Newly reported chloroplast genome of Sinosenecio albonervius Y. Liu & Q. E. Yang and comparative analyses with other Sinosenecio species.

BACKGROUND: Sinosenecio B. Nordenstam (Asteraceae) currently comprises 44 species. To investigate the interspecific relationship, several chloroplast markers, including ndhC-trnV, rpl32-trnL, matK, and rbcL, are used to analyze the phylogeny of Sinosenecio. However, the chloroplast genomes of this genus have not been thoroughly investigated. We sequenced and assembled the Sinosenecio albonervius chloroplast genome for the first time. A detailed comparative analysis was performed in this study using the previously reported chloroplast genomes of three Sinosenecio species. RESULTS: The results showed that the chloroplast genomes of four Sinosenecio species exhibit a typical quadripartite structure. There are equal numbers of total genes, protein-coding genes and RNA genes among the annotated genomes. Per genome, 49-56 simple sequence repeats and 99 repeat sequences were identified. Thirty codons were identified as RSCU values greater than 1 in the chloroplast genome of S. albonervius based on 54 protein-coding genes, indicating that they showed biased usage. Among 18 protein-coding genes, 46 potential RNA editing sites were discovered. By comparing these chloroplast genomes' structures, inverted repeat regions and coding regions were more conserved than single-copy and non-coding regions. The junctions among inverted repeat and single-copy regions showed slight difference. Several hot spots of genomic divergence were detected, which can be used as new DNA barcodes for species identification. Phylogenetic analysis of the whole chloroplast genome showed that the four Sinosenecio species have close interspecific relationships. CONCLUSIONS: The complete chloroplast genome of Sinosenecio albonervius was revealed in this study, which included a comparison of Sinosenecio chloroplast genome structure, variation, and phylogenetic analysis for related species. These will help future research on Sinosenecio taxonomy, identification, origin, and evolution to some extent.

Oreocharis xieyongii, an unusual new species of Gesneriaceae from western Hunan, China.

A new species, Oreocharis xieyongii T. Deng, D.G. Zhang & H. Sun, from Hunan Province, central China, is described. The combination of purple zygomorphic corolla with longer adaxial lobes and exserted stamens defines the species and discriminates it from all other current Oreocharis species. Morphological traits of the new species were compared to those of two similar species, Oreocharis xiangguiensis and O. rubrostriata. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the new species is nested within the Oreocharis. Although only half of Oreocharis species were included in our study, evolutionary character analysis indicates that the ancestral states of the genus are likely the purple corolla, longer abaxial lip and inserted stamens. The longer adaxial lip is perhaps an apomorphy and only present in O. xieyongii and O. rubrostriata. Both morphological and molecular evidence suggest that O. xieyongii is a taxon new to science.

Sinosenecioyangii (Asteraceae), a new species from Guizhou, China.

A new species Sinosenecioyangii D.G. Zhang & Q. Zhou (Asteraceae, Senecioneae) from Guizhou Province, China, is described and illustrated based on its morphological characteristics and molecular evidence. It closely resembles S.confervifer and S.guangxiensis, the former in the scapigerous habit and smooth and glabrous achene surface, the latter in the calyculate involucre and purple abaxial leaf surface, and both in the shape and indumentum of leaf lamina, but differs markedly from the latter two in having fewer capitula and epappose achenes. Phylogenetic analysis based on nrITS and ndhC-trnV sequences shows that this new species belongs to the S.latouchei clade and is sister to S.guangxiensis with moderate support.

Youngiahangii (Asteraceae, Crepidinae), a new species from Hubei, China.

Youngiahangii T.Deng, D.G.Zhang, Qun Liu & Z.M.Li, sp. nov., a new species of Asteraceae, is described and illustrated. It was collected in Wufeng County, Hubei Province, Eastern Central China. Youngiahangii is morphologically most similar to Y.rubida, but can be easily distinguished from the latter by capitula with 8-10 florets and the hairy leaf surface. Phylogenetic analyses, based on the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and one chloroplast marker (rps16), showed that Y.hangii and Y.rubida were sister species with good support. The results of both phylogenetic analysis and the morphological data support the specific rank of Y.hangii.

Rediscovery of Mazus lanceifolius reveals a new genus and a new species in Mazaceae.

Mazus lanceifolius (Mazaceae) is a perennial herb with opposite leaves and endemic to central China that has not been collected for 130 years. Rediscovery of this enigmatic species in the wild allows for determination of its phylogenetic position within Mazaceae. Phylogenetic reconstruction of Mazaceae based on DNA sequences from four plastid markers (matK, rbcL, rps16 and trnL-trnF) and nuclear ribosome ITS consistently showed that Mazus was not monophyletic. Mazus lanceifolius is in the most basal clade within Mazaceae, as sister to the remaining species of three recognized genera Dodartia, Lancea and Mazus. These results support the separation of M. lanceifolius from Mazus as a new genus, which was established here as Puchiumazus Bo Li, D.G. Zhang & C.L. Xiang. Meanwhile, a collection from Shennongjia Forestry District of Hubei Province, China, misidentified as "M. lanceifolius" in previous molecular study, is here revealed to represent an undescribed species of Mazus, i.e., M. fruticosus Bo Li, D.G. Zhang & C.L. Xiang, sp. nov. Morphologically, Puchiumazus is clearly distinct from the other three genera by having quadrangular to somewhat ribbed stems, and obviously opposite leaves. In addition, we provide a taxonomic key to the four genera of Mazaceae.

Primula sunhangii (Primulaceae): a new species from Hubei, Central China.

This report provides a description of Primula sunhangii from the Shennongjia Forestry District, Hubei Province in Central China, which is categorized as a new species of the primrose family. Primula sunhangii is morphologically similar to P. involucrata Wall. ex Duby in terms of its simple umbel, efarinose, and prolonged bracts. However, P. sunhangii is distinguished by its glabrous sepal, short petiole (compare with blade) and cylindrical calyx and capsule. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear and cpDNA genes demonstrates that P. sunhangii and P. involucrata are closely related. Combining genetic and morphological data, the recognition of P. sunhangii as a unique new species is supported.

Geum sunhangii (Rosaceae), a new species from Hubei Province, China.

Geum sunhangii - first discovered in Shennongjia National Nature Reserve, Hubei Province, China - is described as a new species of Rosaceae. Compared to all known Chinese Geum species, the new species differs by possessing jointed styles, imbricate petals and a reniform radical leaf terminal leaflet. Most significantly, the jointed style is curved at an obtuse or a right angle. In addition, the inclusion of this species within the genus Geum was supported by phylogenetic analysis using the sequence data of a nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) and a chloroplast trnL-trnF intergenic spacer. The new species was found to be closely related to G. rivale and G. aleppicum.

Oxytropis shennongjiaensis (Fabaceae), a new species from Hubei, Central China.

Here we describe Oxytropis shennongjiaensis, a new species of Fabaceae from Central China (Hubei Province). Morphologically, O. shennongjiaensis is closely similar to O. sitaipaiensis, O. melanocalyx and O. kansuensis, but differs in stem characters, with less conspicuous internodes; persistent herbaceous stipules; pale yellow to white corolla; and stipitate legumes, 3-5 mm with a long beak. Phylogenetic analysis, based on the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and two chloroplast markers (trnL-F and psbA-trnH), also identified O. shennongjiaensis as a new species, which is consistent with our morphological analyses. Considering the morphological data and phylogenetic data presented here, we believe that this evidence satisfies the required diagnostic criteria to identify O. shennongjiaensis as a new species.

Data of de novo assembly and annotation of transcriptome from Aspidistra fenghuangensis (Asparagaceae: Nolinoideae).

Aspidistra is a large genus of herbaceous plants with more than 130 species growing in tropical forests of SE Asia and specially diversified in southern China and northern Vietnam. The genus is characterized by its evergreen understorey habitats with flowers set at ground level and more or less hidden in litter material. Aspidistra fenghuangensis is a species currently only known from central China. In recent years, number of species in this genus has been greatly increased. However, the high throughput sequencing data have never been reported in this genus. Here, we sequenced the transcriptome of A. fenghuangensis obtained from young leaves using the Illumina HiSeq2000 with 9.15Gb of clean data. Because of the absence of a reference-grade genome in the genus, a de novo assembly of the transcriptome data with full annotation have been carried out. This data is accessible via NCBI BioProject (PRJNA608213).

Lysimachia xiangxiensis (Primulaceae), a new species from limestone area in Hunan Province, central China.

A new species of Lysimachia, L. xiangxiensis (Primulaceae), is described and illustrated from western Hunan, central China. The species is similar to L. melampyroides in plant densely strigillose, leaves subglabrous adaxially, and flowers usually solitary in axils of upper leaves, but differs by the succulent leaves, the creeping or ascending stems 15-25 cm long, and the suborbicular to broadly elliptic corolla lobes. This new species is also supported by a molecular phylogenetic analysis of some Lysimachia species based on ITS sequence data.

The Deep Evolutionary Relationships of the Morphologically Heterogeneous Nolinoideae (Asparagaceae) Revealed by Transcriptome Data.

The subfamily Nolinoideae of Asparagaceae is an extremely morphologically heterogeneous group, which is comprised of seven lineages, formerly known as Eriospermaceae, Polygonateae, Ophiopogoneae, Convallarieae, Ruscaceae s.s., Dracaenaceae, and Nolinaceae from different families or even orders. Their drastically divergent morphologies and low level of molecular resolution have hindered our understanding on their evolutionary history. To resolve reliable and clear phylogenetic relationships of the Nolinoideae, a phylogenetic study was conducted based on transcriptomic sequencing of 15 species representing all the seven lineages. A dataset containing up to 2,850,331 sites across 2,126 genes was analyzed using both concatenated and coalescent methods. Except for Eriospermum as outgroup, the transcriptomic data strongly resolved the remaining six lineages into two groups, one is a paraphyletic grade including the woody lineages of dracaenoids, ruscoids, and nolinoids and a monophyletic herbaceous clade. Within the herbaceous group, the Ophiopogoneae + Theropogon is sister to a clade that is composed of Convallarieae and the monophyletic Polygonateae. Our work provides a first robust deep relationship of the highly heterogeneous Nolinoideae and paves the way for further investigations of its complex evolution.

Silene sunhangii (Caryophyllaceae), a new species from China.

Silene sunhangii, a new species of Caryophyllaceae known from only three populations in Hubei and Hunan provinces of central China, is described. Both morphological and molecular data were used to assess the taxonomic status and relationships of this species. Morphologically, S. sunhangii is most similar to S. platyphylla Franch. from which it differs most readily in having 3-veined elliptical leaves without pubescence, tasseled catacorolla, pale purple to red petals without a linear lobe or narrow tooth and lanceolate, bifid to one third. A phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear ITS region identified the new species as a well-supported, independent lineage. Our new species is nested within a grade that encompasses species representing a polyphyletic Silene sect. Physolychnis (Benth.) Bocquet. Both the genetic and morphological data support the recognition of Silene sunhangii as a distinct species, although there is inconsistency between these two datasets as to the relationships of the new species.

[Newly records of medicinal species in Jiangxi].

Seven species were reported as new records of Jiangxi province, which collected from Wugongshan region, including Huperzia kunmingensis(Lycopodiaceae), Hydrangea mangshanensis(Saxifragaceae), Itea glutinosa(Saxifragaceae), Stellaria monosperma var. japonica(Lycopodiaceae), Youngia pratti(Compositae), and Calanthe henryi(Orchidaceae), Collabium formosanum(Orchidaceae). Among these species, H. kunmingensis, H. mangshanensis, I. glutinosa, Y. pratti and C. henryi are endemic in China. C. henryi is stenotopic distribution in China and regarded as vulnerable endangered plant by IUCN. The report is of great significance to the plant diversity and floristic composition in Jiangxi. All the specimens examined are preserved in Jishou University (JIU) and Sun yat-sen University (SYS).

[New records of medicinal plants in Hubei].

In this paper, we make a report on new records of medicinal plants in Hubei, which include one newly recorded genera and seven newly recorded species and a newly recorded variety. The newly recorded genera is Anoectochilus and its corresponding species is Anoectochilus roxburghii; These newly recorded species are Euphorbia micractina, Astragalus wulingensis, Blumea megacephala, Potentilla saundersiana, Blumea formosana, Lycoris houdyshelii and Colocasia gigantea ; The newly recorded variety is Neottia puberula var. maculata. Among these species, Anoectochilus roxburghii and N. puberula var. maculata are considered as the second-class protection in our country, A. roxburghii is regarded as Endangered（EN）and Astragalus wulingensis is regarded as Critically Endangered (CN) by IUCN. The report of these newly recorded plants borden the distribution and enrich the plant diversity of Hubei.

Mazus sunhangii (Mazaceae), a New Species Discovered in Central China Appears to Be Highly Endangered.

Mazus sunhangii, a new species of Mazaceae from central China is described and illustrated based on evidence from morphology and molecular phylogeny. This new species is morphologically similar to M. puchellus and M. omeiensis but differs in erect habit, inflorescence position, leaf pattern and corolla color. Phylogenetic analysis based on four chloroplast DNA regions (rbcL, rps16, trnL-F, and psbA-trnH) identified the new species as the independent lineage sister to the other East Asian Mazus species. The new species is known only from a single location in Mt. Shennongjia area in northwest Hubei province, at the elevation of 760 m. The species grows on the limestone cliff, and, because a tourist arterial highway is located along this cliff, its habitat can be easily disturbed or destroyed. We propose that the only known species location is recognized as critical habitat (i.e., as the habitat required to ensure the persistence of a species) and the species listed as Critically Endangered based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Categories and Criteria B2a.

Resin glycosides from Porana duclouxii.

A new intact resin glycoside (3) and two glycosidic acids (1 and 2), all having a common trisaccharide moiety and (11S)-hydroxytetradecanoic acid or (3S,11S)-dihydroxytetradecanoic acid as the aglycone, were obtained from the roots of Porana duclouxii. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses and chemical correlations. These compounds represent the first examples of resin glycosides from the genus Porana.

[Application of indicator species in predicting forest management effect on forest species diversity and community composition].

By using indicator species analysis (ISA) method, this paper studied the feasibility of using indicator species to reflect the responses of species diversity and community composition of subtropical forests in Huitong of China to forest management. Ninety-four significant indicator species from 357 understory species were identified, and a new indicator species dataset (community level) was constructed to examine the association between indicator species dataset and original community dataset, and to evaluate the predictive potential of indicator species in reflecting forest management effect. There existed a strong association between the two datasets (Mantel r = 0.898). The indicator species dataset could well predict the management effect on species diversity (regression analysis, R2 > 0.74) and community composition (ANOVA, F >16.79). When the two datasets were applied to Nonmetric Multi-Dimensional Scaling (NMDS) ordination and K-mean cluster analysis, the indicator species dataset could well identify the forest types with different management treatments, as the original community dataset did. Also, the indicator species dataset nearly played the same role as the original community dataset in identifying the species diversity, community composition, and forest type. It was suggested that for saving costs in overall investigation of forest ecosystem, indicator species could be used as a surrogate of full community to predict forest management effect.

[Theoretical model for rocky desertification control in karst area].

Based on the basic principles of restoration ecology, the trigger-action model for rocky desertification control was proposed, i. e. , the ability that an ecosystem enables itself to develop was called dominant force, and the interfering factor resulting in the deviation of the climax of ecological succession from its preconcerted status was called trigger factor. The ultimate status of ecological succession was determined by the interaction of dominant force and trigger factor. Rocky desertification was the result of serious malignant triggers, and its control was the process of benign triggers in using the ecological restoration method of artificial designs to activate the natural designing ability of an ecosystem. The ecosystem of Karst rocky desertification in Fenghuang County with restoration measures was taken as a case to test the model, and the results showed that the restoration measures based on trigger-action model markedly improved the physical and chemical properties of soil and increased the diversity of plant. There was a benign trigger between the restoration measures and the Karst area. The rationality of the trigger-action model was primarily tested by the results in practice.