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Diversity
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Taxonomy, Diversity and Evolution of Bryophytes
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Taxonomy, Diversity and Evolution of Bryophytes

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Phylogeny and Evolution".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 13042

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Jakub Sawicki

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Botany and Nature Protection, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 1, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland
Interests: phylogeny of bryophytes; population genetics; NGS application; bioinformatics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Diversity is launching a Special Issue dedicated to “Taxonomy, Diversity, and Evolution of Bryophytes”

Bryophytes, a type of early land plant, are one of the least scientifically explored groups of organisms. The phenotypic plasticity, influenced by the environmental and genetic factors, make bryophytes a challenging group for taxonomists. An integrative taxonomy approach leads to the description of new genera and species of bryophytes with wide distribution ranges, suggesting that the global diversity of these plants is still underestimated. On the other hand, many endemic species with a narrow ecological range are close to extinction, driven by anthropogenic or natural factors, introducing new challenges in the active protection of these species.  In this Special Issue, the taxonomy, diversity, and evolution of bryophytes are documented, along with novel genetic resources, such as organellar genomes, transcriptomes and barcoding datasets. 

Pure taxonomic papers will be processed in the new journal Taxonomy (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/taxonomy). Studies including taxonomy but providing answers to biogeographical or ecological/conservation questions will be considered for Diversity.

Prof. Jakub Sawicki
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Taxonomy of bryophytes
  • evolution
  • diversity
  • morphological and molecular delimitation
  • conservation biology

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2742 KiB  
Article
Comparative Analysis of Apopellia endiviifolia Plastomes Reveals a Strikingly High Level of Differentiation between Its Terrestrial and Water Form
by Jakub Sawicki, Katarzyna Krawczyk, Monika Ślipiko, Kamil Szandar and Monika Szczecińska
Diversity 2021, 13(12), 674; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13120674 - 16 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2013
Abstract
The simple thalloid liverwort Apopellia endiviifolia is a widespread Holarctic species belonging to the family Pelliaceae. European populations of this species comprise two distinct evolutionary lineages named “species A”, known also as water form, and typical, mainly terrestrial forms named “species B”. Newly [...] Read more.
The simple thalloid liverwort Apopellia endiviifolia is a widespread Holarctic species belonging to the family Pelliaceae. European populations of this species comprise two distinct evolutionary lineages named “species A”, known also as water form, and typical, mainly terrestrial forms named “species B”. Newly sequenced, assembled and annotated chloroplast genomes of six European specimens belonging to the two cryptic lineages occupying different microhabitats, revealed the structure typical for liverworts and previously sequenced reference. The plastomes of A. endiviifolia are 120,537–120,947 bp long with a structure typical for most plants, including a pair of IR regions (each of 9,092–9,207 bp) separated by LSC (82,506–82,609 bp) and SSC (19,854–19,924 bp) regions and consist of 121 unique genes, including 81 protein-coding genes, 6 genes of unknown function (ycf genes), 4 ribosomal RNAs and 30 transfer RNAs. Comparative analysis of typical, terrestrial and water forms revealed 4971 molecular diagnostic characters (MDCs), which exceeds numbers found in many well recognized liverworts taxa. Moreover, beside the presence of evolutionary hotspots like ycf1 and ycf2 genes and several intergenic spacer like ndhB-psbM, rps4-ndhJ and ndhC-atpE, the molecular identification of Apopellia cryptic species was possible by almost 98% of 500 bp long frames simulating mini barcodes. The different ecological niches can be driven by different pressures of positive selection, which was detected in nine genes including ccsA, ndhD, ndhF, petA, psbB, psbC, rpoB, ycf1 and ycf2. Despite clearly genetic differences and ecological preferences, the current observation of morphological differentiation does not no allow to separate terrestrial and water forms into taxonomic species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Diversity and Evolution of Bryophytes)
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12 pages, 2882 KiB  
Article
Seasonal Changes in the Photosynthetic Activity of Terrestrial Lichens and Mosses in the Lichen Scots Pine Forest Habitat
by Michał H. Węgrzyn, Patrycja Fałowska, Karima Alzayany, Karolina Waszkiewicz, Patrycja Dziurowicz and Paulina Wietrzyk-Pełka
Diversity 2021, 13(12), 642; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13120642 - 03 Dec 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2477
Abstract
Photosynthetic activity is one of the most important metabolic processes that can be quickly and easily studied in the field. It can be used for identifying the environmental factors affecting ecosystem balance, as any stressor influencing metabolic and physiological processes will have a [...] Read more.
Photosynthetic activity is one of the most important metabolic processes that can be quickly and easily studied in the field. It can be used for identifying the environmental factors affecting ecosystem balance, as any stressor influencing metabolic and physiological processes will have a measurable effect on photosynthesis. The aim of this study was to measure the photosynthetic activity of selected lichens and mosses and investigate its changes resulted from diurnal and seasonal variability. We studied two lichens (Cladonia mitis Sandst and Cladonia uncialis (L.) Weber ex F.H. Wigg.) and two mosses (Pleurozium schreberi (Willd. ex Brid.) Mitt. and Dicranum scoparium (L.) Hedw.). Samples were collected in the area of lichen Scots pine forest of the “Bory Tucholskie” National Park. Our study revealed that the photosynthetic activity of cryptogams depended on species, season, time of the day, and water availability. Cladonia species, which are the main component of lichen Scots pine forests, have higher photosynthetic activity than Pleurozium schreberi, which represents species of fresh coniferous forests. Photosynthetic activity increased from spring through summer and reached the highest values in autumn. It was also higher in soaked samples collected in the morning and afternoon compared to noon. Despite the water access, noon samples still showed the lowest activity. This can result from natural changes in humidity during the day to which cryptogams are well-adapted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Diversity and Evolution of Bryophytes)
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18 pages, 4655 KiB  
Article
The Placenta of Physcomitrium patens: Transfer Cell Wall Polymers Compared across the Three Bryophyte Groups
by Jason S. Henry and Karen S. Renzaglia
Diversity 2021, 13(8), 378; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13080378 - 15 Aug 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2679
Abstract
Following similar studies of cell wall constituents in the placenta of Phaeoceros and Marchantia, we conducted immunogold labeling TEM studies of Physcomitrium patens to determine the composition of cell wall polymers in transfer cells on both sides of the placenta. Sixteen monoclonal [...] Read more.
Following similar studies of cell wall constituents in the placenta of Phaeoceros and Marchantia, we conducted immunogold labeling TEM studies of Physcomitrium patens to determine the composition of cell wall polymers in transfer cells on both sides of the placenta. Sixteen monoclonal antibodies were used to localize cell wall epitopes in the basal walls and wall ingrowths in this moss. In general, placental transfer cell walls of P. patens contained fewer pectins and far fewer arabinogalactan proteins AGPs than those of the hornwort and liverwort. P. patens also lacked the differential labeling that is pronounced between generations in the other bryophytes. In contrast, transfer cell walls on either side of the placenta of P. patens were relatively similar in composition, with slight variation in homogalacturonan HG pectins. Compositional similarities between wall ingrowths and primary cell walls in P. patens suggest that wall ingrowths may simply be extensions of the primary cell wall. Considerable variability in occurrence, abundance, and types of polymers among the three bryophytes and between the two generations suggested that similarity in function and morphology of cell walls does not require a common cell wall composition. We propose that the specific developmental and life history traits of these plants may provide even more important clues in understanding the basis for these differences. This study significantly builds on our knowledge of cell wall composition in bryophytes in general and in transfer cells across plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Diversity and Evolution of Bryophytes)
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10 pages, 2325 KiB  
Article
Sequencing of Organellar Genomes of Nowellia curvifolia (Cephaloziaceae Jungermanniales) Revealed the Smallest Plastome with Complete Gene Set and High Intraspecific Variation Suggesting Cryptic Speciation
by Jakub Sawicki, Katarzyna Krawczyk, Monika Ślipiko and Monika Szczecińska
Diversity 2021, 13(2), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13020081 - 15 Feb 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2092
Abstract
The leafy liverwort Nowellia curvifolia is a widespread Holarctic species belonging to the family Cephaloziaceae. It is made up of a newly sequenced, assembled and annotated organellar genomes of two European specimens, which revealed the structure typical for liverworts, but also provided new [...] Read more.
The leafy liverwort Nowellia curvifolia is a widespread Holarctic species belonging to the family Cephaloziaceae. It is made up of a newly sequenced, assembled and annotated organellar genomes of two European specimens, which revealed the structure typical for liverworts, but also provided new insights into its microevolution. The plastome of N. curvifolia is the second smallest among photosynthetic liverworts, with the shortest known inverted repeats. Moreover, it is the smallest liverwort genome with a complete gene set, since two smaller genomes of Aneura mirabilis and Cololejeunea lanciloba are missing six and four protein-coding genes respectively. The reduction of plastome size in leafy liverworts seems to be mainly impacted by deletion within specific region between psbA and psbD genes. The comparative intraspecific analysis revealed single SNPs difference among European individuals and a low number of 35 mutations differentiating European and North American specimens. However, the genetic resources of Asian specimen enabled to identify 1335 SNPs in plastic protein-coding genes suggesting an advanced cryptic speciation within N. curvifolia or the presence of undescribed morphospecies in Asia. Newly sequenced mitogenomes from European specimens revealed identical gene content and structure to previously published and low intercontinental differentiation limited to one substitution and three indels. The RNA-seq based RNA editing analysis revealed 17 and 127 edited sites in plastome and mitogenome respectively including one non-canonical editing event in plastid chiL gene. The U to C editing is common in non-seed plants, but in liverwort plastome is reported for the first time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Diversity and Evolution of Bryophytes)
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13 pages, 2074 KiB  
Article
The Mitochondrial Genome of Nematodontous Moss Polytrichum commune and Analysis of Intergenic Repeats Distribution Among Bryophyta
by Denis V. Goryunov, Evgeniia A. Sotnikova, Svetlana V. Goryunova, Oxana I. Kuznetsova, Maria D. Logacheva, Irina A. Milyutina, Alina V. Fedorova, Vladimir E. Fedosov and Aleksey V. Troitsky
Diversity 2021, 13(2), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13020054 - 01 Feb 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2646
Abstract
An early-branched moss Polytrichum commune is a widely accepted model object for ecological, environmental, physiological, and genetic studies. Its mitochondrial genome has been sequenced and annotated. The genome contains 67 genes in total and has a length equal to 114,831 bp, which exceeds [...] Read more.
An early-branched moss Polytrichum commune is a widely accepted model object for ecological, environmental, physiological, and genetic studies. Its mitochondrial genome has been sequenced and annotated. The genome contains 67 genes in total and has a length equal to 114,831 bp, which exceeds the length of most known mitochondrial genomes for mosses. A phylogenetic tree based on 33 coding sequences of mitochondrial genome was constructed, and the pairwise identity of whole mitogenome sequences was estimated for 44 Bryophyta species. Based on the analysis of pairwise identity, it was shown that mitogenomes of Tetraphis pellucida and Buxbaumia aphylla sufficiently differ from those of other Bryophyta species. The first known Bryophyta mitogenome rearrangement was identified in Pogonatum inflexum within Polytrichopsida. Based on the intergenic repeats occurrence in 44 bryophyte mitochondrial genomes and available data on repetitive elements content in other Viridiplantae groups, it was noted for the first time that greater stability of the moss’s mitogenomes is probably associated mainly with the absence of long (>1 kb) repeats. The phenomenon of absence of the intergenic repetitive elements in the terminal clades species was discovered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Diversity and Evolution of Bryophytes)
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