Molecular identification of gametophytes of bryophytes and ferns, and their potential use as bioindicators
Final Report Abstract
In the project ABAGAM, we assessed the biodiversity of bryophytes (liverworts, mosses, hornworts), lycophytes (clubmosses) and ferns on the eastern Andean slopes of Ecuador along two elevational transects from the lowlands to the tree line (400-4000 m). We collected 2002 samples of bryophytes and 954 of lycophytes and ferns, whose duplicates are distributed onto Ecuadorean (Herbaria QCA, LOJA) and German institutions (herbaria BONN, STU). These samples were identified by renowned specialists and form a valuable repository of taxonomic information. From these samples, we drew a representative subset that covers the whole spectrum of species (892 bryophytes; 644 lycophytes and ferns) and sequenced at least two chloroplast regions for a sequence library. Several new species have been identified and described among the liverworts, and more may be found among the mosses and clubmosses after further study. Our sequences always corroborated the taxonomic decisions. Ferns yielded no undescribed species, as this group had been studied along our transects in past projects, which already found and published the taxonomic novelties. The interaction with local counterparts and authorities was without problems, and we had to defer only slightly from our plans in the execution of our project. An originally planned monitoring of sterile gametophyte populations over a longer period of time in the field in the southern transect in Prov. Loja/Zamora-Chinchipe was not possible due to lack of personnel and the high dynamics of the vegetation. The sampling of the northern transect in Prov. Napo was supposed to be done by Ecuadorean collaborators but loss of some important silica samples and a low performance of the remaining samples in the molecular lab forced us to re-sample the whole transect. This additional field trip expanded the whole duration of the project but allowed us to sample extra material for a first investigation of symbiotic fungi in liverworts, which is a topic that we will pursue in the future. The methods that we initially employed for the molecular analysis, i.e. Sanger sequencing, is already outdated, at least for a study like ours that aims to cover the genetic diversity of a large regional sampling. Today one would apply high-throughput Next Generation Sequencing approaches, like FlexSeq or PacBio that yield a higher variety of gene regions and more data at the same cost. Nevertheless, our available sequences can be used for reverse taxonomy, i.e. identifying morphologically unidentifiable samples by comparing gene regions with our sequence library, and for phylogenetic studies of selected genera and families. Most of the generated data of ABAGAM will be published in conjunction with the results of the 3transects project, which by its content and design can be regarded as a follow-up to ABAGAM.
Publications
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(2018) A Taxonomic and Biogeographic Reappraisal of the Genus Dicksonia (Dicksoniaceae) in the Neotropics. Systematic Botany 43 (4) 839–857
Noben, Sarah; Kessler, Michael; Weigand, Anna; Tejedor, Adrian; Rodríguez Duque, Wilson D.; Giraldo Gallego, Luis Fernando; Lehnert, Marcus
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(2012). A new species of Archilejeunea (Spruce) Schiffn.(Lejeuneaceae) from Ecuador. Cryptog., Bryol. 32(2):107–112
Gradstein SR, Schäfer-Verwimp A.
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(2013) Contributions to the knowledge of the bryophyte flora of Ecuador. Phytotaxa 128: 1–63
Schäfer-Verwimp, A., Lehnert, M. & Nebel, M.
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(2014). Volatile organic compounds in the strongly fragrant fern genus Melpomene (Polypodiaceae). Plant Biology 17(2): 430–436
Kessler, M., Connor, E. & Lehnert M.
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(2016). The position of the genus Apopellia stat. nov. within the Pelliales (Marchantiophytina: Jungermanniopsida). Taxon 65(2): 221-234
Schütz, N., Quandt, D., & Nebel, M.
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(2017). Biogeography of the Gondwanan tree fern family Dicksoniaceae—A tale of vicariance, dispersal and extinction. Journal of Biogeography 41(2): 402–413
Noben, S., Kessler, M., Quandt, D., Krug, M., Weigand, A., & Lehnert, M.
