Zlatko Satovic | University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture (original) (raw)
Papers by Zlatko Satovic
Agriculturae Conspectus …, 2009
Dalmatian pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium /Trevir./ Sch. Bip.) is a perennial herbaceous pla... more Dalmatian pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium /Trevir./ Sch. Bip.) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. It is endemic to the East coast of the Adriatic Sea and its natural habitat extends from Italy to northern Albania and up in the mountainous regions of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Pyrethrum fl owers yield an important insecticide, the pyrethrin. Pyrethrin is mainly concentrated in oil glands on the surface of the seed inside the tightly packed fl ower head, but they can also be found in the other plant parts, however in much lower concentrations. Th e pyrethrin exist as a combination of six insecticide active ingredients: pyrethrin I, cinerin I, jasmolin I, pyrethrin II, cinerin II and jasmolin II, with pyrethrin I and pyrethrin II present in higher concentrations. Pyrethrin is non-toxic to mammals and other worm-blooded animals, it is unstable in light, oxygen, water and at elevated temperatures and therefore highly biodegradable. Due to the fact it is environmentally safe it is leading insecticide in organic farming systems. Th e most scientifi c work concerning Dalmatian pyrethrum was focused on its morphological and biochemical traits that are relevant in breeding. Breeding programmes are primarily focused on increasing the yield of pyrethrin per unit area. Relative to dry fl ower weight, fl ower heads contain the majority of the pyrethrin. Croatian wild populations contain approximately 0.60 to 0.79 %, while clones in breeding programmes of Australia and Kenya contain up to 3.0 % of pyrethrin.
Revista Fitotecnia Mexicana, 2006
Euphytica, May 1, 2008
Natural, and in particular, artificial (human) selection may pose a danger to the existing crop g... more Natural, and in particular, artificial (human) selection may pose a danger to the existing crop genetic diversity. Nevertheless, on-farm breeding systems seem to achieve phenotypic improvements even though preserving variability. Using SSR markers, we analysed several selection cycles, over a 20 years period, of a Portuguese on-farm participatory maize OPV-'Pigarro' breeding project. No significant differences in allelic richness (N ar ), observed heterozygosity (H O ), expected heterozygosity (or gene diversity; H E ) or inbreeding coefficient (f) were detected among the selection cycles. 58 out of 107 alleles were common to all the selection cycles studied. The analysis of molecular variance showed that the variation among selection cycles represented only 7% of the total molecular variation. However, the number of private alleles varied among the selection cycles, being the highest detected at the beginning of the selection project. These findings demonstrate that an allele flow took place during the on-farm selection process of 'Pigarro' but the level of genetic diversity was not significantly influenced. Since interesting phenotypic improvements were also achieved, on-farm breeding projects, like this one, should be valued as a way to preserve unique Portuguese maize landraces in risk of disappearing.
PloS one, 2015
Knowledge of the genes affecting maize ear inflorescence may lead to better grain yield modeling.... more Knowledge of the genes affecting maize ear inflorescence may lead to better grain yield modeling. Maize ear fasciation, defined as abnormal flattened ears with high kernel row number, is a quantitative trait widely present in Portuguese maize landraces. Using a segregating population derived from an ear fasciation contrasting cross (consisting of 149 F2:3 families) we established a two location field trial using a complete randomized block design. Correlations and heritabilities for several ear fasciation-related traits and yield were determined. Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) involved in the inheritance of those traits were identified and candidate genes for these QTL proposed. Ear fasciation broad-sense heritability was 0.73. Highly significant correlations were found between ear fasciation and some ear and cob diameters and row number traits. For the 23 yield and ear fasciation-related traits, 65 QTL were identified, out of which 11 were detected in both environments, while for th...
Marine Biodiversity Records, 2009
The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) is a small, pelagic and cosmopolitan cetacean. Though... more The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) is a small, pelagic and cosmopolitan cetacean. Though it is the most common dolphin species in the Mediterranean Sea, it is not considered resident in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. Fifteen striped dolphins were found dead in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea in the last eight years (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007). More specimens were found in southern than in the northern part of the Adriatic. Analysis of twelve microsatellite loci and sequencing of a 882 base pair (bp) fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region were performed for genetic characterization. The mean allelic diversity (7 ±0.78) and mean expected heterozygosity (0.727 ±0.05) reveal high genetic variation. Significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was observed at two loci. Sequence analysis of the mtDNA control region identified seven unique haplotypes with 22 polymorphic sites in ten individuals. The haplotype diversity (0.911 ±0.077) was high, while nucleotide diversity was strikingly low (0.006 ±0.003). Results presented here support the notion of the striped dolphin not being resident species in Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea.
Through several centuries of natural and hu- man selection, a very diverse maize germplasm has be... more Through several centuries of natural and hu- man selection, a very diverse maize germplasm has been developed in Portugal. Portuguese maize landraces have been preserved on farm, due to particular quality traits not found on their competing modern hybrid varieties. These landraces are mainly flint type open pollinated va- rieties (OPV) with technological ability for the production of the traditional
PLoS ONE, 2012
Tree species with wide distributions often exhibit different levels of genetic structuring correl... more Tree species with wide distributions often exhibit different levels of genetic structuring correlated to their environment. However, understanding how environmental heterogeneity influences genetic variation is difficult because the effects of gene flow, drift and selection are confounded. We investigated the genetic variation and its ecological correlates in a windpollinated Mediterranean tree species, Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl, within a recognised glacial refugium in Croatia. We sampled 11 populations from environmentally divergent habitats within the Continental and Mediterranean biogeographical regions. We combined genetic data analyses based on nuclear microsatellite loci, multivariate statistics on environmental data and ecological niche modelling (ENM). We identified a geographic structure with a high genetic diversity and low differentiation in the Continental region, which contrasted with the significantly lower genetic diversity and higher population divergence in the Mediterranean region. The positive and significant correlation between environmental and genetic distances after controlling for geographic distance suggests an important influence of ecological divergence of the sites in shaping genetic variation. The ENM provided support for niche differentiation between the populations from the Continental and Mediterranean regions, suggesting that contemporary populations may represent two divergent ecotypes. Ecotype differentiation was also supported by multivariate environmental and genetic distance analyses. Our results suggest that despite extensive gene flow in continental areas, long-term stability of heterogeneous environments have likely promoted genetic divergence of ashes in this region and can explain the present-day genetic variation patterns of these ancient populations. Citation: Temunović M, Franjić J, Satovic Z, Grgurev M, Frascaria-Lacoste N, et al. (2012) Environmental Heterogeneity Explains the Genetic Structure of Continental and Mediterranean Populations of Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. PLoS ONE 7(8): e42764.
Phytoparasitica, 2007
Some species of the genus Orobanche are among the most devastating parasitic weeds, causing exten... more Some species of the genus Orobanche are among the most devastating parasitic weeds, causing extensive damage in agricultural fields. Considering the difficult control due to seed longevity in the soil, small seed size, high fecundity and a subterranean phase that allows them to parasitize the host before they emerge and become evident, the development of diagnostic markers is highly recommended. In our study we identified potential molecular diagnostic markers from the plastid genome in order to distinguish among the most important Orobanche species attacking crops in Andalusia, the southern region of the Iberian Peninsula. The study has considered O. crenata, O ramosa and O. cumana causing serious losses in legumes, solanaceous crops and sunflower fields, respectively, and O. minor that, although abundant in Andalusia, has to our knowledge not yet been found parasitizing agricultural hosts. We amplified a non-coding region from the plastid genome, studied sequence differences among the amplified fragments and digested those of the same length with selected restriction enzymes. Here, we propose a molecular protocol to distinguish the main parasitic plants in crop fields of southern Spain. Different applications such as identification of Orobanche seeds in soil or crop seed lots are discussed in order to offer right crop recommendations or to prevent new infestation of parasite-free fields. Recommendations for further development of these diagnostic markers are also considered.
Molecular Ecology, 2013
Populations occurring in areas of overlap between the current and future distribution of a specie... more Populations occurring in areas of overlap between the current and future distribution of a species are particularly important because they can represent "refugia from climate change". We coupled ecological and range-wide genetic variation data to detect such areas and to evaluate the impacts of habitat suitability changes on the genetic diversity of the transitional Mediterranean-temperate tree Fraxinus angustifolia. We sampled and genotyped 38 natural populations comprising 1006 individuals from across Europe. We found the highest genetic diversity in western and northern Mediterranean populations, as well as a significant west to east decline in genetic diversity. Areas of potential refugia that correspond to approximately 70% of the suitable habitat may support the persistence of more than 90% of the total number of alleles in the future. Moreover, based on correlations between Bayesian genetic assignment and climate, climate change may favour the westward spread of the Black Sea gene pool in the long term. Overall, our results suggest that the northerly core areas of the current distribution contain the most important part of the genetic variation for this species and may serve as in situ macrorefugia from ongoing climate change. However, rearedge populations of the southern Mediterranean may be exposed to a potential loss of unique genetic diversity owing to habitat suitability changes unless populations can persist in microrefugia that have facilitated such persistence in the past.
Mammalian Biology - Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde, 2011
The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the only resident marine mammal species in the Cro... more The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the only resident marine mammal species in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea, with an estimated number at around 220 individuals. It is an endangered and legally protected species in Croatia, and its demographic history is poorly known. This study investigates the level of genetic diversity in the bottlenose dolphin population from the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea and a possibility of recent population size contraction, since there are indications that there has been intensive eradication operations in the mid 20th century that might have caused reductions in the effective population size and might have resulted in a loss of genetic variation. Thirty samples were genotyped at 12 dinucleotide microsatellite loci. The mean allelic richness (6.835 ± 0.705) and mean expected heterozygosity (0.692 ± 0.05) revealed high level of genetic diversity. Bottleneck analysis gave ambiguous evidence for a recent population decline in the investigated bottlenose dolphin population. The M ratio test, with two sets of parameter values, suggested a recent bottleneck; whereas the analysis by the Bottleneck program under three mutation models (TPM, SMM and IAM) showed no evidence for a genetic bottleneck. We take a more conservative approach to the interpretation of these results by accepting the evidence of a recent bottleneck. We suggest maintaining the current level of bottlenose dolphin protection in the area and careful monitoring of the population in the future.
Euphytica, 2008
Natural, and in particular, artificial (human) selection may pose a danger to the existing crop g... more Natural, and in particular, artificial (human) selection may pose a danger to the existing crop genetic diversity. Nevertheless, on-farm breeding systems seem to achieve phenotypic improvements even though preserving variability. Using SSR markers, we analysed several selection cycles, over a 20 years period, of a Portuguese on-farm participatory maize OPV-'Pigarro' breeding project. No significant differences in allelic richness (N ar ), observed heterozygosity (H O ), expected heterozygosity (or gene diversity; H E ) or inbreeding coefficient (f) were detected among the selection cycles. 58 out of 107 alleles were common to all the selection cycles studied. The analysis of molecular variance showed that the variation among selection cycles represented only 7% of the total molecular variation. However, the number of private alleles varied among the selection cycles, being the highest detected at the beginning of the selection project. These findings demonstrate that an allele flow took place during the on-farm selection process of 'Pigarro' but the level of genetic diversity was not significantly influenced. Since interesting phenotypic improvements were also achieved, on-farm breeding projects, like this one, should be valued as a way to preserve unique Portuguese maize landraces in risk of disappearing.
![Research paper thumbnail of Genetic diversity in two variants of Orobanche gracilis Sm. [var. gracilis and var. deludens (Beck) A. Pujadas] (Orobanchaceae) from different regions of Spain](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/42813764/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, 2007
Financial support: The work has been carried out at CIFA "Alameda del Obispo" (IFAFA-Área de Mejo... more Financial support: The work has been carried out at CIFA "Alameda del Obispo" (IFAFA-Área de Mejora y Biotecnología) and was supported by the INIA RTA04-067 project.
Revista Fitotecnia …, 2006
La presencia de regiones conservadas en especies diferentes (sintenia) permite identificar genes ... more La presencia de regiones conservadas en especies diferentes (sintenia) permite identificar genes o regiones del genoma involucrados en funciones similares. Así, un marcador estrechamente ligado a un carácter presente en una especie lo podría estar en ...
XXII EUCARPIA Maize and …, 2011
Abstract: Nowadays European consumers are more concern about the quality of their food and about ... more Abstract: Nowadays European consumers are more concern about the quality of their food and about agrodiversity erosion and unsustainability of agricultural ecosystems. Centuries of maize cultivation in Portugal have originated a very diverse germplasm with particular ...
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 2012
Aquatic Toxicology, 2013
Environmental pollution may modify all the evolutionary processes involved in shaping the genetic... more Environmental pollution may modify all the evolutionary processes involved in shaping the genetic patterns of exposed populations. In order to evaluate the pollution impact on the genetic diversity of Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis ten populations inhabiting differently polluted sites along the eastern Adriatic coast, from pristine bays to heavily trafficked harbours, were studied. Pollution pressure was assessed through an integrated study of biological effects and responses across different levels of biological organization. Eight microsatellite markers were analysed to assess genetic diversity of investigated populations. Both the principal component analysis (PCA) of the biomarker data set as well as the biomarker response index (BRI) confirmed substantial pollution pressure at the highly polluted sites, and very low pollution exposure at the three reference sites. Very shallow genetic differentiation was found in respect to maritime distances or pollution status, and this was attributed to a high gene flow among the populations. However, populations inhabiting polluted sites exhibited higher levels of genetic diversity and evolutionary mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are discussed.
Hortscience, Aug 1, 2004
Additional index words. Olea europaea L., DNA markers, genetic diversity, AMOVA Abstract. Eighty-... more Additional index words. Olea europaea L., DNA markers, genetic diversity, AMOVA Abstract. Eighty-two Spanish olive cultivars from the World Germplasm Bank of the Centro de Investigación y Formación Agraria (CIFA) Alameda del Obispo in Cordoba (Spain) were analysed by RAPD markers to assess their genetic relatedness and to study patterns of genetic variation. The dendrogram based on unweighted pair group cluster analysis using Jaccard's index included two major groups that consisted mostly of cultivars from the southern and central part of Spain. Clustering together of cultivars from the Levante zone was also observed. The pattern of genetic variation among olive cultivars from three different Spanish zones (Levante, central and Andalusia) was analysed by means of the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). Although most of the genetic variability was attributable to differences of cultivars within each zone 95.88%), signifi cant φ-values among zones (φ st = 0.041; p < 0.001) suggested the existence of phenotypic differentiation. These results are consistent with the predominantly allogamous nature of Olea europaea L. species. Signifi cant values of φ st for the pair Andalusia/Levante indicate the presence of differentiation. The negative value of φ st observed in the case of the Andalusia/central pair suggests that some varieties from central Spain are more similar to the Andalusian ones than to the varieties of their own geographic area, and vice versa.
Agriculturae Conspectus …, 2009
Dalmatian pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium /Trevir./ Sch. Bip.) is a perennial herbaceous pla... more Dalmatian pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium /Trevir./ Sch. Bip.) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. It is endemic to the East coast of the Adriatic Sea and its natural habitat extends from Italy to northern Albania and up in the mountainous regions of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Pyrethrum fl owers yield an important insecticide, the pyrethrin. Pyrethrin is mainly concentrated in oil glands on the surface of the seed inside the tightly packed fl ower head, but they can also be found in the other plant parts, however in much lower concentrations. Th e pyrethrin exist as a combination of six insecticide active ingredients: pyrethrin I, cinerin I, jasmolin I, pyrethrin II, cinerin II and jasmolin II, with pyrethrin I and pyrethrin II present in higher concentrations. Pyrethrin is non-toxic to mammals and other worm-blooded animals, it is unstable in light, oxygen, water and at elevated temperatures and therefore highly biodegradable. Due to the fact it is environmentally safe it is leading insecticide in organic farming systems. Th e most scientifi c work concerning Dalmatian pyrethrum was focused on its morphological and biochemical traits that are relevant in breeding. Breeding programmes are primarily focused on increasing the yield of pyrethrin per unit area. Relative to dry fl ower weight, fl ower heads contain the majority of the pyrethrin. Croatian wild populations contain approximately 0.60 to 0.79 %, while clones in breeding programmes of Australia and Kenya contain up to 3.0 % of pyrethrin.
Revista Fitotecnia Mexicana, 2006
Euphytica, May 1, 2008
Natural, and in particular, artificial (human) selection may pose a danger to the existing crop g... more Natural, and in particular, artificial (human) selection may pose a danger to the existing crop genetic diversity. Nevertheless, on-farm breeding systems seem to achieve phenotypic improvements even though preserving variability. Using SSR markers, we analysed several selection cycles, over a 20 years period, of a Portuguese on-farm participatory maize OPV-'Pigarro' breeding project. No significant differences in allelic richness (N ar ), observed heterozygosity (H O ), expected heterozygosity (or gene diversity; H E ) or inbreeding coefficient (f) were detected among the selection cycles. 58 out of 107 alleles were common to all the selection cycles studied. The analysis of molecular variance showed that the variation among selection cycles represented only 7% of the total molecular variation. However, the number of private alleles varied among the selection cycles, being the highest detected at the beginning of the selection project. These findings demonstrate that an allele flow took place during the on-farm selection process of 'Pigarro' but the level of genetic diversity was not significantly influenced. Since interesting phenotypic improvements were also achieved, on-farm breeding projects, like this one, should be valued as a way to preserve unique Portuguese maize landraces in risk of disappearing.
PloS one, 2015
Knowledge of the genes affecting maize ear inflorescence may lead to better grain yield modeling.... more Knowledge of the genes affecting maize ear inflorescence may lead to better grain yield modeling. Maize ear fasciation, defined as abnormal flattened ears with high kernel row number, is a quantitative trait widely present in Portuguese maize landraces. Using a segregating population derived from an ear fasciation contrasting cross (consisting of 149 F2:3 families) we established a two location field trial using a complete randomized block design. Correlations and heritabilities for several ear fasciation-related traits and yield were determined. Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) involved in the inheritance of those traits were identified and candidate genes for these QTL proposed. Ear fasciation broad-sense heritability was 0.73. Highly significant correlations were found between ear fasciation and some ear and cob diameters and row number traits. For the 23 yield and ear fasciation-related traits, 65 QTL were identified, out of which 11 were detected in both environments, while for th...
Marine Biodiversity Records, 2009
The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) is a small, pelagic and cosmopolitan cetacean. Though... more The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) is a small, pelagic and cosmopolitan cetacean. Though it is the most common dolphin species in the Mediterranean Sea, it is not considered resident in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. Fifteen striped dolphins were found dead in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea in the last eight years (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007). More specimens were found in southern than in the northern part of the Adriatic. Analysis of twelve microsatellite loci and sequencing of a 882 base pair (bp) fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region were performed for genetic characterization. The mean allelic diversity (7 ±0.78) and mean expected heterozygosity (0.727 ±0.05) reveal high genetic variation. Significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was observed at two loci. Sequence analysis of the mtDNA control region identified seven unique haplotypes with 22 polymorphic sites in ten individuals. The haplotype diversity (0.911 ±0.077) was high, while nucleotide diversity was strikingly low (0.006 ±0.003). Results presented here support the notion of the striped dolphin not being resident species in Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea.
Through several centuries of natural and hu- man selection, a very diverse maize germplasm has be... more Through several centuries of natural and hu- man selection, a very diverse maize germplasm has been developed in Portugal. Portuguese maize landraces have been preserved on farm, due to particular quality traits not found on their competing modern hybrid varieties. These landraces are mainly flint type open pollinated va- rieties (OPV) with technological ability for the production of the traditional
PLoS ONE, 2012
Tree species with wide distributions often exhibit different levels of genetic structuring correl... more Tree species with wide distributions often exhibit different levels of genetic structuring correlated to their environment. However, understanding how environmental heterogeneity influences genetic variation is difficult because the effects of gene flow, drift and selection are confounded. We investigated the genetic variation and its ecological correlates in a windpollinated Mediterranean tree species, Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl, within a recognised glacial refugium in Croatia. We sampled 11 populations from environmentally divergent habitats within the Continental and Mediterranean biogeographical regions. We combined genetic data analyses based on nuclear microsatellite loci, multivariate statistics on environmental data and ecological niche modelling (ENM). We identified a geographic structure with a high genetic diversity and low differentiation in the Continental region, which contrasted with the significantly lower genetic diversity and higher population divergence in the Mediterranean region. The positive and significant correlation between environmental and genetic distances after controlling for geographic distance suggests an important influence of ecological divergence of the sites in shaping genetic variation. The ENM provided support for niche differentiation between the populations from the Continental and Mediterranean regions, suggesting that contemporary populations may represent two divergent ecotypes. Ecotype differentiation was also supported by multivariate environmental and genetic distance analyses. Our results suggest that despite extensive gene flow in continental areas, long-term stability of heterogeneous environments have likely promoted genetic divergence of ashes in this region and can explain the present-day genetic variation patterns of these ancient populations. Citation: Temunović M, Franjić J, Satovic Z, Grgurev M, Frascaria-Lacoste N, et al. (2012) Environmental Heterogeneity Explains the Genetic Structure of Continental and Mediterranean Populations of Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. PLoS ONE 7(8): e42764.
Phytoparasitica, 2007
Some species of the genus Orobanche are among the most devastating parasitic weeds, causing exten... more Some species of the genus Orobanche are among the most devastating parasitic weeds, causing extensive damage in agricultural fields. Considering the difficult control due to seed longevity in the soil, small seed size, high fecundity and a subterranean phase that allows them to parasitize the host before they emerge and become evident, the development of diagnostic markers is highly recommended. In our study we identified potential molecular diagnostic markers from the plastid genome in order to distinguish among the most important Orobanche species attacking crops in Andalusia, the southern region of the Iberian Peninsula. The study has considered O. crenata, O ramosa and O. cumana causing serious losses in legumes, solanaceous crops and sunflower fields, respectively, and O. minor that, although abundant in Andalusia, has to our knowledge not yet been found parasitizing agricultural hosts. We amplified a non-coding region from the plastid genome, studied sequence differences among the amplified fragments and digested those of the same length with selected restriction enzymes. Here, we propose a molecular protocol to distinguish the main parasitic plants in crop fields of southern Spain. Different applications such as identification of Orobanche seeds in soil or crop seed lots are discussed in order to offer right crop recommendations or to prevent new infestation of parasite-free fields. Recommendations for further development of these diagnostic markers are also considered.
Molecular Ecology, 2013
Populations occurring in areas of overlap between the current and future distribution of a specie... more Populations occurring in areas of overlap between the current and future distribution of a species are particularly important because they can represent "refugia from climate change". We coupled ecological and range-wide genetic variation data to detect such areas and to evaluate the impacts of habitat suitability changes on the genetic diversity of the transitional Mediterranean-temperate tree Fraxinus angustifolia. We sampled and genotyped 38 natural populations comprising 1006 individuals from across Europe. We found the highest genetic diversity in western and northern Mediterranean populations, as well as a significant west to east decline in genetic diversity. Areas of potential refugia that correspond to approximately 70% of the suitable habitat may support the persistence of more than 90% of the total number of alleles in the future. Moreover, based on correlations between Bayesian genetic assignment and climate, climate change may favour the westward spread of the Black Sea gene pool in the long term. Overall, our results suggest that the northerly core areas of the current distribution contain the most important part of the genetic variation for this species and may serve as in situ macrorefugia from ongoing climate change. However, rearedge populations of the southern Mediterranean may be exposed to a potential loss of unique genetic diversity owing to habitat suitability changes unless populations can persist in microrefugia that have facilitated such persistence in the past.
Mammalian Biology - Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde, 2011
The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the only resident marine mammal species in the Cro... more The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the only resident marine mammal species in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea, with an estimated number at around 220 individuals. It is an endangered and legally protected species in Croatia, and its demographic history is poorly known. This study investigates the level of genetic diversity in the bottlenose dolphin population from the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea and a possibility of recent population size contraction, since there are indications that there has been intensive eradication operations in the mid 20th century that might have caused reductions in the effective population size and might have resulted in a loss of genetic variation. Thirty samples were genotyped at 12 dinucleotide microsatellite loci. The mean allelic richness (6.835 ± 0.705) and mean expected heterozygosity (0.692 ± 0.05) revealed high level of genetic diversity. Bottleneck analysis gave ambiguous evidence for a recent population decline in the investigated bottlenose dolphin population. The M ratio test, with two sets of parameter values, suggested a recent bottleneck; whereas the analysis by the Bottleneck program under three mutation models (TPM, SMM and IAM) showed no evidence for a genetic bottleneck. We take a more conservative approach to the interpretation of these results by accepting the evidence of a recent bottleneck. We suggest maintaining the current level of bottlenose dolphin protection in the area and careful monitoring of the population in the future.
Euphytica, 2008
Natural, and in particular, artificial (human) selection may pose a danger to the existing crop g... more Natural, and in particular, artificial (human) selection may pose a danger to the existing crop genetic diversity. Nevertheless, on-farm breeding systems seem to achieve phenotypic improvements even though preserving variability. Using SSR markers, we analysed several selection cycles, over a 20 years period, of a Portuguese on-farm participatory maize OPV-'Pigarro' breeding project. No significant differences in allelic richness (N ar ), observed heterozygosity (H O ), expected heterozygosity (or gene diversity; H E ) or inbreeding coefficient (f) were detected among the selection cycles. 58 out of 107 alleles were common to all the selection cycles studied. The analysis of molecular variance showed that the variation among selection cycles represented only 7% of the total molecular variation. However, the number of private alleles varied among the selection cycles, being the highest detected at the beginning of the selection project. These findings demonstrate that an allele flow took place during the on-farm selection process of 'Pigarro' but the level of genetic diversity was not significantly influenced. Since interesting phenotypic improvements were also achieved, on-farm breeding projects, like this one, should be valued as a way to preserve unique Portuguese maize landraces in risk of disappearing.
Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, 2007
Financial support: The work has been carried out at CIFA "Alameda del Obispo" (IFAFA-Área de Mejo... more Financial support: The work has been carried out at CIFA "Alameda del Obispo" (IFAFA-Área de Mejora y Biotecnología) and was supported by the INIA RTA04-067 project.
Revista Fitotecnia …, 2006
La presencia de regiones conservadas en especies diferentes (sintenia) permite identificar genes ... more La presencia de regiones conservadas en especies diferentes (sintenia) permite identificar genes o regiones del genoma involucrados en funciones similares. Así, un marcador estrechamente ligado a un carácter presente en una especie lo podría estar en ...
XXII EUCARPIA Maize and …, 2011
Abstract: Nowadays European consumers are more concern about the quality of their food and about ... more Abstract: Nowadays European consumers are more concern about the quality of their food and about agrodiversity erosion and unsustainability of agricultural ecosystems. Centuries of maize cultivation in Portugal have originated a very diverse germplasm with particular ...
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 2012
Aquatic Toxicology, 2013
Environmental pollution may modify all the evolutionary processes involved in shaping the genetic... more Environmental pollution may modify all the evolutionary processes involved in shaping the genetic patterns of exposed populations. In order to evaluate the pollution impact on the genetic diversity of Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis ten populations inhabiting differently polluted sites along the eastern Adriatic coast, from pristine bays to heavily trafficked harbours, were studied. Pollution pressure was assessed through an integrated study of biological effects and responses across different levels of biological organization. Eight microsatellite markers were analysed to assess genetic diversity of investigated populations. Both the principal component analysis (PCA) of the biomarker data set as well as the biomarker response index (BRI) confirmed substantial pollution pressure at the highly polluted sites, and very low pollution exposure at the three reference sites. Very shallow genetic differentiation was found in respect to maritime distances or pollution status, and this was attributed to a high gene flow among the populations. However, populations inhabiting polluted sites exhibited higher levels of genetic diversity and evolutionary mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are discussed.
Hortscience, Aug 1, 2004
Additional index words. Olea europaea L., DNA markers, genetic diversity, AMOVA Abstract. Eighty-... more Additional index words. Olea europaea L., DNA markers, genetic diversity, AMOVA Abstract. Eighty-two Spanish olive cultivars from the World Germplasm Bank of the Centro de Investigación y Formación Agraria (CIFA) Alameda del Obispo in Cordoba (Spain) were analysed by RAPD markers to assess their genetic relatedness and to study patterns of genetic variation. The dendrogram based on unweighted pair group cluster analysis using Jaccard's index included two major groups that consisted mostly of cultivars from the southern and central part of Spain. Clustering together of cultivars from the Levante zone was also observed. The pattern of genetic variation among olive cultivars from three different Spanish zones (Levante, central and Andalusia) was analysed by means of the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). Although most of the genetic variability was attributable to differences of cultivars within each zone 95.88%), signifi cant φ-values among zones (φ st = 0.041; p < 0.001) suggested the existence of phenotypic differentiation. These results are consistent with the predominantly allogamous nature of Olea europaea L. species. Signifi cant values of φ st for the pair Andalusia/Levante indicate the presence of differentiation. The negative value of φ st observed in the case of the Andalusia/central pair suggests that some varieties from central Spain are more similar to the Andalusian ones than to the varieties of their own geographic area, and vice versa.