulieana were studied using fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). R. soulieana showed a moderately high level of genetic diversity and a high level of genetic differentiation at the species level. The total percentage of polymorphic loci, total heterozygosity (Ht), Shannon index (I), and heterozygosity value within populations (Hs) were 97.8%, 0.253, 0.339, and 0.139, respectively. More than half of the total genetic variation (54.0%) occurred within populations, and the overall gene differentiation coefficient (Gst) was 0.451. The genetic differentiation among populations was positively and significantly correlated with geographic distance. The neighbor-joining cluster and the Bayesian analysis divided all the populations and individuals into 3 groups, and did not support the morphology based intraspecific varieties. The results confirmed that the ancient R. soulieana of the third group survived in northwestern Yunnan and Yalongjiang valley and then moved upnorth along the valley. The spatial distribution of the other two groups was the result of allopatric divergence due to long period of adaptation to the different climatic conditions of its distribution at either side of the Yalongjiang River.

AFLP-based population structure analysis as a means to validate the complex taxonomy of dogroses (Rosa section Caninae)

Within the genus Rosa numerous species have been described. Circumscription of the dogrose section Caninae is straightforward, but the delineation of species and subsections within this section is less clear, partly due to hybridisation between species. We have investigated the extent to which DNA marker-based information of wild populations corroborates present-day dogrose taxonomy and hypotheses about the origination of taxa. Sampling was conducted in a transect across Europe, collecting over 900 specimens of all encountered dogrose taxa. For comparison, we also included more than 200 samples of species belonging to other sections. Two lines of statistical analyses were used to investigate the genetic structure based on AFLP data: (1) an unstructured model with principal coordinate analysis and hierarchical clustering, and (2) a model with a superimposed taxonomic structure based on analysis of genetic diversity using a novel approach combining assignment tests with canonical discriminant analysis. Support was found for five of the seven subsections, whereas R. balsamica apparently belongs to subsection Caninae thus omitting the need for recognising subsection Tomentellae. For R. stylosa, a hybridogenic origin with a non-dogrose section member has been suggested, and it can be treated either as a separate subsection or within subsection Caninae. Within the subsection Rubigineae, a species cluster with low support for the taxa R. micrantha, R. rubiginosa and the putatively hybridogenous R. gremlii was identified. Similarly, several species in the subsection Caninae overlapped considerably, and are best regarded as one common species complex. This population genetic approach provides a general method to validate the taxonomic system in complex and polyploid taxa.