Theory suggests that speciation is possible without physical isolation of populations (hereafter, nonallopatric speciation), but recent nonallopatric models need the support of irrefutable empirical examples. We collected snails (Littorina saxatilis) from three areas on the NW coast of Spain to investigate the population genetic structure of two ecotypes. Earlier studies suggest that these ecot...

With ongoing climate change, many plant species may not be able to adapt rapidly enough, and some conservation experts are therefore considering to translocate warm-adapted ecotypes to mitigate effects of climate warming. Although this strategy, called assisted migration, is intuitively plausible, most of the support comes from models, whereas experimental evidence is so far scarce. Here we pre...

The Galician sympatric ecotypes of Littorina saxatilis have been proposed as a model system for studying parallel ecological speciation. Such a model system makes a clear prediction: candidate loci (for divergent adaptation) should present a higher level of geographical differentiation than noncandidate (neutral) loci. We used 2356 amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) and four micros...

Evolutionary theory predicts that differential reproductive effort and rate of reproductive senescence will evolve under different rates of external mortality. We examine the evolutionary divergence of age-specific reproduction in two life-history ecotypes of the western terrestrial garter snake, Thamnophis elegans. We test for the signature of reproductive senescence (decreasing fecundity with...

Genetic diversity of 12 lemon balm ecotypes was evaluated using agronomic traits as well as ISSR and RAPD markers. Results of analysis of variance showed high diversity among the studied ecotypes. Cluster analysis using UPGMA method grouped the ecotypes into three different groups based on the agronomic traits. Twelve ISSR primers created 106 polymorphic bands among the studied ecotypes. An ISS...

Phytochemical constituents, such as total phenol, allicin and pyrovic acid as well as antioxidant activity of thirteen ecotypes of Allium hirtifolium Boiss. from different regions of Iran were evaluated. Average contents of total phenol, allicin and pyrovic acid of bulbs extracts per g fresh weight were 0.647 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE), 2.127 mg and 84.412 µmol, respectively and antioxidan...

Iron (Fe) is an essential mineral micronutrient for plants and animals. Plants respond to Fe deficiency by increasing root uptake capacity. Identification of gene networks for Fe uptake and homeostasis could result in improved crop growth and nutritional value. Previous studies have used microarrays to identify a large number of genes regulated by Fe deficiency in roots of three Arabidopsis eco...

Coexistence of ecotypes, genetically divergent population units, is a widespread phenomenon, potentially affecting ecosystem functioning and local food web stability. In coastal Skagerrak, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) occur as two such coexisting ecotypes. We applied combination acoustic telemetry, genotyping, stable isotope analysis to 72 individuals investigate movement ecology niche putative ...

Magnaporthe oryzae is a hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen that causes rice (Oryza sativa) blast. Although M. oryzae as a whole infects a wide variety of monocotyledonous hosts, no dicotyledonous plant has been reported as a host. We found that two rice pathogenic strains of M. oryzae, KJ201 and 70-15, interacted differentially with 16 ecotypes of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Strain KJ201 in...