The complete chloroplast genome sequence of the folk medicinal and vegetable plant purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.)

Portulaca oleracea is an important and widely distributed medicinal and edible plant that has great economic value in the medical and food industries. We sequenced the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of P. oleracea,whichis156,533 bp in length, including a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,501 bp separated by a large single copy (LSC) region of 87,436 bp and a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,095 bp. The genome contains 85 protein-coding genes, 37 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and 8 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. There are 40 repeat units and 111 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in the genome. We also carried out complete cp genome comparison with other Caryophyllales species. The size, gene content, and structural organisation of P. oleracea are relatively conserved, but the genes ycf1 and ycf2 have larger introns. The simple sequence repeats (SSR) in the introns of ycf3, ycf1, atpB, rrn23 and ndhH have significant polymorphism. Comparisons of IR boundaries among 8 Caryophyllales species showed contraction and expansion. The complete cp genome sequence will contribute to a better understanding of the evolutionary mode of the cp genome and to the development of new markers for Caryophyllales classification.     

Amaranthus Tricolor Has the Potential for Phytoremediation of Cadmium‐Contaminated Soils

Phytoremediation is a developing technology that uses plants to clean up pollutants in soils. To adopt this technology to cadmium (Cd)–contaminated soils efficiently, a Cd hyperaccumulator with fast growth rate and large biomass is required. In the present study, we selected Caryophyllales as a potential clade that might include Cd hyperaccumulators because this clade had a high mean concentration of zinc (Zn), which is in the same element group as Cd. Three species in Caryophyllales and three species in different clades were grown with Cd. Among them, Amaranthus tricolor showed high accumulating ability for Cd under both water‐culture and soil‐culture conditions, whereas Brassica juncea, a known Cd hyperaccumulator, accumulated high concentrations of Cd in shoots only under water‐culture conditions. This result suggests that A. tricolor has Cd‐solubilizing ability in rhizosphere. Because A. tricolor has large biomass and high growth rate, this species could be useful for phytoremediation of Cd‐contaminated fields.     

A look into the past,present and future potential distributions of Talinopsis frutescens,a North American endemic lineage closely related to Cactaceae

Talinopsis frutescens(Anacampserotaceae,a family that is close related to Cactaceae)is a succulent species endemic to North America.The aim of this study was to explore,using Ecological Niche Modeling(ENM),changes in potential distribution ranges considering different climate scenarios:past conditions during the Last Inter Glacial(LIG)and the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM),the present and projections for 2070(RCP 2.6 to 8.5).A pattern of contraction is observed during the LIG,which agrees with other studies focused in species from arid environments.This pattern was followed by a migration towards the south during the LGM and a possible recent expansion to the north as is observed in the present scenario.All future projections show the same contraction and fragmentation patterns,resulting in three discontinuous areas:the northern part of the Chihuahuan Desert,the southern-central part of the Mexican Plateau,and the smallest one in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley.Our projections for future scenarios agree with other studies and support that global climate change tends to alter the current distribution of arid environment species.