Zugl. Zürich, Univ., Diss.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Univ., 2007. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

This dissertation examines the taxonomy, morphology, and species relationships of two genera in the family Caryophyllaceae, subfamily Alsinoideae: Pycnophyllum and Pycnophyllopsis. These two genera are restricted to the highest peaks of the South American Andes, from Peru to northern Argentina, above the 3500 m of elevation. Pycnophyllopsis subgen. Coquimbo, a new subgenus and species endemic to northern Chile is proposed based on various morphological characters that confirm its status. A combination of detailed morphological study of herbarium specimens and fieldwork resulted in systematic monographs for these two genera. Eight species of Pycnophyllum are here recognized, with the center of diversity in Peru, where seven species are found. The genus Pycnophyllosis consists of nine species. Pycnophyllopsis smithii a new species from central Peru is described. A molecular phylogeny of the family Caryophyllaceae using nrITS is presented and discussed. All studies species are fully described, illustrated, and mapped. Identification keys are provided for the two larger genera. The systematic relationship with other members of the family is also explored. / text

Diss. (sammanfattning). Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

A new species of Cucubalus is described based on two fossil seeds recovered from the upper Pliocene Sanying Formation in northwestern Yunnan Province, southwestern China. The seeds are characterized by a reniform to circular outline in shape, and sinuous and discontinuous rugulae made of rod-like elements radiating from the hilum region to the dorsal margin. The combination of these characteristics shows their close resemblance to the extant genus Cucubalus in the Caryophyllaceae. A morphological principal coordinates (PCO) analysis further supports the assignment to this genus. Cucubalus is a monotypic genus today, but the late Pliocene fossil seeds have been described as a new species, Cucubalus prebaccifer Huang, Liu et Zhou, sp. nov. This newly documented Cucubalus fossil, representing the first fossil record of this genus, implies that the genus has existed in northwestern Yunnan, southwestern China, at least since the late Pliocene. It provides important information on the past biodiversity and biogeography of both the genus Cucubalus and the fossil-scant family Caryophyllaceae.

A new species of Cucubalus is described based on two fossil seeds recovered from the upper Pliocene Sanying Formation in northwestern Yunnan Province, southwestern China. The seeds are characterized by a reniform to circular outline in shape, and sinuous and discontinuous rugulae made of rod-like elements radiating from the hilum region to the dorsal margin. The combination of these characteristics shows their close resemblance to the extant genus Cucubalus in the Caryophyllaceae. A morphological principal coordinates (PCO) analysis further supports the assignment to this genus. Cucubalus is a monotypic genus today, but the late Pliocene fossil seeds have been described as a new species, Cucubalus prebaccifer Huang, Liu et Zhou, sp. nov. This newly documented Cucubalus fossil, representing the first fossil record of this genus, implies that the genus has existed in northwestern Yunnan, southwestern China, at least since the late Pliocene. It provides important information on the past biodiversity and biogeography of both the genus Cucubalus and the fossil-scant family Caryophyllaceae.

Lic.-avh. Härnösand Uppsala : Mitthögskolan : Sveriges lantbruksuniv. : 2001. / Härtill 2 uppsatser.

In the present study, I dealt with morphological, cytological, and ecological research on a rare Central-European species Spergularia echinosperma and its comparison with a similar weedy species S. rubra. Existence of two cytotypes of S. echinosperma significantly differing in their morphology was revealed, as well as distinct morphological differences between the two species were found. Moreover, the analyses revealed one possibly hybridogenous population. In addition, both the species and the cytotypes were also proven to display different germination behavior, which I correlate with their individual ecological adaptations.

Anther smuts (Microbotryum violaceum s.l.) represent a well-known system for studying pathogens of wild plants and coevolution between pathogens and hosts. Infected plants produce sterile flowers with anthers filled with fungal spores which are transmitted to other host plants by pollinators. Data from existing research come mainly from the genus Silene. However, the applicability of these findings to other host plants of anther smuts is largely unknown. Therefore, this thesis focuses on a different host species - Dianthus carthusianorum. First, the pattern of disease was surveyed in natural populations of D. carthusianorum in a small area in Střední Povltaví. Most populations were infected to various degrees and only a few populations remained completely healthy. The prevalence of disease was positively correlated with size and density of host populations. On the other hand, environmental factors and the degree of connectedness had very little effect on disease prevalence. Second, additional data were collected from a subset of populations to determine plant resistance and densities of pollinators. Differences in resistance among populations (as inferred from flower inoculations) were not significant. Populations differed in densities of pollinators, but there was no correlation between densities...

Im Verlauf der Untersuchungen von Agrostemma githago L. var. githago, eines bekannten giftigen Vertreters der Caryophyllaceae, verwendeten wir neben Agrostemmasaponin das Saponinum album aus Gypsophila paniculata L., ebenfalls mit Gypsogenin (3b-Hydroxy-Olean-12-en-23-al-28-Säure) als Aglykon. Eine Kombination dieser Saponinderivate (3 µg/ml) mit einer Formylfunktion an Position C4 des Aglykons in Kombination mit RIPs und anderen natürlichen Toxinen zeigte eine kooperative Toxizität an ECV 304-Zellen. Ribosomen-inaktivierende Proteine (RIPs; EC Nr. 3.2.2.22) sind eine heterogene Familie von strukturell und evolutionsbedingt ähnlichen Proteinen mit einer katalytischen Domäne, die einen spezifischen Adeninrest enzymatisch von einer definierten Position der rRNA prokaryotischer und eukaryotischer Ribosomen zu entfernen vermag. Die kombinierte Verabreichung von subtoxischen Konzentrationen eines RIP-Typ 1 und des Saponins zeigte in dieser Studie einen spezifischen und zum ersten Mal größeren zytotoxischen Effekt auf Tumorzellen im Vergleich mit natürlichem Diphtheriatoxin. Es wird ein analoger, synergistischer Wirkungsmechanismus zwischen der durch Gypsophilasaponin induzierten Toxizität von Agrostin aus Agrostemma githago L. und von Saporin aus Saponaria officinalis L. bzw. dem rekombinant hergestellten his-Saporin diskutiert. Offensichtlich nutzen diese aus den Samen der Caryophyllaceae isolierten Proteine einen ähnlichen Weg, um die Zellmembran zu passieren, was auf den Abwehrmechanismus dieser Pflanzen gegen pathogene Organismen schließen lässt. / In the course of our investigation of Agrostemma githago L. var. githago, a well-known toxic member of the Caryophyllaceae family, we tested Saponinum album from Gypsophila paniculata L., both saponins with gypsogenin (3b-hydroxy-olean-12-en-23-al-28-oic acid) as aglycone. A combination of these particular saponin derivatives with a formyl function in triterpene position 4 (3 µg/ml) together with RIPs and other natural toxins revealed a co-operative toxicity against ECV 304-cells. Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs; EC No. 3.2.2.22) are a heterogeneous family of structurally and evolutionary related plant proteins. They share a common functional domain capable of catalytically removing a specific adenine residue from a highly conserved, surface-exposed stem-loop structure in the large rRNA of prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes. The combined administration of individually non-toxic concentrations of a RIP type 1 and a saponin presented in this study leads to a potent and for the first time greater specifically cytotoxic effect on tumor cells in comparison with natural diphtheria toxin. An analogy could be drawn between the observed induction of RIP-toxicity of Agrostin and of Saporin/ genetically engineered his-Saporin from Saponaria officinalis L. in combination with Gypsophilasaponin. Obviously these proteins, both obtained from the seeds of Caryophyllaceae species, use a similar mechanism to penetrate through the cell membrane in vitro suggesting a similar defence mechanism of these plants against pathogenic organisms.