Allium sulaimanicum: A new Allium species and section from Pakistan.

A new species, Allium sulaimanicum, is described from northern Balochistan and southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan based on morphological, molecular, and cytological studies. The new species is characterised by long runner-like cylindrical rhizomes of adult plants, cylindrical bulbs, linear leaves with minute soft hairs along veins, campanulate perigonium, and white to creamy white, ovate to elliptical, 4.5-5-mm-long acute tepals, with brownish to purplish nerves, stamens as long as to slightly longer than tepals, yellow to brick red anthers, hexagonal ovary, and white and papillate/warty along angles. The presence of long herbaceous rhizomes indicated serious isolation of the new species; hence, a new section Sulaimanicum is proposed to accommodate the new species. The new species is diploid with a chromosome number of 2n = 16. Detailed morphological description, illustrations, phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of plastid spacers (rpl32-trnL (UAG) and trnQ-rps16) and nuclear ITS, karyotype features, and a distribution map of the new species are provided.

Phylogenetic analysis of Allium subg. Melanocrommyum infers cryptic species and demands a new sectional classification.

Allium subgenus Melanocrommyum (Alliaceae) from Eurasia comprises about 150 mostly diploid species adapted to arid conditions. The group is taxonomically complicated with different and contradictory taxonomic treatments, and was thought to include a considerable number of hybrid species, as the taxa show an admixture of assumed morphological key characters. We studied the phylogeny of the subgenus, covering all existing taxonomic groups and their entire geographic distribution. We analyzed sequences of the nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) for multiple individuals of more than 100 species. Phylogenetic analyses of cloned and directly sequenced PCR products confirmed the monophyly of the subgenus, while most sections were either para- or polyphyletic. The splits of the large sections are supported by differences in the anatomy of flower nectaries. ITS data (i) demand a new treatment at sectional level, (ii) do not support the hypotheses of frequent gene flow among species, (iii) indicate that multiple rapid radiations occurred within different monophyletic groups of the subgenus, and (iv) detected separately evolving lineages within three morphologically clearly defined species (cryptic species). In two cases these lineages were close relatives, while in Allium darwasicum they fall in quite different clades in the phylogenetic tree. Fingerprint markers show that this result is not due to ongoing introgression of rDNA (ITS capture) but that genome-wide differences between both lineages exist. Thus, we report one of the rare cases in plants where morphologically indistinguishable diploid species occurring in mixed populations are non-sister cryptic species.

Occurrence and taxonomic significance of cysteine sulphoxides in the genus Allium L. (Alliaceae).

Methiin was present in all investigated samples. In the genus Allium, methiin-dominated species (rarely used by man) were common, but the occurrence of the other cysteine sulphoxides was variable and was largely correlated with use as spices or vegetables. Two major chemical types (named according to the species where they occur) could be distinguished, and at least two more may be recognized. Isoalliin dominates in the widely used "onion-type", which includes chive (A. schoenoprasum) and top onion (A.xproliferum). Pearl onion and leek (A. ampeloprasum) have higher relative amounts of methiin and propiin, respectively. Alliin dominates in the widely used "garlic-type", which includes wild leek (A. obliquum) and sand leek (A. scorodoprasum). Alliin and isoalliin rarely co-dominate, being only found in the cultivated Chinese leek (A. tuberosum). A triple mix of almost equal amounts of methiin, alliin and isoalliin is present in ramson (A. ursinum). General trends in the three evolutionary lines of the genus Allium were apparent. In the first lineage, high amounts of methiin were more frequent, and propiin, although being a minor component in all three evolutionary lines, was present in the highest amounts. Most of the species in the second line showed only traces of cysteine sulphoxides. In the third line, the "onion-type" dominates, the "garlic type" is characteristic for subgenus Allium, and co-dominating alliin and isoalliin also occur. Generally, the total cysteine sulphoxide amount increased, and the complexity of cysteine sulphoxide patterns decreased in the transition from the first to the third evolutionary line.

Allium species from Central and Southwest Asia are rich sources of marasmin.

Marasmin, which is especially known from the two South African species Tulbaghia alliacea and Tulbaghia violacea , but was also described for the garlic mushroom Marasmius alliaceus , is the precursor of the thiosulfinate marasmicin. Marasmicin has attracted considerable attention because of its antifungal and tuberculostatic activities. However, many Allium species of the subgenus Melanocrommyum, especially Allium suworowii , are also very rich in marasmin. A. suworowii revealed concentrations of marasmin up to 1.6%, related to the fresh weight of bulbs, and up to 3.0%, related to air-dried fruiting bodies, of the corresponding γ-glutamylmarsmin was found in M. alliaceus. Both species show much higher amounts of marasmin as Tulbaghia and could be considered as natural sources for the isolation of this compound. Further promising Allium species with considerable amounts of marasmin besides other cysteine sulfoxides are Allium stipitatum and Allium altissimum . (R(S),R(C))-Marasmin is typical for the investigated species of the subgenus Melanocrommyum, whereas γ-glutamyl-(S(S),R(C))-marasmin is the only cysteine sulfoxide for the genus Marasmius known until now. Both cysteine sulfoxides were isolated and described as o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) derivatives. Furthermore, the cysteine sulfoxides methiin, propiin, S-(2-pyrrolyl)-cysteine sulfoxide, eventually S-(2-pyridyl)-cysteine sulfoxide and S-(2-pyridyl)-L-cysteine N-oxide were found.

Wild Allium species (Alliaceae) used in folk medicine of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

BACKGROUND: Hitherto available sources from literature mentioned several wild growing Allium species as "edible" or "medicinally used" but without any further specification. METHODS: New data were gained during recent research missions: Allium plants were collected and shown to the local population which was asked for names and usage of these plants. RESULTS: Information was collected about current medical applications of sixteen wild species, nine of which belong to different sections of Allium subgenus Melanocrommyum. These plants are used against headache, cold, and stomach problems, and are mostly applied fresh or after boiling. CONCLUSION: Close taxonomic relatives of the common onion were used similar to cultivated onion species, but medical use like garlic was mostly reported for species taxonomically not related to garlic.

Analysis of molecular data of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. (Brassicaceae) with Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

A Geographical Information System (GIS) is used to analyse allelic information of 13 sequenced loci of natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana and to identify geographical structures. GIS provides tools for visualization and analysis of geographical population structures using molecular data. The geographical distribution of the number of variable positions in the alignments, the distribution of recombinant sequence blocks, and the distribution of a newly defined measure, the differentiation index, are studied. The differentiation index is introduced to measure the sequence divergence among individual plants sampled from various geographical localities. The numbers of variable positions and the differentiation index are also used for a metadata analysis covering about 26 kb of the genome. This analysis reveals, for the first time, differences in DNA sequence structures of geographically different populations of A. thaliana. The broadly defined west Mediterranean region consists of accessions with the highest numbers of polymorphic positions followed by the west European region. The GIS technology Kriging is used to define Arabidopsis specific diversity zones in Europe. The highest genetic variability is observed along the Atlantic coast from the western Iberian Peninsula to southern Great Britain, while lowest variability is found in central Europe.