No evidence of contemporary interploidy gene flow between the closely related European woodland violets Viola reichenbachiana and V. riviniana (sect. Viola, Violaceae).

Viola reichenbachiana (2n = 4x = 20) and V. riviniana (2n = 8x = 40) are closely related species widely distributed in Europe, often sharing the same habitat throughout their overlapping ranges. It has been suggested in numerous studies that their high intraspecific morphological variability and plasticity might have been further increased by interspecific hybridisation in contact zones, given the sympatry of the species and the incomplete sterility of their hybrid. The aims of this study were to: (i) confirm that V. reichenbachiana and V. riviniana have one 4x genome in common, and (ii) determine the impact of hybridisation and introgression on genetic variation of these two species in selected European populations. For our study, we used 31 Viola populations from four European countries, which were analysed using AFLP and sequencing of a variable plastid intergenic spacer, trnH-psbA. Our analysis revealed that V. reichenbachiana exhibited larger haplotype diversity, having three species-specific haplotypes versus one in V. riviniana. The relationships among haplotypes suggest transfer of common haplotypes into V. riviniana from both V. reichenbachiana and hypothetically the other, now extinct, parental species. AFLP analysis showed low overall genetic diversity of both species, with V. riviniana showing higher among-population diversity. None of the morphologically designated hybrid populations had additive AFLP polymorphisms that would have indicated recent hybridisation. Also, kinship coefficients between both species did not indicate gene flow. V. riviniana showed significant population subdivision and significant isolation by distance, in contrast to V. reichenbachiana. The results indicate lack of gene flow between species, high influence of selfing on genetic variability, as well as probably only localised introgression toward V. riviniana.

The extreme disjunction between Beringia and Europe in Ranunculus glacialis s. l. (Ranunculaceae) does not coincide with the deepest genetic split - a story of the importance of temperate mountain ranges in arctic-alpine phylogeography.

The arctic-alpine Ranunculus glacialis s. l. is distributed in high-mountain ranges of temperate Europe and in the North, where it displays an extreme disjunction between the North Atlantic Arctic and Beringia. Based on comprehensive sampling and employing plastid and nuclear marker systems, we (i) test whether the European/Beringian disjunction correlates with the main evolutionary diversification, (ii) reconstruct the phylogeographic history in the Arctic and in temperate mountains and (iii) assess the susceptibility of arctic and mountain populations to climate change. Both data sets revealed several well-defined lineages, mostly with a coherent geographic distribution. The deepest evolutionary split did not coincide with the European/Beringian disjunction but occurred within the Alps. The Beringian lineage and North Atlantic Arctic populations, which reached their current distribution via rapid postglacial colonization, show connections to two divergent pools of Central European populations. Thus, immigration into the Arctic probably occurred at least twice. The presence of a rare cpDNA lineage related to Beringia in the Carpathians supports the role of these mountains as a stepping stone between temperate Europe and the non-European Arctic, and as an important area of high-mountain biodiversity. The temperate and arctic ranges presented contrasting phylogeographic histories: a largely static distribution in the former and rapid latitudinal spread in the latter. The persistence of ancient lineages with a strictly regional distribution suggests that the ability of R. glacialis to survive repeated climatic changes within southern mountain ranges is greater than what recently was predicted for alpine plants from climatic envelope modelling.

How 'alpine' are nivicolous myxomycetes? A worldwide assessment of altitudinal distribution.

Nivicolous myxomycetes constitute an ecologically well defined group of organisms occurring at the edge of melting winter snow cover. They often are considered and described as alpine species, occurring exclusively or most frequently in the alpine belt. We reviewed and synthesized available published data on the altitudinal occurrences of nivicolous myxomycetes in 22 massifs worldwide and attributed the records to main altitudinal belts (montane/subalpine/alpine) defined for particular areas. Based on this comparative analysis we attempted to analyze and discuss general views on the altitudinal/biogeographical properties of nivicolous myxomycetes. Our study indicates that the altitudinal distribution of nivicolous mycomycetes extends over montane, subalpine and alpine belts. The most abundant records were found in the forest (montane) belt, while the alpine belt had the lowest number of occurrences. Although this picture might be biased to some extent by better average exploration of lower areas, it shows clearly that this ecological group-even though connected with mountainous habitats-does not form an alpine element. Therefore they should not be considered alpine species. Based on the available data it also could be hypothesized that nivicolous myxomycetes form a widely distributed biogeographical mountain element instead of an alpine or arctic-alpine element. Based on our conclusions we also emphasize the need for precise and cautious use of the notion of "alpines", which appears to be confusingly overused in the myxomycete studies.

High genetic differentiation in the alpine plant Campanula alpina Jacq. (Campanulaceae): evidence for glacial survival in several Carpathian regions and long-term isolation between the Carpathians and the Alps.

A survey of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) variation was conducted to elucidate the phylogeography of Campanula alpina, a key species of silicicolous alpine grasslands in the Carpathians with a disjunct distribution in the Eastern European Alps. The Carpathians experienced a different glacial history from the Alps: local glaciers were present only in the highest massifs, while alpine habitats extended over larger areas related to their present distribution in this region. We asked: (i) whether in the Carpathians a high-mountain plant exhibits a complex phylogeographical structure or rather signatures of recent migrations, and (ii) whether the disjunct part of the species' distribution in the Alps resulted from a recent colonization from the Carpathians or from a restricted expansion from separate Eastern Alpine refugia. Our study revealed a clear phylogeographical pattern in AFLPs supported by congruent groups of distinct cpDNA haplotypes. Highest genetic differentiation was observed between the Alps and the Carpathians, indicating a long-term isolation between populations from these two mountain ranges. Further genetic division within the Carpathians suggests that current species' distribution is composed of several groups which have been isolated from each other for a long period. One genetic break separates Western from Southeastern Carpathian material, which is in line with a classical biogeographical boundary. A further, strongly supported genetic group was identified at the southwestern edge of the Carpathian arch. In the Eastern Alps, genetic traces of glacial survival in separate refugial areas in the calcareous northern part and the siliceous central part were found.