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Plant Speciation in Mediterranean-Climate Regions
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Plant Speciation in Mediterranean-Climate Regions

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Development and Morphogenesis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 3693

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Josep A. Rosselló

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Botanical Garden, University of Valencia, C/Quart 80, E-46008 Valencia, Spain
Interests: rDNA; 5S rDNA; interstitial telomeric repats; molecular evolution; molecular cytogenetics; rbcL evolution; plant hybridization; polyploidy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The five biogeographical regions with a Mediterranean climate (Australia, California, Cape region, Chile, Mediterranean Basin) have attracted a significant amount of attention for their plant richness and endemicity. The diversity of their past and current ecosystems, their complex paleogeography and paleogeological events, the incidence of climate change and fires, and the long history of human settlements are determinant factors for the plant diversity in these regions. These hot spots of biodiversity have a high number of rare and locally endemic taxa that survive as small populations, many of which are threatened by habitat transformation. Many data on Mediterranean plants exist that cover different aspects relating to plant evolution, including diversity and phylogeography. However, patterns and determinants of local and regional plant speciation in all five regions need to be understood to gain important insights into the result of differential speciation and extinction rates. This Special Issue of Plants will highlight the patterns of diversification and speciation in land plants (bryophytes, lycophytes, pteridophytes, spermatophytes) with a focus on speciation in islands, ecological factors in speciation, speciation models, and comparisons among the Mediterranean areas of the world.

Dr. Josep A. Rosselló
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. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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

  • diversification rates
  • endemism
  • phylogeny
  • speciation in islands
  • edaphic speciation
  • hybridization
  • polyploidy

Published Papers (2 papers)

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17 pages, 4116 KiB  
Article
Eco-Geography and Phenology Are the Major Drivers of Reproductive Isolation in the Royal Irises, a Species Complex in the Course of Speciation
by Inna Osmolovsky, Mariana Shifrin, Inbal Gamliel, Jonathan Belmaker and Yuval Sapir
Plants 2022, 11(23), 3306; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11233306 - 29 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1765
Abstract
The continuous nature of speciation implies that different species are found at different stages of divergence, from no- to complete reproductive isolation. This process and its underlying mechanisms are best viewed in incipient species. Moreover, the species complex can offer unique insight into [...] Read more.
The continuous nature of speciation implies that different species are found at different stages of divergence, from no- to complete reproductive isolation. This process and its underlying mechanisms are best viewed in incipient species. Moreover, the species complex can offer unique insight into how reproductive isolation (RI) has evolved. The royal irises (Iris section Oncocyclus) are a young group of species in the course of speciation, providing an ideal system for speciation study. We quantified pre- and post-zygotic reproductive barriers between the eight Israeli species of this complex and estimated the total RI among them. We tested for both pre-pollination and post-pollination reproductive barriers. Pre-pollination barriers, i.e., eco-geographic divergence and phenological differentiation were the major contributors to RI among the Iris species. On the other hand, post-pollination barriers, namely pollen–stigma interactions, fruit set, and seed viability had negligible contributions to total RI. The strength of RI was not uniform across the species complex, suggesting that species may have diverged at different rates. Overall, this study in a young, recently diverged group of species provides insight into the first steps of speciation, suggesting a crucial role of the pre-zygotic barriers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Speciation in Mediterranean-Climate Regions)
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9 pages, 2194 KiB  
Perspective
Ocbil Theory as a Potential Unifying Framework for Investigating Narrow Endemism in Mediterranean Climate Regions
by Stephen D. Hopper
Plants 2023, 12(3), 645; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12030645 - 1 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1400
Abstract
OCBIL theory addresses the ecology, evolution, and conservation of biodiversity and cultural diversity on old climatically buffered infertile landscapes, which are especially prominent in southwest Australia and the Greater Cape Region of South Africa. Here, as a contribution to general theory on endemism, [...] Read more.
OCBIL theory addresses the ecology, evolution, and conservation of biodiversity and cultural diversity on old climatically buffered infertile landscapes, which are especially prominent in southwest Australia and the Greater Cape Region of South Africa. Here, as a contribution to general theory on endemism, a few case studies are briefly discussed to ascertain the relevance of hypotheses in OCBIL theory to understanding narrow endemism in Mediterranean climate regions. Two new conservation management hypotheses are also introduced—minimising disturbance of OCBILS and conserving cross-culturally to achieve best outcomes. Case studies of endemics in southwest Australia (e.g., Eucalyptus caesia, Anigozanthos, Cephalotaceae, Daspypogonaceae) and South Africa (Moraea, Conophytum) and more limited evidence for the Mediterranean Region conform to OCBIL theory predictions. Narrow endemics, concentrated in OCBILs, have diverse origins that embrace major hypotheses of OCBIL theory such as prolonged persistence and diversification in refugia, limited dispersal, coping with inbreeding in small disjunct population systems (the James Effect), special adaptations to nutrient-deficient soils, and special vulnerabilities (e.g., to soil disturbance and removal). Minimising disturbance to OCBILs is recommended as the primary conservation strategy. OCBIL theory has a potentially significant role to play in advancing understanding of narrow endemism of plants in Mediterranean climate regions and elsewhere. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Speciation in Mediterranean-Climate Regions)
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