Flera olika arter av mjölksyrabakterier som ingår i släktena Lactobacillus och Bifidobacterium har hittats hos bin och i deras honung. Idag finns ingen effektiv metod för identifiering av bakterierna. Syftet med detta projekt är att utveckla en metod för snabb identifiering genom att hitta lämpliga primers till olika mjölksyrabakterier och därmed få fram en Polymeraskedjereaktion (PCR) metod. Ribosomal ribonukleinsyra (rRNA) generna eller 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region (ISR) används ofta vid design av primers, som därefter används i PCR för att identifiera olika bakterier. Deoxiribonukleinsyra (DNA) visualiseras i agarosgelen med hjälp av SYBRgreen I som fluorescens på ultraviolett (UV)-ljusbord. I detta projekt har 16S rRNA och 16S-23S rRNA ISR amplifierats i enkel PCR och multiplex PCR och visualiserats i agarosgel i försök att identifiera mjölksyrabakterierna. 16S rRNA har visat sig ha mycket liten variation mellan bakterierna och ansågs därför inte lämplig att använda för identifiering av närbesläktade arter. 16S-23S rRNA ISR visade större variation, fram för allt mellan lactobacillerna och bifidobakterierna. Gruppering av bakterierna med hjälp av multiplex PCR gjordes med viss framgång, med undantag av några bakterier som inte hamnade i den förväntade gruppen. Dock behövs fler försök för att stödja dessa resultat. / Several different lactic acid bacterium (LAB) species from the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium was discovered in bees and in their honey. Today there is no rapid and reliable method to identify these LAB. Therefore a rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to identify the LAB is needed. The aim of this project is to find primers suitable for the different LAB. Ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) genes or 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region (ISR) are often used to designing of primers followed by PCR assays, for identification of different bacteria. To visualize deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in agarose gels, SYBRgreen I was used as fluorescence and then viewed under ultraviolet (UV) light. In this project the 16S rRNA and 16S-23S rRNA ISR was used as a target in a PCR and a multiplex PCR amplification. The PCR product was analyzed in agarose gel in an attempt to identify the LAB. 16S rRNA sequence have to little variation and is not suitable to identify closely related species. 16S-23S rRNA ISR sequence exhibits greater variations, especially between Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Differentiation of the bacteria into groups by multiplex PCR was done with good result, except for some of the bacteria that did not end up in the expected group. More studys is needed to support these results.

Phacelia purshii Buckley and P. fimbriata Micheaux are two species that are nearly morphologically indistinguishable. Seed germination experiments showed that the high elevation endemic, P. fimbriata requires lower temperatures to trigger germination. Following interspecific crosses, pollen tubes enter ovules and maternal tissue of the gynoecium matures but hybrid diploid and triploid organs fail to develop. DNA sequences from the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed region showed that P. fimbriata and P. purshii comprise a monophyletic clade but that P. fimbriata is more differentiated from related species. In contrast, P. purshii supported significantly higher levels of intraspecific polymorphism. Phacelia fimbriata and P. purshii are sister species with similar morphology but they are unable to hybridize, they are differentiated in physiological characteristics related to environment, and they inhabit different elevations. This pattern of relationship and differentiation suggests P. fimbriata may be the product of ecological speciation.

No description available.

No description available.

Submitted by (ana.araujo@ufrpe.br) on 2017-02-21T14:16:41Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Paulo Geovani Silva Martins.pdf: 3068367 bytes, checksum: a2b6a221541b1632f6a29c5025ee09e4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-21T14:16:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paulo Geovani Silva Martins.pdf: 3068367 bytes, checksum: a2b6a221541b1632f6a29c5025ee09e4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-21 / Leguminosae is the third largest angiosperm family, with around 700 genera, of which the Mimosoideae subfamily comprehends 78 genera, with emphasis to Acacia, Mimosa and Inga. Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth., known as “sabiá” or “sansão do campo” is considered to be one of the most important native tree species of the Brazilian semiarid due to its multiuse capability, and high potential for degraded area recovery, since it fixes nitrogen in symbiosis with diazotrophic bacteria. Diazotrophic bacteria taxonomy has been changing due to joint use of phenotypic, physiologic and molecular tools. This work aimed to evaluate “sabiá” and its symbiotic bacteria diversity in five Northeastern municipalities. It was conducted from April, 2010 to March, 2011, at Pernambuco Federal Agricultural University and the Genome Laboratory of the Pernambuco Agronomic Institute. For “sabiá” phylogenetic studies, leaves from native or naturalized plants were collected at Crato, Gravatá, Itambé, Mossoró and Serra Talhada, with their genomic DNA extracted with a commercial kit. The intergenomic atpB-rcbL region of chloroplastic DNA was amplified and used to construct Bayesian Inference phylogenesis of the accesses. Soil samples were collected at the same time of plant collection, and “sabiá” plants were used as bait for rhizobial nodules using Leonard jars, at a greenhouse. Nodule bacteria were isolated and purified in YMA media with Congo Red, and morpho-physiologically characterized on YMA media with Bromothymol Blue. The isolates were later grown in liquid TY media for DNA extraction with a commercial kit. Amplifications were conducted with REP, ERIC and BOX primers, and 16S rDNA was amplified and sequenced. Intergenic atpB-rbcL chloroplast DNA sequences did not match any NCBI entry. CRATO 4 and SERRA TALHADA 20 accesses formed an external group indicated they may be genetically closer to a Mimosa ancestor. The high segregation of the species affected diversity within and among the different areas, and plant biogeography was not confirmed. Genomic fingerprinting of the 47 isolates had different patterns for REP, ERIC and BOX elements, but compilation of the results created the dendrogram with the most groups. The 16S rDNA sequences were blasted in GenBank, and the isolates had 68 to 99% similarity with Burkholderia strains. The phylogenetic tree constructed with the 16S rDNA, combined with sequences from strains recommended for legume inoculation, show these isolates to be diverse from the currently recommended. Isolates PE-MO01, PE-MO02 and PE-MO04 were the most different among the isolates. The lack of molecular phylogeny data for “sabiá” shows the need of using other taxonomic markers to evaluate this species diversity, and the 16S rDNA sequences confirm the Mimosa symbiosis preference for Burkholderia strains. / A família Leguminosae é a terceira maior família de angiospermas com aproximadamente 700 gêneros, dos quais a subfamília Mimosoideae compreende 78 gêneros, destacando-se Acacia, Mimosa e Inga. A espécie Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth., conhecida como sabiá ou sansão do campo, é considerada uma das espécies arbóreas nativas mais importantes do semiárido brasileiro por apresentar múltiplo uso e grande potencial para recuperação de áreas degradadas por fixar nitrogênio em simbiose com bactérias diazotróficas. A taxonomia das bactérias diazotróficas vem mudando pela utilização em conjunto de aspectos fenotípicos e fisiológicos e de ferramentas moleculares. Objetivou-se avaliar a filogenia de plantas de sabiá (Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth.) e a diversidade e filogenia de suas bactérias simbióticas em cinco municípios nordestinos. O trabalho foi conduzido de abril de 2010 a março de 2011, na Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco e no Laboratório de Genoma do Instituto Agronômico de Pernambuco. Para os estudos filogenéticos do sabiá, folhas de plantas nativas ou naturalizadas foram coletadas em Crato, Gravatá, Itambé, Mossoró e Serra Talhada, e tiveram o DNA genômico extraído utilizando-se kit comercial. Foram realizadas amplificações da região espaçadora intergênica atpB-rcbL do genoma cloroplastidial que foram usadas para construir a Inferência Bayesiana da filogenia entre os acessos. Amostras de solo foram coletadas à mesma época das coletas das folhas e plantas de sabiá foram usadas como plantas-isca para obtenção de nódulos de rizóbios utilizando-se Vasos de Leonard, em casa de vegetação. As bactérias presentes nos nódulos foram isoladas e purificadas em meio YMA com Vermelho Congo e a caracterização morfofisiológica dos isolados foi realizada em meio YMA com Azul de Bromotimol. Posteriormente os isolados foram crescidos em meio TY líquido para extração do DNA com kit comercial. Foram realizadas amplificações com os oligonucleotideos BOX, ERIC e REP e amplificação e sequenciamento do 16S DNAr. As sequências do espaço intergênico cloroplastidial atpB-rbcL não corresponderam com qualquer outra sequência depositada no NCBI. Os acessos CRATO 4 e SERRA TALHADA 20 formaram um grupo externo indicando que podem ser as mais próximas geneticamente. A alta taxa de segregação da espécie influenciou na diversidade dentro e entre as diferentes áreas estudadas e a origem geográfica não determina a variação dos observados nos acessos das plantas estudadas. Os fingerprints genômico dos 47 isolados utilizando os elementos BOX, ERIC e REP apresentaram padrões de amplificações distintos, porém a compilação dos resultados criou o dendrograma com maior número de grupos. As sequências 16S DNAr foram comparadas no GenBank através do programa BLAST, e os isolados apresentam identidade variando entre 68 e 99% com estirpes do gênero Burkholderia. A árvore filogenética construída com as sequências da região 16S DNAr dos isolados, juntamente com as sequências da região 16S DNAr de estirpes tipo recomendadas para inoculação de leguminosas, indica que os isolados obtidos são geneticamente distintos das estirpes recomendadas. Os isolados PE-MO01, PE-MO02 e PE-MO04 destacaram-se por serem os mais distintos dentro do grupo de isolados. A escassez de dados de filogenia molecular da espécie Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth. revela a necessidade da utilização de outros marcadores taxonômicos para conhecimento da filogenia e da diversidade desta espécie e as sequências do gene 16S DNAr confirmam a preferência de simbiose entre espécies de leguminosas do gênero Mimosa com bactérias diazotróficas do gênero Burkholderia.

Resultados anteriores sugerem que existem diferenças biológicas entre espécimens de Anopheles oswaldoi capturados no Estado do Acre e os do Estado de Rondônia, Brasil. Esta espécie tem sido apontada como um importante vetor de malária em localidades do Peru e Acre. Entretanto, em Rondônia, somente um número pequeno de A. oswaldoi alimentados em pacientes com malária desenvolveram infecção nas glândulas salivares. Além disso, há suspeita de que espécimens identificados como A. oswaldoi, capturados em áreas abertas em Costa Marques, Rondônia, são na verdade A. konderi, e que A. oswaldoi sensu stricto estaria restrito a áreas de florestas. Estes dados, juntamente com as dificuldades encontradas na identificação de anofelinos do grupo Oswaldoi, baseadas em critérios morfológicos, sugerem que espécimens de A. oswaldoi são membros de um complexo de espécies crípticas. A distinção de espécies crípticas de insetos vetores é de grande importância, já que diferentes membros em um complexo podem exibir diferenças na ecologia, capacidade vetorial e resposta a medidas de controle. Análise de sequências de DNA, particularmente da região do ITS2 do cistron do DNA ribossômico, tem sido usada como um caracter diagnóstico em alguns grupos de espécies crípticas, tornando-se um instrumento para estudos taxonômicos e filogenéticos. A primeira parte deste estudo teve o objetivo de determinar as diferenças encontradas nas sequências de ITS2 de espécimens de A. oswaldoi capturados em várias localidades da América do Sul. As regiões dos ITS2 destes anofelinos foram amplificadas usando oligonucleotídeos iniciadores conservados das regiões 5.8S e 28S e os produtos de PCR foram clonados e sequenciados. Os ITS2 de todos os mosquitos capturados tiveram tamanho aproximado de 350 nucleotídeos, com aproximadamente 53% de conteúdo de GC. Análise do alinhamento destas sequências, mostrou similaridade variando entre 87% e 100%, e a análise de uma árvore de similaridade, neighbor-joining, produzida com p-distance usando as diferenças nas sequências de ITS2, separou estes espécimens em quatro grupos. Um deles está provavelmente relacionado ao A. oswaldoi sensu stricto, e um outro pode estar relacionado à espécie A. konderi. Os outros dois grupos podem corresponder a espécies cuja identificação morfológica permanece para ser esclarecida no complexo A. oswaldoi. Estes dados são evidências de que espécimens de A. oswaldoi estão incluídos em um complexo de espécies crípticas e que identificação por DNA pode resolver estas questões taxonômicas. A. konderi tem sido considerado uma sinonímia de A. oswaldoi. Embora estágios adultos e imaturos destas espécies de anofelinos apresentem características morfológicas idênticas, aspectos encontrados na genitália masculina podem distinguir estes taxa. A segunda parte deste estudo foi conduzida com o objetivo de comparar a susceptibilidade de A. oswaldoi s.s. e de A. konderi à infecção com Plasmodium vivax. A susceptibilidade foi baseada na proporção de mosquitos com oocistos e esporozoítos. Os anofelinos foram capturados no Acre e em Rondônia para obtenção de progênies F1. Após a emergência dos adultos, as genitálias masculinas dos mosquitos de cada progênie foram dissecadas e examinadas. Todas progênies originadas dos mosquitos capturados em Rondônia corresponderam a A. konderi, enquanto que cerca de 85,0% das progênies do Acre eram A. oswaldoi s.s.. Estas progênies F1 de A. oswaldoi s.s., A. konderi e A. darlingi foram alimentadas simultaneamente com sangue infectado com P. vivax. Estes mosquitos foram dissecados 10-12 dias após infecção e examinados para verificação da presença de oocistos e esporozoítos. Tanto A. oswaldoi s.s. como A. konderi apresentaram oocistos nos tratos digestivos, entretanto, a porcentagem de tratos digestivos positivos para oocistos foi maior em A. oswaldoi s.s. (13,8%) do que em A. konderi (3,3%). Esporozoítos foram encontrados somente nas glândulas salivares de A. oswaldoi s.s., com 6,9% de positividade. As taxas de infecção nos controles A. darlingi foram de 22,5% a 30,0%, para ambos oocistos e esporozoítos. Estes resultados indicam que A. oswaldoi s.s. pode transmitir P. vivax e sugerem que esta espécie é mais susceptível que A. konderi. Embora A. oswaldoi s.s. seja uma espécie exofílica e zoofílica, este anofelino pode estar envolvido na transmissão da malária humana como parece estar ocorrendo no Estado do Acre. / Previous results have suggested that biological differences could exist between specimens of Anopheles oswaldoi captured in the State of Acre and those from the State of Rondônia, Brazil. This species has been appointed as an important malaria vector in localities of Peru and Acre. However, in Rondônia, only a very low percentage of A. oswaldoi fed on malaria patients developed salivary gland infections. In addition, it was suspected that specimens identified as A. oswaldoi captured in open clearings in Costa Marques, Rondônia, were actually A. konderi, and that A. oswaldoi sensu stricto would be restricted to forested areas. These data, together with the difficulties found to identify anophelines of the Oswaldoi group based on morphologic criteria suggest that specimens of A. oswaldoi are members of a complex of cryptic species. The distinction of cryptic species of insects is of critical importance, since different members in a Complex could exhibit differences in ecology, vectorial capacity and response to control measures. DNA sequence analysis and particularly that of the ITS2 region of the rDNA cistron has provided diagnostic characters in some groups of cryptic species becoming a general tool for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies. The first part of the present study was undertaken to determine the extent of differences over the ITS2 sequence of specimens of A. oswaldoi s.l. captured in several localities of South America. The ITS2 of these anophelines were amplified using conserved primers of the 5.8S and 28S regions, cloned and sequenced. The lengths of ITS2 of all mosquitoes captured were about 350 nucleotides, with about 53% GC content. Analysis of the alignment of the sequences, which showed that the similarity varied between 87% and 100%, and analysis of a neighbor-joining tree produced with p-distance using the ITS2 sequences, separated these specimens in four groups. One of them is probably related to A. oswaldoi sensu stricto, and another one can possibly be related to A. konderi. The other two groups may correspond to species the morphologycal identification of which remains to be clarified in the A. oswaldoi complex. These data are evidences that specimens of A. oswaldoi are included in a complex of cryptic species and that the DNA identification could solve some taxonomic questions. A. konderi has been currently considered to be a synonym of A. oswaldoi. Although adults and immature stages of both these anopheline species have identical morphological characters, features of the male genitalia can distinguish these taxa. The second part of this study was conducted in order to compare the susceptibility of A. oswaldoi s.s. and of A. konderi to infection by Plasmodium vivax. The susceptibility was based on the proportion of mosquitoes with oocysts and sporozoites. Anophelines were captured in the State of Acre and Rondônia and used to obtain F1 progenies. After emergency of adults, male genitalia of mosquitoes of each family were dissected. All families originated from mosquitoes captured in Rondônia corresponded to A. konderi, while about 85.0% of the families from Acre were A. oswaldoi s.s.. F1 progeny of field-captured A. oswaldoi s.s., A. konderi and A. darlingi were fed simultaneously on P. vivax infected blood. Mosquitoes were dissected on day 10-12 after infection and examined for the presence of oocysts and sporozoites. Both A. oswaldoi s.s. and A. konderi developed oocysts in midguts, however, the percentage of oocyst-positives in A. oswaldoi s.s. (13.8%) was higher than in A. konderi (3.3%), and only A. oswaldoi s.s. developed salivary infection with sporozoites (6.9% of positivity). Infection rates in A. darlingi ranged from 22.5% to 30.0% for both oocysts and sporozoites. These results indicate that A. oswaldoi s.s. can transmit P. vivax and suggest that it is more susceptible than A. konderi. Although A. oswaldoi s.s. is an exophilic and zoophilic species, it may be involved in human malaria transmission as it seems to be occuring in the State of Acre.

<p>DNA sequences from the <i>rps16</i> intron and the <i>psbE-petL</i> spacer from the chloroplast genome, the ribosomal nuclear ITS region, and introns from the low copy nuclear genes <i>RPA2</i>, <i>RPB2</i>, <i>RPD2a</i> and <i>RPD2b</i>, are in different combinations used to infer phylogenetic relationships in <i>Sileneae</i> (<i>Caryophyllaceae</i>). Used in concert, the biparentally inherited nuclear regions are useful to distinguish between paralogy due to allopolyploidy and single gene duplications, respectively, because the latter are not expected to give rise to repeated phylogenetic patterns in potentially unlinked sequence regions. In addition, the sequences resolve previously poorly known relationships in the tribe <i>Sileneae</i>. Several independent losses and incomplete concerted evolution are inferred between the two <i>RPD2</i> paralogues in a subgroup of <i>Silene</i>.</p><p>An allopolyploid origin is suggested for the tetraploid <i>S. aegaea</i>, with the maternal ancestor from the diploid <i>S. pentelica</i> lineage, and the paternal contributor from the diploid <i>S. sedoides</i> lineage.</p><p><i>Silene involucrata</i> originated as an allotetraploid with the diploid lineage of Arctic <i>S. uralensis</i> as cytoplasmic donor and the diploid Siberian/Northeast Asian <i>S. ajanensis</i> lineage as pollen donor. A subsequent allopolyploidization with the <i>S. ajanensis</i> lineage as pollen donor and the tetraploid <i>S. involucrata</i> lineage as cytoplasmic donor resulted in the hexaploid lineage of <i>S. sorensenis sensu lato</i>.</p><p>A monophyletic origin of the North American polyploids is rejected. One lineage consists of tetraploid <i>S. menziesii</i> and its diploid allies. A separate lineage leads to a clade consisting of both diploid and polyploid Arctic, European and Asian taxa in addition to the majority of the North American polyploids. The tetraploid <i>S. californica</i> and the hexaploid <i>S. hookeri</i> are derived from separate allopolyploidization events between these two lineages.</p>

Increased levels of nitrate in ground water have made many wells unsuitable as sources for drinking water. In this thesis an ion-exchang eassisted electromembrane process, suitable for nitrate removal, is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. An ion-exchange textile material is introduced as a conducting spacer in the feed compartment of an electropermutation cell. The sheet shaped structure of the textile makes it easy to incorporate into the cell. High permeability and fast ion-exchange kinetics, compared to ion-exchange resins, are other attractive features of the ion-exchange textile. A steady-state model based on the conservation of the ionic species is developed. The governing equations on the microscopic level are volume averaged to give macro-homogeneous equations. The model equations are analyzed and relevant simplifications are motivated and introduced. Dimensionless parameters governing the continuous electropermutation process are identified and their influence on the process are discussed. The mathematical model can be used as a tool when optimising the process parameters and designing equipment. An experimental study that aimed to show the positive influence of using the ion-exchange textile in the feed compartment of an continuous electropermutation process is presented. The incorporation of the ion-exchange textile significantly improves the nitrate removal rate at the same time as the power consumption is decreased. A superficial solution of sodium nitrate with a initial nitrate concentration of 105 ppm was treated. A product stream with less than 20 ppm nitrate could be obtained, in a single pass mode of operation. Its concluded from these experiments that continuous electropermutation using ion-exchange textile provides an interesting alternative for nitrate removal, in drinking water production. The predictions of the mathematical model are compared with experimental results and a good agreement is obtained. Enhanced water dissociation is known to take place at the surface of ion-exchange membranes in electromembrane processes operated above the limiting current density. A model for this enhanced water dissociation in presented in the thesis. The model makes it possible to incorporate the effect of water dissociation as a heterogeneous surface reaction. Results from simulations of electropermutation with and without ion-exchange textile incorporated are presented. The influence of the water dissociation is investigated with the developed model. / QC 20101118

<p>Increased levels of nitrate in ground water have made many wells unsuitable as sources for drinking water. In this thesis an ion-exchang eassisted electromembrane process, suitable for nitrate removal, is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. An ion-exchange textile material is introduced as a conducting spacer in the feed compartment of an electropermutation cell. The sheet shaped structure of the textile makes it easy to incorporate into the cell. High permeability and fast ion-exchange kinetics, compared to ion-exchange resins, are other attractive features of the ion-exchange textile.</p><p>A steady-state model based on the conservation of the ionic species is developed. The governing equations on the microscopic level are volume averaged to give macro-homogeneous equations. The model equations are analyzed and relevant simplifications are motivated and introduced. Dimensionless parameters governing the continuous electropermutation process are identified and their influence on the process are discussed. The mathematical model can be used as a tool when optimising the process parameters and designing equipment.</p><p>An experimental study that aimed to show the positive influence of using the ion-exchange textile in the feed compartment of an continuous electropermutation process is presented. The incorporation of the ion-exchange textile significantly improves the nitrate removal rate at the same time as the power consumption is decreased. A superficial solution of sodium nitrate with a initial nitrate concentration of 105 ppm was treated. A product stream with less than 20 ppm nitrate could be obtained, in a single pass mode of operation. Its concluded from these experiments that continuous electropermutation using ion-exchange textile provides an interesting alternative for nitrate removal, in drinking water production. The predictions of the mathematical model are compared with experimental results and a good agreement is obtained.</p><p>Enhanced water dissociation is known to take place at the surface of ion-exchange membranes in electromembrane processes operated above the limiting current density. A model for this enhanced water dissociation in presented in the thesis. The model makes it possible to incorporate the effect of water dissociation as a heterogeneous surface reaction. Results from simulations of electropermutation with and without ion-exchange textile incorporated are presented. The influence of the water dissociation is investigated with the developed model.</p>

DNA sequences from the rps16 intron and the psbE-petL spacer from the chloroplast genome, the ribosomal nuclear ITS region, and introns from the low copy nuclear genes RPA2, RPB2, RPD2a and RPD2b, are in different combinations used to infer phylogenetic relationships in Sileneae (Caryophyllaceae). Used in concert, the biparentally inherited nuclear regions are useful to distinguish between paralogy due to allopolyploidy and single gene duplications, respectively, because the latter are not expected to give rise to repeated phylogenetic patterns in potentially unlinked sequence regions. In addition, the sequences resolve previously poorly known relationships in the tribe Sileneae. Several independent losses and incomplete concerted evolution are inferred between the two RPD2 paralogues in a subgroup of Silene. An allopolyploid origin is suggested for the tetraploid S. aegaea, with the maternal ancestor from the diploid S. pentelica lineage, and the paternal contributor from the diploid S. sedoides lineage. Silene involucrata originated as an allotetraploid with the diploid lineage of Arctic S. uralensis as cytoplasmic donor and the diploid Siberian/Northeast Asian S. ajanensis lineage as pollen donor. A subsequent allopolyploidization with the S. ajanensis lineage as pollen donor and the tetraploid S. involucrata lineage as cytoplasmic donor resulted in the hexaploid lineage of S. sorensenis sensu lato. A monophyletic origin of the North American polyploids is rejected. One lineage consists of tetraploid S. menziesii and its diploid allies. A separate lineage leads to a clade consisting of both diploid and polyploid Arctic, European and Asian taxa in addition to the majority of the North American polyploids. The tetraploid S. californica and the hexaploid S. hookeri are derived from separate allopolyploidization events between these two lineages.