Threatened Cretan species Chaerophyllum creticum Boiss. & Heldr.: phenolic profile by HPLC-PDA-MS and in vitro antioxidant capacity.

In this study, the chemical content of the threatened Cretan endemic Chaerophyllum creticum Boiss. & Heldr. was investigated by High Performance Liquid chromatography-Photodiode Array-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-PDA-MS) analysis. Leaves, flowers and stems of C. creticum, were extracted via maceration and were assessed for their polyphenolic composition and antioxidant capacity. The highest extraction yields were achieved by methanol and methanol/water. A total of 17 compounds were characterised in C. creticum with luteolin-7-O-glucoside being the predominant glucoside found in all the extracts. Malonic esters were present in all the extracts. The main flavonoids and phenolics were quantified by HPLC-UV in parallel to standard spectrophotometric assays which were used for the determination of the Total Polyphenol content and the Total Flavonoid Content. The antioxidant activity was assessed by two different tests: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) free radical assay and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. This is the first report on the chemical content of the Cretan endemic C. creticum.

An early evaluation of translocation actions for endangered plant species on Mediterranean islands.

In situ conservation is widely considered a primary conservation strategy. Plant translocation, specifically, represents an important tool for reducing the extinction risk of threatened species. However, thus far, few documented translocations have been carried out in the Mediterranean islands. The Care-Mediflora project, carried out on six Mediterranean islands, tackles both short- and long-term needs for the insular endangered plants through in situ and ex situ conservation actions. The project approach is based on using ex situ activities as a tool to improve in situ conservation of threatened plant species. Fifty island plants (representing 45 taxa) were selected for translocations using common criteria. During the translocations, several approaches were used, which differed in site selection method, origin of genetic material, type of propagative material, planting method, and more. Although only preliminary data are available, some general lessons can be learned from the experience of the Care-Mediflora project. Among the factors restricting the implementation of translocations, limited financial resources appear to be the most important. Specific preliminary management actions, sometimes to be reiterated after translocation, increase the overall cost, but often are necessary for translocation success. Translocation using juvenile/reproductive plants produces better results over the short term, although seeds may provide good results over the long run (to be assessed in the future). Regardless, plant translocation success can only be detected over long periods; therefore, proper evaluation of plant translocations requires a long-term monitoring protocol. Care-Mediflora project represents the first attempt to combine the existing approaches in a common plant conservation strategy specifically focusing on the Mediterranean islands.

Cross-species hybridization and the origin of North African date palms.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a major fruit crop of arid regions that were domesticated ∼7,000 y ago in the Near or Middle East. This species is cultivated widely in the Middle East and North Africa, and previous population genetic studies have shown genetic differentiation between these regions. We investigated the evolutionary history of P. dactylifera and its wild relatives by resequencing the genomes of date palm varieties and five of its closest relatives. Our results indicate that the North African population has mixed ancestry with components from Middle Eastern P. dactylifera and Phoenix theophrasti, a wild relative endemic to the Eastern Mediterranean. Introgressive hybridization is supported by tests of admixture, reduced subdivision between North African date palm and P. theophrasti, sharing of haplotypes in introgressed regions, and a population model that incorporates gene flow between these populations. Analysis of ancestry proportions indicates that as much as 18% of the genome of North African varieties can be traced to P. theophrasti and a large percentage of loci in this population are segregating for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are fixed in P. theophrasti and absent from date palm in the Middle East. We present a survey of Phoenix remains in the archaeobotanical record which supports a late arrival of date palm to North Africa. Our results suggest that hybridization with P. theophrasti was of central importance in the diversification history of the cultivated date palm.