Fewer than three percent of land plant species named by women: Author gender over 260 years

Taxon ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather L. Lindon ◽  
Lauren M. Gardiner ◽  
Abigail Brady ◽  
Maria S. Vorontsova
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Land Plant

scholarly journals The commonness of rarity: Global and future distribution of rarity across land plants

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Joseph Enquist ◽  
Xiao Feng ◽  
Bradley Boyle ◽  
Brian Maitner ◽  
Erica A. Newman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
Neutral Theory ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Heavy Tailed Distributions ◽  
Species Abundance Distributions ◽  
Heavy Tailed

A key feature of life’s diversity is that some species are common but many more are rare. Nonetheless, at global scales, we do not know what fraction of biodiversity consists of rare species. Here, we present the largest compilation of global plant species observation data in order to quantify the fraction of Earth’s extant land plant biodiversity that is common versus rare. Tests of different hypotheses for the origin of species commonness and rarity indicates that sampling biases and prominent models such as niche theory and neutral theory cannot account for the observed prevalence of rare species. Instead, the distribution of commonness is best approximated by heavy-tailed distributions like the Pareto or Poisson-lognormal distributions. As a result, a large fraction, ~36.5% of an estimated ~435k total plant species, are exceedingly rare. We also show that rare species tend to cluster in a small number of ‘hotspots’ mainly characterized by being in tropical and subtropical mountains and areas that have experienced greater climate stability. Our results indicate that (i) non-neutral processes, likely associated with reduced risk of extinction, have maintained a large fraction of Earth’s plant species but that (ii) climate change and human impact appear to now and will disproportionately impact rare species. Together, these results point to a large fraction of Earth’s plant species are faced with increased chances of extinction. Our results indicate that global species abundance distributions have important implications for conservation planning in this era of rapid global change.

scholarly journals Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomics Combined with Quantitative Analysis of the Microalgal Diatom (Chaetoceros calcitrans)

Marine Drugs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 403
Author(s):  
Awanis Azizan ◽  
M. Maulidiani ◽  
Rudiyanto R. ◽  
Khozirah Shaari ◽  
Intan Safinar Ismail ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
High Resolution Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Mass Spectrometry Detection ◽  
Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Metabolic Activities ◽  
Chaetoceros Calcitrans ◽  
Acetone Extracts

Although many metabolomics studies of higher land plant species have been conducted, similar studies of lower nonland plant species, which include microalgae, are still developing. The present study represents an attempt to characterize the metabolic profile of a microalgal diatom Chaetoceros calcitrans, by applying high-resolution mass spectrometry detection, via Q-ExactiveTM Plus Orbitrap mass spectrometry. The results showed that 54 metabolites of various classes were tentatively identified. Experimentally, the chloroform and acetone extracts were clearly distinguished from other solvent extracts in chemometric regression analysis using PLS, showing the differences in the C. calcitrans metabolome between the groups. In addition, specific metabolites were evaluated, which supported the finding of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This study also provides data on the quantitative analysis of four carotenoids based on the identification results. Therefore, these findings could serve as a reliable tool for identifying and quantifying the metabolome that could reflect the metabolic activities of C. calcitrans.

Soil-vegetation relationships of three arid land plant species and their use in rehabilitating degraded sites

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Kargar Chigani ◽  
S. J. Khajeddin ◽  
H. R. Karimzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Arid Land

scholarly journals Deep evolutionary origin of gamete-directed zygote activation by KNOX/BELL transcription factors in green plants

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuya Hisanaga ◽  
Shota Fujimoto ◽  
Yihui Cui ◽  
Katsutoshi Sato ◽  
Ryosuke Sano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Land Plants ◽  
Marchantia Polymorpha ◽  
Mating Types ◽  
Meristem Maintenance

KNOX and BELL transcription factors regulate distinct steps of diploid development in plants. In the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, KNOX and BELL proteins are inherited by gametes of the opposite mating types and heterodimerize in zygotes to activate diploid development. By contrast, in land plants such as Physcomitrium patens and Arabidopsis thaliana, KNOX and BELL proteins function in meristem maintenance and organogenesis during the later stages of diploid development. However, whether the contrasting functions of KNOX and BELL were acquired independently in algae and land plants is currently unknown. Here, we show that in the basal land plant species Marchantia polymorpha, gamete-expressed KNOX and BELL are required to initiate zygotic development by promoting nuclear fusion in a manner strikingly similar to that in C. reinhardtii. Our results indicate that zygote activation is the ancestral role of KNOX/BELL transcription factors, which shifted toward meristem maintenance as land plants evolved.

scholarly journals Predicting plant conservation priorities on a global scale

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (51) ◽  
pp. 13027-13032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara A. Pelletier ◽  
Bryan C. Carstens ◽  
David C. Tank ◽  
Jack Sullivan ◽  
Anahí Espíndola
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Plant Conservation ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Conservation Assessment ◽  
Biodiversity Science ◽  
Machine Learning Approach ◽  
The One

The conservation status of most plant species is currently unknown, despite the fundamental role of plants in ecosystem health. To facilitate the costly process of conservation assessment, we developed a predictive protocol using a machine-learning approach to predict conservation status of over 150,000 land plant species. Our study uses open-source geographic, environmental, and morphological trait data, making this the largest assessment of conservation risk to date and the only global assessment for plants. Our results indicate that a large number of unassessed species are likely at risk and identify several geographic regions with the highest need of conservation efforts, many of which are not currently recognized as regions of global concern. By providing conservation-relevant predictions at multiple spatial and taxonomic scales, predictive frameworks such as the one developed here fill a pressing need for biodiversity science.

scholarly journals GIFT – A Global Inventory of Floras and Traits for macroecology and biogeography

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Weigelt ◽  
Christian König ◽  
Holger Kreft
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Phylogenetic Information ◽  
Global Inventory

AbstractTo understand how traits and evolutionary history shape the geographic distribution of plant life on Earth, we need to integrate high-quality and global-scale distribution data with functional and phylogenetic information. Large-scale distribution data for plants are, however, often restricted to either certain taxonomic groups or geographic regions. For example, range maps only exist for a small subset of all plant species and digitally available point-occurrence information is strongly biased both geographically and taxonomically. An alternative, currently rarely used resource for macroecological and botanical research are regional Floras and checklists, which contain highly curated information about the species composition of a clearly defined area, and which together virtually cover the entire global land surface. Here we report on our recent efforts to mobilize this information for macroecological and biogeographical analyses in the GIFT database, the Global Inventory of Floras and Traits. GIFT integrates plant distributions, functional traits, phylogenetic information, and region-level geographic, environmental and socioeconomic data. GIFT currently holds species lists for 2,893 regions across the whole globe including ~315,000 taxonomically standardized species names (i.e. c. 80% of all known land plant species) and ~3 million species-by-region occurrences. In addition, GIFT contains information about the floristic status (native, endemic, alien and naturalized) and takes advantage of the wealth of trait information in the regional Floras, complemented by data from global trait databases. Based on a hierarchical and taxonomical derivation scheme, GIFT holds information for 83 functional traits and more than 2.3 million trait-by-species combinations and achieves unprecedented coverage in categorical traits such as woodiness (~233,000 spp.) or growth form (~213,000 spp.). Here we present the structure, content and automated workflows of GIFT and a corresponding web-interface (http://gift.uni-goettingen.de) as proof of concept for the feasibility and potential of mobilizing aggregated biodiversity data for global macroecological and biogeographical research.

scholarly journals Deep evolutionary origin of gamete-directed zygote activation by KNOX/BELL transcription factors in green plants

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuya Hisanaga ◽  
Shota Fujimoto ◽  
Yihui Cui ◽  
Katsutoshi Sato ◽  
Ryosuke Sano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Green Alga ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Land Plants ◽  
Marchantia Polymorpha ◽  
Mating Types ◽  
Meristem Maintenance

AbstractKNOX and BELL transcription factors regulate distinct steps of diploid development in the green lineages. In the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, KNOX and BELL proteins are inherited by gametes of the opposite mating types, and heterodimerize in zygotes to activate diploid development. By contrast, in land plants such as Physcomitrella and Arabidopsis, KNOX and BELL proteins function in meristem maintenance and organogenesis during the later stages of diploid development. However, whether the contrasting functions of KNOX and BELL were acquired independently in algae and land plants is currently unknown. Here we show that in the basal land plant species Marchantia polymorpha, gamete-expressed KNOX and BELL are required to initiate zygotic development by promoting nuclear fusion in a manner strikingly similar to that of C. reinhardtii. Our results indicate that zygote activation is the ancestral role of KNOX/BELL transcription factors, which shifted toward meristem maintenance as land plants evolved.

A review of the palaeoenvironments and biota of the Windyfield chert

2003 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Fayers ◽  
Nigel H. Trewin
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
The World ◽  
Arthropod Fauna ◽  
Rhynie Chert

ABSTRACTThe Windyfield chert site is located 700 m NE of the original Rhynie chert locality at Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Originally identified by concentrations of surface float material, a drilling and trenching programme of the area in 1997 revealed a chert ‘pod’ in situ interbedded with fluvial/lacustrine sandstones and hydrothermally altered shales. Chert morphologies identified from float blocks and trench material range from tabular beds to lenticular pods displaying massive, nodular, laminated and brecciated fabrics, and geyserite splash textures. A suite of floral and faunal associations, when combined with distinctive macro- and microscopic chert textures, has been used to interpret depositional conditions. Palaeoenvironments ranged from terrestrial laminated, brecciated and vegetated sinter sheets to low-temperature pools and marginal aquatic settings. The flora comprises six higher land plant species, nematophytes, charophytes, various fungi and probable cyanobacteria. Arthropods include branchiopod crustaceans, a euthycarcinoid, trigonotarbid arachnids, centipedes, eoarthropleurids and a possible hexapod. The biota of the Windyfield chert is closely comparable to that found in the Rhynie chert. Together, the Windyfield and Rhynie cherts contain the most diverse associated fossil arthropod fauna of terrestrial and freshwater origin from rocks of comparable age anywhere in the world.

scholarly journals Pathogen-driven coevolution across CBP60 plant immune regulator subfamilies confers resilience on the regulator module

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Zheng ◽  
Kristina Majsec ◽  
Fumiaki Katagiri
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Euclidean Space ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Protein Evolution ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Protein Sequences ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Strong Selection ◽  
Pathogen Effectors ◽  
Evolution Analysis

ABSTRACTAmong eight Arabidopsis CaM-Binding Protein (CBP) 60 family members, AtCBP60g and AtSARD1 are partially functionally redundant, major positive immune regulators while AtCBP60a is a negative immune regulator. Phylogenetic analysis of CBP60 protein sequences of 247 diverse land plant species indicated that the immune regulator CBP60a, CBP60g, and SARD1 subfamilies diversified at divergence of Angiosperms and have been evolving very fast, suggesting strong selection pressure from pathogen effectors. We developed the Protein Evolution Analysis in Euclidean Space (PEAES) approach to investigate effects of this potential selection. We detected significant coevolutionary interactions across the immune regulator subfamilies specific to different Core Eudicot lineages, which are consistent with hypothetical coevolutionary mechanisms that protect the positive immune regulator function from being targeted by pathogen effectors. Thus, fast coevolution across the subfamilies with overlapping or opposing functions appears crucial to maintain resilience of the CBP60 immune regulator module against fast-evolving pathogen effectors.

scholarly journals Cross-Species Metabolic Profiling of Floral Specialized Metabolism Facilitates Understanding of Evolutional Aspects of Metabolism Among Brassicaceae Species

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuting Liu ◽  
Mutsumi Watanabe ◽  
Sayuri Yasukawa ◽  
Yuriko Kawamura ◽  
Chaiwat Aneklaphakij ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Specialized Metabolites ◽  
Chemical Structures ◽  
Brassicaceae Species ◽  
Light Protection ◽  
Chemical Factors ◽  
Major Chemical ◽  
Evolutionary Aspects

Plants produce a variety of floral specialized (secondary) metabolites with roles in several physiological functions, including light-protection, attraction of pollinators, and protection against herbivores. Pigments and volatiles synthesized in the petal have been focused on and characterized as major chemical factors influencing pollination. Recent advances in plant metabolomics have revealed that the major floral specialized metabolites found in land plant species are hydroxycinnamates, phenolamides, and flavonoids albeit these are present in various quantities and encompass diverse chemical structures in different species. Here, we analyzed numerous floral specialized metabolites in 20 different Brassicaceae genotypes encompassing both different species and in the case of crop species different cultivars including self-compatible (SC) and self-incompatible (SI) species by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Of the 228 metabolites detected in flowers among 20 Brassicaceae species, 15 metabolite peaks including one phenylacyl-flavonoids and five phenolamides were detected and annotated as key metabolites to distinguish SC and SI plant species, respectively. Our results provide a family-wide metabolic framework and delineate signatures for compatible and incompatible genotypes thereby providing insight into evolutionary aspects of floral metabolism in Brassicaceae species.

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