Polyploidy is a powerful mechanism driving genetic, physiological, and phenotypic changes among cytotypes of the same species across both large and small geographic scales. These changes can significantly shape population structure and increase the evolutionary and adaptation potential of cytotypes. Alyssum moellendorfianum, an edaphic steno-endemic species with a narrow distribution in the Balkan Peninsula, serves as an intriguing case study. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of genetic diversity and population structure across the species’ range, employing an array of genetic techniques (nuclear microsatellites, amplified fragment length polymorphisms, and plastid DNA sequences), flow cytometry (FCM), morphometry, and pollen analysis. The study reveals two genetic lineages: spatially distributed diploid and tetraploid cytotypes. Clear divergence between diploids and tetraploids was shown by AFLP, while plastid DNA sequences confirmed private haplotypes in each of the studied populations. Higher genetic diversity and allelic richness following the north-south pattern were documented in tetraploids compared to diploids, as indicated by nuclear microsatellites. Morphometric analysis via principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) did not reveal any divergence between diploid and tetraploid cytotypes. Nonetheless, a distinction in pollen size was clearly observed. The results suggest an autopolyploid origin of tetraploids from diploid ancestors. Despite the population fragmentation in a very small geographic range, these populations harbour high genetic diversity, which would allow them to remain stable if natural processes remain undisturbed.

The genetic, morphological and taxonomic diversity of the genus Sorbus is due to homoploid and polyploid hybridisation, autopolyploidy and apomixis, which also influence the production and diversity of secondary metabolites, especially flavonoids. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships and variations of flavonoids in terms of hybrid origin and ploidy level between the parental species and their hybrid derivatives. The sampling design included leaf material of the following Sorbus accessions from ten natural localities: parental taxa (di-, tri- and tetraploids of S. aria; diploid S. torminalis and S. aucuparia) and their di-, tri- and tetraploid hybrid derivatives from crosses of S. aria × S. torminalis (subg. Tormaria) as well as the tetraploid S. austriaca and S. bosniaca, which originate from crosses of S. aria × S. aucuparia (subg. Soraria). We analysed the flavonoid profiles from the leaf fractions by LC-MS. A total of 23 flavonoids were identified, including apigenin and luteolin derivatives, which distinguish the hybrid groups from each other. This profiling highlights the distinctiveness of the Tormaria and Soraria accessions and emphasises the potential of the subg. Tormaria for further research on bioactive compounds in biological studies.

Objective: Iris species are widely used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications owing to their high content of bioactive compounds with anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. This study aimed to investigate the potential antibacterial effect of crude extracts (aqueous, 50% and 80% ethanol) of three Iris species ( I. pumila , while I. reichenbachii and I. illyrica are endemic) from Bosnia and Herzegovina against the multiresistant bacterial strain methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus ATCC 33591 (MRSA strain). Materials and Methods: The antimicrobial compounds in the crude extracts were identified using High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and their effects on the MRSA strain were tested using agar well diffusion and broth microdilution method. The binding affinities were analysed using molecular docking simulations. Results: We identified bioactive targeted compounds in these extracts, mainly flavonoids named isorhamnetin, hesperidin, quercetin, fisetin, genistein, and kaempferol. Antibacterial assays showed that extracts of all three Iris species inhibited MRSA. The binding affinity analysis showed that isorhamnetin and hesperidin had the highest affinity scores, stronger (isorhamnetin) or the same (hesperidin) as the positive control ceftobiprole. Conclusion: This in vitro and in silico study showed that Iris species represent a valuable source of bioactive compounds that can be used against multidrug-resistant strains such as MRSA. The potential use of these agents in multiple drugs is warranted, and further evaluation for human application is needed.

Due to climate extremes and limited natural resources, especially water, we can expect increased demand in the future for species that can better tolerate climate extremes such as drought. One potentially valuable horticultural species is the endemic species of the Dinaride Mountains Micromeria croatica (Pers.) Schott (family Lamiaceae). It grows in the crevices of carbonate rocks, extending from an altitude of 150 m to more than 2000 m. This study aims to provide additional insight into the genetic and morphological diversity of this endemic species, focusing on valuable horticultural traits. To achieve this goal, morphological and molecular analyses were performed on ten natural populations. Through STRUCTURE and PCoA analyses, ten M. croatica populations were placed into western and eastern genetic groups, with several individuals from western populations assigned to the eastern group and vice versa. These atypical individuals assigned to the new genetic group by BAPS analysis indicate gene flow between western and eastern populations. Similarly, an analysis of molecular variance revealed fewer genetic differences than within studied populations. Both PCA and CANDISC analysis based on eleven morphological traits largely confirmed the existence of two slightly different genetic groups. Two populations containing plants with the most flowers per shoot, one with white-flowered individuals, one with the roundest leaves, and one with the narrowest leaves proved to be the most horticulturally valuable. The genetic and morphological variability found should be a sufficient basis for the potential selection of M. croatica populations and individuals for horticultural purposes.

Simple Summary The genus Sorbus (whitebeams, rowans, and service trees) encompasses forest trees and shrubs characterised by exceptional diversity resulting from the interplay of polyploidisation, hybridization, and apomixis. The spatiotemporal processes driving Sorbus diversification remain poorly understood. This research aims to provide insights into the evolution and diversification patterns of mountain whitebeam (S. austriaca) covering most of its range in the mountains of Central and South-eastern Europe. Our molecular and morphometric data revealed pronounced cryptic diversity within the S. austriaca complex; it is composed of different lineages, that likely originated via multiple allopolyploidisations accompanied by apomixes, and these lineages exhibit different distribution patterns. Our results are particularly valuable from a biodiversity conservation perspective due to the continuing generation of novel diversity in sympatric populations of the parental taxa. Such derived diversity requires process-oriented conservation plans and measures. Abstract The interplay of polyploidisation, hybridization, and apomixis contributed to the exceptional diversity of Sorbus (Rosaceae), giving rise to a mosaic of genetic and morphological entities. The Sorbus austriaca species complex from the mountains of Central and South-eastern Europe represents an allopolyploid apomictic system of populations that originated following hybridisation between S. aria and S. aucuparia. However, the mode and frequency of such allopolyploidisations and the relationships among different, morphologically more or less similar populations that have often been described as different taxa remain largely unexplored. We used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting, plastid DNA sequencing, and analyses of nuclear microsatellites, along with multivariate morphometrics and ploidy data, to disentangle the relationships among populations within this intricate complex. Our results revealed a mosaic of genetic lineages—many of which have not been taxonomically recognised—that originated via multiple allopolyploidisations. The clonal structure within and among populations was then maintained via apomixis. Our results thus support previous findings that hybridisation, polyploidization, and apomixis are the main drivers of Sorbus diversification in Europe.

A study of the phytochemical and molecular characteristics of ten Micromeria and six Clinopodium taxa (family Lamiaceae) distributed in the Balkan Peninsula was carried out. The phytochemicals detected in essential oils by gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and molecular data amplified fragment length polymorphism were used to study the taxonomic relationships among the taxa and the correlations between phytochemical and molecular data. STRUCTURE analysis revealed three genetic groups, while Bayesian Analysis of Population Structure grouped the studied taxa into 11 clusters nested in the groups obtained by STRUCTURE. Principal components analysis performed with the 21 most represented compounds in the essential oils yielded results that were partly consistent with those obtained by STRUCTURE and neighbour-joining analyses. However, their geographic distributions did not support the genetic grouping of the studied taxa and populations. The Mantel test showed a significant correlation between the phytochemical and genetic data (r = 0.421, p < 0.001). Genetic distance explained 17.8% of the phytochemical distance between populations. The current taxonomic position of several of the studied taxa is yet to be satisfactorily resolved, and further studies are needed. Such future research should include nuclear and plastid DNA sequences from a larger sample of populations and individuals.

Here, from macrophylogeographic mtDNA empirical data, we proposed a scenario of the evolution and speciation of two important forest trees, European Black Pine and Scotch Pine, and their multiple subspecies and varieties. Molecular clock simulations revealed that INDELs variability in the Pinus mitochondrial genome is relatively old, i.e., from the Pliocene-Miocene epoch, and related to historical tectonic continental fluctuations rather than climate change on a large geographic scale. Special attention is paid to the relationships between different speciation models and historical migration patterns and between peripheral and central populations. Species evolution involves the mixing of different speciation modes rather than only one of them, and one speciation mode has different results/effects on different DNA types (e.g., mitochondrial vs. chloroplast vs. nuclear DNA). The misbalance between different meta-population census size vs. effective population size contributions for asymmetric migration pattern is a result of different genotypes (and sub-phylogenetic lines) responding to selection pressing and adaptive evolution.