The Influence of a Seedling Recruitment Strategy and a Clonal Architecture on a Spatial Genetic Structure of a Salvia brachyodon (Lamiaceae) Population

By performing a high-resolution spatial-genetic analysis of a partially clonal Salvia brachyodon population, we elucidated its clonal architecture and seedling recruitment strategy. The sampling of the entire population was based on a 1 × 1 m grid and each sampled individual was genotyped. Population-genetic statistics were combined with geospatial analyses. On the population level, the presence of both sexual and clonal reproduction and repeated seedling recruitment as the prevailing strategy of new genets establishment were confirmed. On the patch level, a phalanx clonal architecture was detected. A significant negative correlation between patches’ sizes and genotypic richness was observed as young plants were not identified within existing patches of large genets but almost exclusively in surrounding areas. The erosion of the genetic variability of older patches is likely caused by the inter-genet competition and resulting selection or by a random die-off of individual genets accompanied by the absence of new seedlings establishment. This study contributes to our understanding of how clonal architecture and seedling recruitment strategies can shape the spatial-genetic structure of a partially clonal population and lays the foundation for the future research of the influence of the population’s clonal organization on its sexual reproduction.

Corrigendum: Stefanovic M., N. Karaiskou, N. Velickovic, M. Kovacevic, Z. Ristic, M. Djan (2019): Spatial genetic analysis of roe deer from the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina.- Genetika, vol 51, no.3, 1127-1138. https://doi.org/10.2298/GENSR1903127S

The authors of the article: Stefanovic M., N. Karaiskou, N. Velickovic, M. Kovacevic, Z. Ristic, M. Djan (2019): Spatial genetic analysis of roe deer from the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina.- Genetika, Vol 51, No.3, 1127-1138 have informed the Editorial Office of the errors: 1. On page 1130 line 19 instead GenBank accession numbers:KY114497-KY114515 should be GenBank accession numbers KY114497 - KY114512. 2. On page 1133 in Table 2 instead of ? should be letter ?. 3. On page 1134 line 37 instead Fu's FST should be Fu's FS. <br><br><font color="red"><b> Link to the corrected article <u><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/GENSR1903127S">10.2298/GENSR1903127S</a></b></u>

Spatially structured morphological and molecular diversity among Dioscorea cayenensis and D. rotundata yam accessions

Yams (Dioscorea spp.) are one of the main root and tuber crops in the world, especially within the species complex Dioscorea cayenensis/D. rotundata. Few studies have been conducted in Brazil with these species, including genetic diversity. The objective of this study was to characterize the genetic diversity of local varieties of D. cayenensis and D. rotundata using morphological and molecular markers, and provide information on the management and use of the crop by family farmers from different regions in Brazil. Thus, yam tubers were sampled from several municipalities in the South, Southeast and Northeast regions. Eighteen morphological traits and ten microsatellite loci were used to analyse 47 yam accessions (23 D. cayenensis and 24 D. rotundata). Species identification was carried out after field morphological evaluation. Spatial genetic analysis indicated significant structure among the local varieties, mostly between regions and species. Both cluster and Bayesian analyses showed a separation of the accessions into two distinct groups: group I with accessions originated from the Southeast region and group II with accessions originated from the Northeast region, while accessions from the South region were intermediate or included in either group. The results showed a separation between D. cayenensis and D. rotundata accessions in Brazil, and that D. cayenensis occurs predominantly in the Southeast region, while D. rotundata occurs in the Northeast region. Further studies with larger sampling would be welcome in order to confirm these findings. Also, this study highlights the importance of family farmers in the genetic diversity conservation of these species in Brazil.

Spatial genetic analysis and long-term mark–recapture data demonstrate male-biased dispersal in a snake

Dispersal is an important life-history trait, but it is notoriously difficult to study. The most powerful approach is to attack the problem with multiple independent sources of data. We integrated information from a 14-year demographic study with molecular data from five polymorphic microsatellite loci to test the prediction of male-biased dispersal in a common elapid species from eastern Australia, the small-eyed snake Rhinoplocephalus nigrescens . These snakes have a polygynous mating system in which males fight for access to females. Our demographic data demonstrate that males move farther than females (about twice as far on average, and about three times for maximum distances). This sex bias in adult dispersal was evident also in the genetic data, which showed a strong and significant genetic signature of male-biased dispersal. Together, the genetic and demographic data suggest that gene flow is largely mediated by males in this species.