Premise
Ex situ cultivation is important for plant conservation, but cultivation in small populations may result in genetic changes by drift, inbreeding, or unconscious selection. Repeated inbreeding ...potentially influences not only plant fitness, but also floral traits and interactions with pollinators, which has not yet been studied in an ex situ context.
Methods
We studied the molecular genetic variation of Digitalis lutea from a botanic garden population cultivated for 30 years, a frozen seed bank conserving the original genetic structure, and two current wild populations including the source population. In a common garden, we studied the effects of experimental inbreeding and between‐population crosses on performance, reproductive traits, and flower visitation of plants from the garden and a wild population.
Results
Significant genetic differentiation was found between the garden population and the wild population from which the seeds had originally been gathered. After experimental selfing, inbreeding depression was only found for germination and leaf size of plants from the wild population, indicating a history of inbreeding in the smaller garden population. Moreover, garden plants flowered earlier and had floral traits related to selfing, whereas wild plants had traits related to attracting pollinators. Bumblebees visited more flowers of outbred than inbred plants and of wild than garden plants.
Conclusions
Our case study suggests that high levels of inbreeding during ex situ cultivation can influence reproductive traits and thus interactions with pollinators. Together with the effects of genetic erosion and unconscious selection, these changes may affect the success of reintroductions into natural habitats.
Many botanic gardens keep ex situ collections of rare species to prevent their extinction and to enable their reintroduction into the wild. A potential problem with ex situ collections is that ...relaxed selection, genetic drift, novel selection and inbreeding may cause rapid loss of adaptation to natural conditions and therefore may hamper success of reintroductions. Here, we investigated whether cultivation in ex situ collections of three threatened species—
Trifolium spadiceum
,
Sisymbrium austriacum
and
Bromus gros
sus—influenced trait differentiation. Using plant material from the original source populations and from the ex situ collections, we compared germination characteristics, growth and phenology under different environmental treatments.
Trifolium spadiceum
showed reduced seed dormancy in the ex situ collection compared to the wild population, whereas germination temperature requirements changed for
S. austriacum
.
Trifolium spadiceum
also showed reduced seed viability in the ex situ collection compared to the wild population. All species showed differences in plant growth between the plants from nature and from the botanic garden. Additionally,
B. grossus
showed advanced flowering time in plants from the botanic garden. These differences may reflect reduced performance or changes in life-history strategies. We conclude that all three species have rapidly differentiated between wild and ex situ origins and that effects of relaxed selection, genetic drift, inbreeding depression and adaptation to cultivation conditions in the botanic garden may have played a role in population differentiation, which may be unfavourable for reintroduction into nature. To explore this further we suggest broader studies across more species, populations and gardens, involving common garden, reciprocal transplant and molecular studies.
It was recognized only recently that subglacial ecosystems support considerable methanogenic activity, thus significantly contributing the global methane production. However, only limited knowledge ...is available on the physiological characteristics of this kind of methanogenic community because of the technical constraints associated with sampling and cultivation under corresponding environmental conditions. To elucidate methanogenesis beneath the glacial margin in East Antarctic Ice Sheet, we took an integrated approach that included cultivation of microbes associated with the sediment samples in the lab and analysis of
gene therein. After 7 months of incubation, the highest rate of methanogenesis 398 (pmol/day)/gram was observed at 1°C on a supply of H
. The rates of methanogenesis were lower on acetate or unamended substrate than on H
. The rates on these two substrates increased when the temperature was raised. Methanomicrobiales predominated before and after prolonged incubation, regardless whether H
, acetate, or unamended substrate were the energy source. Therefore, it was inferred that psychrophilic hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis was the primary methane-producing pathway in the subglacial ecosystem we sampled. These findings highlight the effects of temperature and substrate on potential methanogenesis in the subglacial sediment of this area, and may help us for a better estimation on the Antarctica methane production in a changing climate.
is an endemic species of the Mediterranean limited to the Adriatic Sea. In recent decades, it has undergone a severe regression, which is well documented in the northern Adriatic. To develop a tool ...for mitigating this problem, we tested the feasibility of
restoration and designed a very simple yet effective method for ex situ cultivation and planting. We also tested the effect of positioning in the upper vs. lower intertidal on the growth of
After planting, the algae reached fertility in nine months, which was followed by a period of stagnation and reduction in size due to grazing and fouling. There were some differences in growth of the algae according to positioning in the intertidal at different measurement times, but that had little impact on the overall success of the restoration experiment. This represents, to our knowledge, the first successful
ex situ cultivation and restoration attempt.
Brown algae from genus
form dense underwater forests that represent the most productive areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the combined effects of global and local stressors such as climate ...change, urbanization, and herbivore outbreaks, there has been a severe decline in brown algal forests in the Mediterranean Sea. Natural recovery of depleted sites is unlikely due to the low dispersal capacity of these species, and efficient techniques to restore such habitats are needed. In this context, the aims of our study were (1) to improve and simplify the current ex situ laboratory protocol for the cultivation of
by testing the feasibility of some cost-effective and time-efficient techniques on two donor sites of
and (2) to evaluate the survival and growth of young thalli during the laboratory phase and during the most critical five months after out-planting. Specifically, the following ex situ cultivation methods were tested: (A) cultivation on clay tiles in mesocosms with culture water prepared by three different procedures (a) filtered seawater with a 0.22 μm filter membrane, (b) filtered seawater with a 0.7 μm filter membrane (GF), and (c) UV-sterilized water, and (B) cultivation on clay tiles in open laboratory systems. After two weeks, all thalli were fixed to plastic lantern net baskets suspended at a depth of 2 m in the coastal sea (hybrid method), and the algal success was monitored in relation to the different donor sites and cultivation protocol. The satisfactory results of this study indicate that UV-sterilized water is suitable for the cultivation of
in mesocosm, which significantly reduces the cost of the laboratory phase. This opens the possibility of numerous and frequent algal cultures during the reproductive period of the species. Additionally, if the young thalli remain in the lantern net baskets for an extended period of several months, they can grow significantly in the marine environment without being exposed to pressure from herbivorous fish.
The global decline of brown algal forests along rocky coasts is causing an exceptional biodiversity loss. Regardless of conservation efforts, different techniques have been developed for large-scale ...restoration strategies in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study we tested ex situ pilot restoration of
(=
) for the first time in Slovenian coastal waters. Healthy apical fronds of the species were collected and the development of recruits on clay tiles was followed under laboratory conditions for 20 days. Despite the experimental difficulties experienced, especially due to the lack of antibiotics to prevent the growth of the biofilm,
recruits were outplanted in the sea on two concrete plates with 48 tiles each, protected by purpose-built cages to avoid grazing by herbivorous fish. The high survival rate of juveniles after four months in the field (89% of the tiles on the plate that was constantly protected) suggests that outplanting
is an operable approach for restoration efforts in the northern Adriatic Sea. Our first experiment in Slovenian coastal waters provides new information for the optimization of the best practices during the laboratory cultivation and addresses the early steps of restoration and introduction of young thalli in the natural environment.
Swertia chirayita (family Gentianaceae) is internationally renounced and one among the 32 prioritized medicinal plants by National Medicinal Plants Board, New Delhi, Government of India. S. chirayita ...is a critically endangered plant of temperate Himalayas. Deplete population of S. chirayita from wild has necessitated its conservation through ex-situ cultivation. The study is therefore taken up for the ex-situ cultivation of S. chirayita in lower altitude (tropical hills) of Sikkim Himalayan region. The produce of the plants cultivated ex-situ and in niche environment was compared and evaluated as per Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (API) norms and for swertiamarin content. As per API norms the total ash and acid insoluble ash was below the permissible limits of 6% and 1%, respectively. Leaves harvested from the ex-situ cultivated plant showed lower 0.68% acid insoluble ash compared to 0.78% in leaves of mature plants harvested from niche environment. The alcohol-soluble extractive, water soluble extractive and total bitter content were higher (16.84%, 22.44%, and 4.57%, respectively) in leaves of the ex-situ cultivated plant compared to the leaves harvested from plants cultivated in niche environment (15.28%, 15.96%, and 3.95%, respectively). Besides the API norms, swertiamarin content was higher (0.27%) in leaves of the ex-situ cultivated plant compared to leaves harvested from plants cultivated in niche environment (0.22%). The stem harvested from plants cultivated in niche environment failed as per API specifications due to lower alcohol and water soluble extractives and very low swertiamarin content. The study shows successful harvesting of leaves with high swertiamarin content up to one year of the growth period from the ex-situ cultivated plants at lower altitude. Two additional harvestings are suggested from the plant cultivated in niche environment while maintaining the plant for further growth before final yield. Seeds harvested from mature plants cultivated at higher altitude are suggested for utilization for the ex-situ cultivation of crop at lower altitude in Sikkim Himalayan region.
•Ex-situ cultivation is taken up in tropical hills of lower altitude.•Leaves harvested with high swertiamarin content from ex-situ cultivation•Total ash and acid insoluble ash was below the permissible limits as required.•Alcohol & water extractives and bitter content were higher in ex-situ produced plant.•Two additional harvestings before maturity suggested for crop in niche environment
Sophora sect. Edwardsia is a group of 19 species largely confined to the South Pacific, with New Zealand the centre of species diversity. We used DNA and morphological analyses to investigate the ...origins of six uncurated Sophora sect. Edwardsia specimens from the herbarium of John G. Baker and Silvanus Thompson housed at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. These specimens derive from Sophora plants in cultivation in Germany and France between 1796 and 1822. Unexpectedly, our analyses identified one of the specimens as the Rapa Nui (Easter Island) endemic S. toromiro. This species has been extinct in the wild since 1960 but survives in cultivation in botanic and private gardens. The S. toromiro plants in cultivation today are thought to descend from seeds collected during the 1920s-1950s but our specimen was collected from a cultivated specimen in 1800. We suggest that the Baker and Thompson Herbarium S. toromiro specimen likely grew from seed collected during Captain Cook's second voyage (1772-1775). This would give sufficient time for the tree to have grown to a large enough size for a specimen to be removed by 1800. The provenance of the other Sophora specimens was uncertain but they most likely originate from New Zealand and were collected on either Cook's first or second voyages.
In the last decades,
subsp.
(roots and flowers) has been over harvested through legal and illegal ways in Greece, due to its extremely high commercial demand, as it is used in industry because of its ...well-known therapeutic properties. As ex situ cultures of the plant have been already developed, in the current comparative study, the herbal teas (infusions) from both flowers of cowslip growing wild in the Prespa Lake Park (NW Greece), and from ex situ propagated and cultivated plant material, have been investigated, with the ultimate goal of assessing them qualitatively. Furthermore, through classic phytochemical studies, the ten most abundant metabolites, belonging to the chemical categories of flavonol-glycosides and methoxy flavones, have been identified and structurally determined. The chemical profile of both infusions has been further analyzed through UHPLC-HRMS, showing that they show only light differences. The total phenolic content (TPC) of both studied samples (wild and ex situ cultivation), was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteau method, followed by an antioxidant activity assay though DPPH where, in both cases, wild plants exerted higher phenolic load and stronger antioxidative properties. According to the reported results, it could be proposed that the ex situ cultivated plant material could facilitate the mass production of plants and the sustainable cultivation of cowslip in the Greek mountains.
The current study aimed to enhance the sustainable utilization framework of the underutilized Greek native Rosa canina L. (rosehip) germplasm as a potential novel crop that can deliver high-quality ...products with minimum environmental impact. The first part of the work includes asexual propagation trials on cuttings of two Greek R. canina genotypes, assessing the potential of various alternative rooting enhancers to the conventionally used indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), as affected by rooting substrate and cutting type. The propagation results showed commercially acceptable (>50%) rooting rates for 2500 ppm IBA, coconut water, rooting gel and aloe vera treatments and similar rooting attributes of root number and length, providing evidence for the feasibility of using alternative rooting enhancers. The second part of the work presents the results of an ongoing ex situ cultivation trial assessing the potential of a diversified organic fertilization regime against conventional fertilization on fruit size and yield, coupled with macro- and micro-nutrient concentration, in the leaves of four Greek R. canina genotypes. The results showed a genotype-specific response in rosehip fruit size and yield to fertilization, with the organic regime showing comparable results to the conventional fertilization. In addition, diverse patterns, depending on the element, of macro- and micro-nutrient content were measured in the leaves in both fertilization regimes, which were, however, genotype-dependent. Overall, the current study reports for the first time the potential of alternative rooting enhancers for commercial R. canina propagation coupled with the application of organic fertilization as a means of establishing a diversified cultivation protocol for underutilized R. canina germplasm. The current results can be employed to further facilitate a value chain creation for Greek rosehips as a raw material for use in the agro-alimentary and medicinal–cosmetic sectors.
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