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Morphological, phytochemical and genetic variation in mixed stands and a hybrid swarm of Senecio germanicus and S. ovatus (Compositae, Senecioneae)

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Abstract

Mixed stands of Senecio ovatus subsp. ovatus and S. germanicus subsp. germanicus occur in the colline belt of central and eastern Europe. The latter species is adapted to more continental climate conditions and shows a later flowering time (August–September) than the widespread S. ovatus (July–August) that grows in more oceanic climates. We have surveyed 253 plants from 15 populations north of Regensburg (south-eastern Germany) using 16 qualitative and quantitative morphological characters and molecular markers [amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP)] to detect introgressive hybridisation between these two species. Both multivariate statistical analyses based on morphological characters and the Bayesian clustering based on AFLP fingerprint data show that in most populations under study the two species form distinct entities and do not hybridise with each other. However, in one population from the Upper Palatine Forest a high number of intermediate individuals were found. A more detailed genetic (AFLP) and phytochemical (pyrrolizidine alkaloid, PA) analysis based on 125 individuals from this hybrid swarm indicated that these intermediate individuals are backcrosses towards S. germanicus. It is shown that the two species differ considerably concerning the qualitative and quantitative PA patterns and that backcrossed individuals either show an additive PA pattern or a PA pattern similar to S. germanicus, while in quantitative respects all of these individuals are approaching S. germanicus. These findings are discussed in terms of differential selection regimes influencing the fitness of pure and hybrid plants in an area which is an eco-climatological optimum for the more oceanic S. ovatus but which forms a distributional edge for the more continental S. germanicus.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mr R. Greiner and Mr P. Hummel for their technical support in the molecular laboratory of CO at the Institute of Botany at the University of Regensburg. The technical help with the preparation of illustrations by Mr G. Heine is also acknowledged. We also thank Dr T. Beuerle (University of Braunschweig, Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology) for very fruitful discussions concerning the phytochemical aspects of the present work. Finally, we would like to thank Mrs G. Brunner (University of Regensburg, Department of Pharmaceutical Biology) for excellent technical assistance and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Botany, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany

    Christoph Oberprieler, Sabine Hartl, Kerstin Schauer & Jörg Meister

  2. Institute of Pharmacy, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053, Regensburg, Germany

    Jörg Heilmann

Authors
  1. Christoph Oberprieler
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  2. Sabine Hartl
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  3. Kerstin Schauer
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  4. Jörg Meister
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  5. Jörg Heilmann
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Correspondence to Christoph Oberprieler.

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Sabine Hartl and Kerstin Schauer contributed equally to this publication.

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Oberprieler, C., Hartl, S., Schauer, K. et al. Morphological, phytochemical and genetic variation in mixed stands and a hybrid swarm of Senecio germanicus and S. ovatus (Compositae, Senecioneae). Plant Syst Evol 293, 177–191 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-011-0431-5

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