High molecular diversity in the true service tree (Sorbus domestica) despite rareness: data from Europe with special reference to the Austrian occurrence.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sorbus domestica (Rosaceae) is one of the rarest deciduous tree species in Europe and is characterized by a scattered distribution. To date, no large-scale geographic studies on population genetics have been carried out. Therefore, the aims of this study were to infer levels of molecular diversity across the major part of the European distribution of S. domestica and to determine its population differentiation and structure. In addition, spatial genetic structure was examined together with the patterns of historic and recent gene flow between two adjacent populations. METHODS: Leaf or cambium samples were collected from 17 populations covering major parts of the European native range from north-west France to south-east Bulgaria. Seven nuclear microsatellites and one chloroplast minisatellite were examined and analysed using a variety of methods. KEY RESULTS: Allelic richness was unexpectedly high for both markers within populations (mean per locus: 3·868 for nSSR and 1·647 for chloroplast minisatellite). Moreover, there was no evidence of inbreeding (mean Fis = -0·047). The Italian Peninsula was characterized as a geographic region with comparatively high genetic diversity for both genomes. Overall population differentiation was moderate (FST = 0·138) and it was clear that populations formed three groups in Europe, namely France, Mediterranean/Balkan and Austria. Historic gene flow between two local Austrian populations was high and asymmetric, while recent gene flow seemed to be disrupted. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that molecular mechanisms such as self-incompatibility and high gene flow distances are responsible for the observed level of allelic richness as well as for population differentiation. However, human influence could have contributed to the present genetic pattern, especially in the Mediterranean region. Comparison of historic and recent gene flow may mirror the progress of habitat fragmentation in eastern Austria.

Nutrient Constituents, Bioactive Phytochemicals, and Antioxidant Properties of Service Tree (Sorbus domestica L.) Fruits.

The current study aimed to determine the major and minor nutritional constituents of Sorbus domestica L. fruits. It was revealed that palmitic acid was the most commonly occurring saturated fatty acid, while linoleic acid represented the major polyunsaturated fatty acid. The sterol fraction consisted mainly of ß-sitosterol. Small amounts of lipophilic pigments were quantified. Potassium, iron, and boron were the most abundant macro-, micro-, and ultra-trace elements. The amino acid composition analysis suggested that the non-essential amino acids predominated over the essential ones. Soluble sugars (fructose and glucose) represented a large part of the total carbohydrate content, but pectin formed the major part of polysaccharides. Malic acid was the most abundant organic acid whereas quercetin-3-ß-glucoside, neochlorogenic, and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acids were the major phenolic constituents. Fruits exhibited free-radical scavenging and protecting ability against peroxyl and hydroxyl radicals. Service tree fruits provided valuable bioactive constituents having a high nutritional value and potential health benefits.

Phytochemical, nutritional and antioxidant characteristics of whitebeam (Sorbus aria) fruits.

BACKGROUND: Common whitebeam, Sorbus aria (L.) Crantz is an European and Near-Eastern deciduous tree with small red fruits. However, the edible use of this forest fruit is currently not widespread. Also, its nutritional and antioxidative properties remained undiscovered. In this study, the chemical composition and antioxidant properties of common whitebeam fruit were investigated. METHODS: The fruit were collected from Golo Bardo Mountain in Bulgaria. The phytochemical (carotenoids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids), nutritional (moisture, ash, titrable acidity, lipids, proteins, pectin, carbohydrates) and antioxidant activity were evaluated by four assays (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and CUPRAC). RESULTS: Sugar analysis demonstrated that only fructose and glucose were detected in the fruit. Pectin content did not exceed 1.30%. Moreover, the fruit had a low lipid content (0.80%). The whitebeam fruit were also characterized as a source of carotenoids (1.69 mg/100 g fresh weight, fw), phenolic compounds (32.42 mg GAE/100 g fw), and flavonoids (20.08 mg QE/100 g fw). Among phenolic acids, only 2,4-dihydrohybenzoic, caffeic, p-coumaric, and sinapic acid were detected. The antioxidant potential of the fruit was from 168.52 mM TE/100 g fw (FRAP) to 244.81 mM TE/100 g fw (CUPRAC assay). CONCLUSIONS: The current research enriched the available information about the nutritional potential and chemical composition of common whitebeam fruit and their low sugar content. The absence of sucrose, together with its high phenolic content, demonstrated the potential of this fruit for future application in food products and supplements.

Genus Sideritis, section Empedoclia in southeastern Europe and Turkey - studies in ethnopharmacology and recent progress of biological activities.

BACKGROUND: Over the last two decades there has been a substantial increase of the number of studies on the species of genus Sideritis. Species of section Empedoclia, occurring in the Eastern Mediterranean region and in part of Western Asia possess some remarkable characteristics and are known as valuable medicinal plants used by local people in the traditional medicine and for herbal tea. The objective of the review is to make a survey on the recent studies on the ethnopharmacology and biological activity of the species in Southeastern Europe and in Turkey, which is the center of distribution and their main occurrence. MAIN BODY: The review focuses on the ethnopharmacology and biological activities of the species of interest. The survey revealed that a total of 47 species belonging to section Empedoclia have been studied either in ethnopharmacological aspect, or in relation to their biological activities, or both. Most species have been used traditionally by the local people as herbal tea or for treatment of various health problems, most frequently flu, cold and respiratory diseases. Sideritis species demonstrate numerous biological activities and are promising for use in the therapy of many diseases and health disorders. Antioxidant activity was found in 40 species, antimicrobial and antibacterial activity - in 27 species, anti-inflammatory - in 14 species, antifungal - in 8 species, cytotoxic - in 7 species. There were also some other, more specific biological activities, found in a few species, but considered promising for further studies and application. SHORT CONCLUSION: The species of genus Sideritis, section Empedoclia have been used by local people as herbal tea and in traditional medicine since long time ago. People are taking advantage of the high species diversity and are aware of their useful properties. Much more information is available on the biological activities of the target species than on their traditional uses. Most species demonstrate various biological activities and are of substantial interest for further studies on their pharmacological properties and their potential for pharmacy and medicine. Graphical abstract Schematic illustration of traditional uses and biological activities of some Sideritis species. Arrows with different colors represent biological activities of different species. The species and their corresponding color can be seen at the right part of the figure. The colors correspond also to the squares placed in the different parts of human body.

Unique postglacial evolution of the hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) in the Carpathians and the Balkan Peninsula revealed by chloroplast DNA.

The Balkan Peninsula is one of the largest and most important European glacial refugia. However, the evolutionary history and phylogeographic pattern of temperate tree species that survived in the Balkans glacial refugia and their contribution to the genetic structure of the current population in the Carpathian Mountains remains poorly understood. Using polymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), and extensive population sampling, we explored the phylogeographic pattern of Carpinus betulus in both the Balkan Peninsula and the Carpathian region. We aimed to determine the locations of potential glacial refugia, in order to delineate post-glacial colonization routes, and also to test if northern cryptic refugia had persisted during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our results provide strong support for the existence of multiple refugia similar to the 'refugia-within-refugia' scenario, which would suggest that Carpinus betulus has experienced a complex evolutionary history. In agreement with pollen data, our findings corroborate with previous hypotheses suggesting that hornbeam has a distinct postglacial evolution in the southeast of Europe (Carpathians and Balkan Peninsula) compared with that in Western Europe. Three postglacial re-colonization routes, from three distinct effective glacial refugia: (1) the Dinaric Alps; (2) the Pirin and Rhodope Mountains and (3) the Strandzha Mountains, were detected within the Balkan Peninsula. The pattern of cpDNA haplotypes distribution across the Ukrainian Carpathians revealed a "suture zone", which is a consequence of contact due to postglacial re-colonization between hornbeam populations originating from all three effective glacial refugia. The peculiar haplotype geographical structure found in C. betulus and the identified multiple glacial refugia in the Balkans may have direct consequences in the management and conservation of hornbeam forest genetic resources.

Local Adaptation in European Firs Assessed through Extensive Sampling across Altitudinal Gradients in Southern Europe.

BACKGROUND: Local adaptation is a key driver of phenotypic and genetic divergence at loci responsible for adaptive traits variations in forest tree populations. Its experimental assessment requires rigorous sampling strategies such as those involving population pairs replicated across broad spatial scales. METHODS: A hierarchical Bayesian model of selection (HBM) that explicitly considers both the replication of the environmental contrast and the hierarchical genetic structure among replicated study sites is introduced. Its power was assessed through simulations and compared to classical 'within-site' approaches (FDIST, BAYESCAN) and a simplified, within-site, version of the model introduced here (SBM). RESULTS: HBM demonstrates that hierarchical approaches are very powerful to detect replicated patterns of adaptive divergence with low false-discovery (FDR) and false-non-discovery (FNR) rates compared to the analysis of different sites separately through within-site approaches. The hypothesis of local adaptation to altitude was further addressed by analyzing replicated Abies alba population pairs (low and high elevations) across the species' southern distribution range, where the effects of climatic selection are expected to be the strongest. For comparison, a single population pair from the closely related species A. cephalonica was also analyzed. The hierarchical model did not detect any pattern of adaptive divergence to altitude replicated in the different study sites. Instead, idiosyncratic patterns of local adaptation among sites were detected by within-site approaches. CONCLUSION: Hierarchical approaches may miss idiosyncratic patterns of adaptation among sites, and we strongly recommend the use of both hierarchical (multi-site) and classical (within-site) approaches when addressing the question of adaptation across broad spatial scales.

Morphometric studies of Sideritis scardica Grsb. and S. syriaca L. in their natural populations in Bulgaria / Estudios morfométricos de Sideritis scardica Grsb. y S. syriaca L. en sus poblaciones naturales en Bulgaria

The paper aimed at studying the morphometric variation in eight natural populations of two rare Sideritis species occurring in Bulgaria. Thirteen measured traits and four ratios were used to reveal the degree and distribution of variation. Most traits exhibited moderate to high variation and the most differentiating one was the length of the acumen. Cluster analysis and Principal component analysis revealed that the two taxa, S. scardica and S. syriaca are well distinguished but the population Chervenata stena, classified as S. scardica differed significantly from the remaining ones of the same species. Results of the morphometric study indicate the necessity of further studies for revealing the taxonomic relationships among the taxa.

El manuscrito tenía como objetivo estudiar la variación morfométrica en ocho poblaciones naturales de dos especies raras de Sideritis que crecen en Bulgaria. Se utilizaron trece rasgos medidos y cuatro relaciones para revelar el grado y la distribución de la variación. La mayoría de los rasgos mostraron una variación de moderada a alta y la más diferenciadora fue la longitud del acumen. El análisis de conglomerados y el análisis de componentes principales revelaron que los dos taxas, S. scardica y S. syriaca están bien diferenciados, pero la población de Chervenata stena, clasificada como S. scardica, difería significativamente de las restantes de la misma especie. Los resultados del estudio morfométrico indican la necesidad de estudios adicionales para revelar las relaciones taxonómicas entre los taxones.