International Organization of Plant Biosystematists Newsletter No. 33 Edited by J. Kirschner & L. Drabkova c. A. Stace Issued from Department of Taxonomy Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences Pruhonice, Czech Republic ISSN 0254-8844 Pruhonice 2001 1Ilustrations: Wagner, H. (1871): Ill ustrierte Deutsche Flora Prim lila elalior (L.) Hill Ti'agop ogon pratensis L. Herac/eulI/ sphondylilIIn L. Tadeas Haj ek z Haj ku (1 562): Matthioli, Herbar jinak bylinar velmi uzitec ny Anemone .Iylvestris L. Pulsatilla Illtea L. Saxiji'aga oppositijolia L. Cover illustration: JIII1CUS conglomeratus L. Printed by: Klassic s.r.o. © IOP B @ The Authors 2 3 JUL 2001 P/W2 --- -----_.. ---_... -_. c IOPB NEWSLETIER NO. 33 Wi J . : ~ i.~ :,~[ f:O'~' , ,; i.O c. S .. :.;. Contents mBLIOTECA ADQUlnlDO EN A note from the president 2 2 Program of tbe IOPBs Symposium in Albuquerque 3 3 Profiles 4-16 Elena Conti's research group: Plant Molecular Systematics lab at the Institute for Systematic Botany and Botanical Garden, University of ZUrich, Switzerland J. Chris Pires: Biosystematics and molecular phylogenetics. New approaches to genome evolution in polyploids Ivana Stehlik: Molecular phylogeography of the European Alps at the University of ZUrich, Switzerland Modal Venkateswarlu: Genome analysis in mulberry (Morus spp.): DNA profiling of germplas01 using molecular markers and development of mapping populations at the Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute (CSRandTI), Srirampura, Mysore, India Tetsukazu Yahara: Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Kyushu University, Japan 4 Research Note 17-21 Matthias H. Hoffmann and Heike Schmuths: Arabidopsis Ihaliana as a tool for biosystematics: studies in molecular phylogeography 5 lOPS Clu'omosome Data 17 22-26 6 Individual Research N~ws 27 7 Changed addresses 28 8 Ballot for Executives and Council of JOPB (International Organization of Plant Biosystematists) for the 3-year period 2001- 2004 29-31 Forms IOPJ3 Membership Application Form 33 Research News FOllll 35 1 A note from the president Three years have passed since the 1998 on the 10PB council. At the business symposium in Amsterdam, and we are meeting in Albuquerque, council and looking forward to the 200 I Symposi um executive [or the period from 200 I to 2004 which will be held in Albuquerque, New will be nominated. Together with th e Mexico, USA, in conjunction with the approval of the 2004 meeting site, we shall annual meetings of the Botanical Society of nominate the president elect and the America (BSA), American Bryologieal nnd executive. A ballot for the council is Lichenological Society (ABLS), American included. Please send your vote (check ten Fern Society (MS), and American Society of the twelve candidates) to me as soon as of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) at Botany possible. I want to thank the four new 200 I, August 12-16, 2001, Albuquerque candidates for council positions, who have Convention Center. You can reach been nominated and agreed to be candidates. information on the Botany 200 I meetings Two member's of the council, L.iv Borgen via our web page. We are very grateful to and Shoichi Kawano, are not standing tor Scott D. Russell for designing and election again. We shall acknowledge their maintaining this very attractive web page of contributions to 10PB at the meeting. Both 10PB at http://www.iopb.org!.This page Liv Borgen and Shoichi Kawano have gets a surprisingly large number of hits, and worked hard for 10PB. r had to miss the is a very valuable new way to make us legendary 198910PB symposium organized known world-wide. If you have not done so by Shoichi Kawano in Kyoto but was lucky already, do have a look at it. Of course, our enough to be a guest of Dr. Kawano's at a web page offers a chance to post later date. r understand why the symposium, iofonnation in addition to that published in both the scientil1c and the social parts, were the Newsletter. If you have some item of fondly remembered by the participants for interest to the membership or rOPB, send it years afterwards. I attended the 1995 10PB on to me and r shall sec that it gets published symposium organized by Bengt 10nsell and or posted. Liv Borgen in Tl'Omso, Norway, a completely different setting from Kyoto, but As usual, in addition to the Chromosome with just a~ many fond memories of Data, the newsletter features ongoing interesting science, a lovely setting with a projects [rom several labs in the "Profiles" remarkable flora, and long, light nordic section. This section and the "Research slimmer nights. In Tr0111so, Bengt 10nsel'l Notes" describe work in progress, ideas that and Liv Borgen took over for tiU'ee ye8l's as are being pursued, and methods that are editors of the Newsletter tj'om Krystyna applied. 11' is supposed to be an international Urbanska who set the standards by which ('orum I()r the exchange of information of every president and newsletter edi,tor of interest to plant biosystemutists. This time, a IOPB will I'orever be measured. That they wide range of topics is covcrcd by continued the tradition in style must be contributions from 5 countries in 3 counted as a major accomplishment. Both continents. We should aim at contributions Liv Borgen and Shoichi Kawano made fr0111 all six continents in eaeh Newsletter. 10PB history, and we hope they will continue their active association with rOPB . Two of the profiles introduce the work of two of the four new candidates le)r positions Konrad Bachmann 2 2 Program for the symposium in Albuquerque, which forms part of "Botany 200 I" MONDAY AFTERNOON, 13 AUGUST 1: 30-4:45 PM SESSION SYMI'OSIUM: IOPB - Origin and biology of desert flora Organized by : TIMOTHY K. LOWREY, Depa11ment of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131. Tele: (505)277-2604 E-mail: [email protected] Presiding: TIMOTHY K. LOWREY, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. 1:30 CROZIER, BONNlE* aod ROBERT K. JANSEN. University of Texas, Austin. Historical relationships in the American desert plant family Cactaceae. 2:00 LEWIS, LOUISE A. University 0/ Connecticut, Storrs. Green algae of desert microbiotic crusts: Survey of North American taxa. 2:30 LANDRUM, VIC. Washburn Un iversity, Topeka, KS. Four families and 40 million years of evolution and adaptation to xeric environments. 3:00 BREAK 3:15 MULDAVIN, ESTEBAN H. University oINe,,:, Mexico, Albuquerque. Some floristic characteristics of the northern Chihuahuan Desert: a search for its n0l1hern boundary. 3:45 VERBOOM, G. ANTHONY*, WiLLIAM D. STOCK, and H. PETER LINDER. University 0/ Cape 1bwn, Rondebosch, South Afi-ica. Phylogenetics of the Cape grass genus Ehrharta (Ehrharteae): evidence for diversification in a summer-arid system. 4:15 DISCUSSION. 5:30-7 PM RECEPTION/MlXER: IOPB (Ticketed event) Presiding: KONRAD BACHMA.NN, Institut Hi"!" Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung, IPK Gaterslehen, 0-06466 Gatcrsleben, Germany Phone: +49-394R2-5465, E-Mail: [email protected] WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, 15 AUGUST 4:30-5:45 PM BUSINESS MEETING: IOPB Presiding: KONRAD BACHMANN, Gatersleben, Germany. Phone: +49-39482-5465, E-Mail: bachmann@ ipk-gatersleben.de 3 biogeographic considerations? 4) What are 3 the taxonomic implications of the Profiles phylogenetic results? 5) How does floral development of homostylous flowers Plant Molecular Systematics lab at the compare with floral development of Institute for Systematic Botany and heterosty lous flowers? Botanical Garden, University of Ziirich, These questions represent the starting point Switzerland: for a long-term project aimed at elucidating the phylogeny and evolution of breeding Elena Conti's research grouJl systems in the entire genus Primula. By enabling us to shed light on the order of As a newly appointed professor at the character a~sembly pertaining to the University of ZUrich (starting date: March morphological and physiological components I, 2000), I would like to share with th e of distyly, a detailed phylogeny of the genus 101'8 cOIllmunity the main rescarch projects Prill1u/a will ultimately allow us to that [ am already actively engaged in (sec discriminate between competing models for points I, 2, and 3 below) or that I am the evolution of this reproductive syndrome. planning to continue in my lab (see point 4 This research will also provide the necessary below): phylogenetic framework for undertaking future microevolutionary studies on 1) PHYLOGENY AND distylolls/homostylolls sister species of EVOLUTION OF BREEDING Primu/a and for elucidating the molecular SYSTEMS IN Prill/lila L. evolution of incompatibility genes in Primu/a, thus building on similar studies in Collabo.oators: John Richards (ProL, other groups of flowedng plants. University of Newcastle); Sylvia Kelso Currently, over ISO spccies (30 of 37 (Prof, Colorado College); Austin Mast (Oro, sections) of Primu/a arc represented in our Post-doctoral researcher; University of collection of leaf tissuc, !lowers, seeds, and ZUrich); Sky Feller (project assistant, live plants. We have sequenced the nuclear University of ZUrich); Daniela Lang (Lab ribosomal ITS DNA from over 50 Primula assistant, University of ZUrich). species [see Conti et ai., 2000, 2000 (abstract), and 1999 (abstract)] and the trnL My research on Primu/a strives to integrate and rpl16 introns of the chloroplast DNA a phylogenetic approach with the study of limn 91 Primll/a species [see Mast et aL, evolutionary ecological processes. The 200 I (submitted), and 200 I (abstract)]. starting questions in this research included: Phylogenetic analysis of these regions I) What are the evolutionary relationships has provided an important evolutionary between homostyly and distyly in Primu/a, framework for our study of the and how ruany origins can we infer tor each group's ecological and biogeographical breeding system? 2) What are the diversification. It has also allowed us to evolutionary relationships between breeding reassess the utili ty of characters historically system, ploidy level, and biogeography in deemed to be of taxonomic importancc in sect.