Urban Flora Riches: Unraveling Metabolic Variation Along Altitudinal Gradients in Two Spontaneous Plant Species.

Using resilient, self-sustaining plants in urban green spaces enhances environmental and cultural benefits and reduces management costs. We assessed two spontaneous plant species, Linaria vulgaris Mill. and Cichorium intybus L., in four sites from the surrounding urban areas, ranging in altitude from 78 to 1040 m. Protection against UV-B radiation is crucial for plants at higher altitudes, guiding our focus on UV-visible absorption spectra, fluorometric emission spectra, secondary metabolite accumulation, and pigment dynamics in leaves. Our findings revealed a slight increase in UV-absorbing compounds with altitude and species-specific changes in visible spectra. The UV-emission of fluorochromes decreased, while red emission increased with altitude but only in chicory. Polyphenols and flavonoids showed a slight upward trend with altitude. Divergent trends were observed in condensed tannin accumulation, with L. vulgaris decreasing and C. intybus increasing with altitude. Additionally, chicory leaves from higher altitudes (792 and 1040 m) contained significantly lower triterpene concentrations. In L. vulgaris, chlorophyll pigments and carotenoids varied with sites, contrasting with UV absorbance variations. For C. intybus, pigment variation was similar to absorbance changes in the UV and VIS range, except at the highest altitude. These observations provide valuable insights into species-specific strategies for adapting to diverse environmental contexts.

Sinanodonta woodiana (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Unionidae): isolation and characterization of the first microsatellite markers.

Sinanodonta woodiana (Lea, 1834) is a large Unionid species with a real invasion success. It colonized Europe, Central America, the Indonesian Islands and recently North America. The species life cycle involves a larval parasitic stage on freshwater fish species which contributes to the spread of the mussel. In this paper we describe, for the first time, eight polymorphic microsatellite loci for the species Sinanodonta woodiana. The genetic screening of individuals confirmed that all loci were highly polymorphic. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 7 to 14 and the observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.650 to 0.950. These loci should prove useful to study the species population genetics which could help to infer important aspects of the invasion process.

Isolation and characterization of the first microsatellite markers for the endangered relict mussel Hypanis colorata (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Cardiidae).

Hypanis colorata (Eichwald, 1829) (Cardiidae: Lymnocardiinae) is a bivalve relict species with a Ponto-Caspian distribution and is under strict protection in Romania, according to national regulations. While the species is depressed in the western Black Sea lagoons from Romania and Ukraine, it is also a successful invader in the middle Dniepr and Volga regions. Establishing a conservation strategy for this species or studying its invasion process requires knowledge about the genetic structure of the species populations. We have isolated and characterized nine polymorphic microsatellite markers in H. colorata. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 28 and the observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.613 to 1.000. The microsatellites developed in the present study are highly polymorphic and they should be useful for the assessment of genetic variation within this species.