Amanita Section Phalloideae Species in the Mediterranean Basin: Destroying Angels Reviewed.

In Europe, amatoxin-containing mushrooms are responsible for most of the deadly poisonings caused by macrofungi. The present work presents a multidisciplinary revision of the European species of Amanita sect. Phalloideae based on morphology, phylogeny, epidemiology, and biochemistry of amatoxins and phallotoxins. Five distinct species of this section have been identified in Europe to date: A. phalloides, A. virosa, A. verna, the recently introduced North American species A. amerivirosa, and A. vidua sp. nov., which is a new name proposed for the KOH-negative Mediterranean species previously described as A. verna or A. decipiens by various authors. Epitypes or neotypes are selected for species lacking suitable reference collections, namely A. verna and A. virosa. Three additional taxa, Amanita decipiens, A. porrinensis, and A. virosa var. levipes are here considered later heterotypic synonyms of A. verna, A. phalloides, and A. amerivirosa, respectively.

Genome Size Evolution and Dynamics in Iris, with Special Focus on the Section Oncocyclus.

Insights into genome size dynamics and its evolutionary impact remain limited by the lack of data for many plant groups. One of these is the genus Iris, of which only 53 out of c. 260 species have available genome sizes. In this study, we estimated the C-values for 41 species and subspecies of Iris mainly from the Eastern Mediterranean region. We constructed a phylogenetic framework to shed light on the distribution of genome sizes across subgenera and sections of Iris. Finally, we tested evolutionary models to explore the mode and tempo of genome size evolution during the radiation of section Oncocyclus. Iris as a whole displayed a great variety of C-values; however, they were unequally distributed across the subgenera and sections, suggesting that lineage-specific patterns of genome size diversification have taken place within the genus. The evolutionary model that best fitted our data was the speciational model, as changes in genome size appeared to be mainly associated with speciation events. These results suggest that genome size dynamics may have contributed to the radiation of Oncocyclus irises. In addition, our phylogenetic analysis provided evidence that supports the segregation of the Lebanese population currently attributed to Iris persica as a distinct species.

Mapping Post-Glacial expansions: The Peopling of Southwest Asia.

Archaeological, palaeontological and geological evidence shows that post-glacial warming released human populations from their various climate-bound refugia. Yet specific connections between these refugia and the timing and routes of post-glacial migrations that ultimately established modern patterns of genetic variation remain elusive. Here, we use Y-chromosome markers combined with autosomal data to reconstruct population expansions from regional refugia in Southwest Asia. Populations from three regions in particular possess distinctive autosomal genetic signatures indicative of likely refugia: one, in the north, centered around the eastern coast of the Black Sea, the second, with a more Levantine focus, and the third in the southern Arabian Peninsula. Modern populations from these three regions carry the widest diversity and may indeed represent the most likely descendants of the populations responsible for the Neolithic cultures of Southwest Asia. We reveal the distinct and datable expansion routes of populations from these three refugia throughout Southwest Asia and into Europe and North Africa and discuss the possible correlations of these migrations to various cultural and climatic events evident in the archaeological record of the past 15,000 years.