Cytotype and morphological study of two widespread taxa within Pulmonaria officinalis agg. (Boraginaceae) in Central Europe: the natural and anthropogenic contact zones with confirmation of a new hybrid

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F44555601%3A13440%2F25%3A43899333" target="_blank" >RIV/44555601:13440/25:43899333 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/60076658:12310/25:43910510 RIV/61989592:15310/25:73632110

Result on the web

<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00606-025-01968-9" target="_blank" >https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00606-025-01968-9</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00606-025-01968-9" target="_blank" >10.1007/s00606-025-01968-9</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Cytotype and morphological study of two widespread taxa within Pulmonaria officinalis agg. (Boraginaceae) in Central Europe: the natural and anthropogenic contact zones with confirmation of a new hybrid

Original language description

The distribution of cytotypes and their contact zones provides insights into the spatial, morphological, and ecological differentiation of individual lineages, as well as their rates of reproductive isolation, gene flow, and/or selection. In this study, we focused on the Pulmonaria officinalis group, which comprises two widely distributed and morphologically similar species, P. obscura and P. officinalis, that differ in chromosome number. Intermediate plants, often of questionable identity, are rarely reported from mixed populations. In addition, several ornamental cultivars exhibit morphological similarities to P. officinalis. We employed flow cytometric relative genome size estimation, chromosome counting, morphometric analysis, and pollen staining methods to evaluate cytotype distribution, morphological variation, and to confirm the hybrid origin of intermediate plants and their frequency. We identified two main cytotypes, each associated with specific taxa, i.e. P. obscura (2n?=?2x?=?14), predominant in the northern regions, and P. officinalis s. str. (2n?=?2x?=?16), more common in southern areas of Central Europe. We also occasionally detected DNA-triploids in natural populations of both taxa and confirmed an intermediate cytotype (2n?=?15), mainly in mixed populations of P. obscura and P. officinalis in natural contact zone, although such populations were rare. The intermediate cytotype displayed differences in relative genome size and chromosome number, as well as several morphological characters (e.g. calyx length and calyx indumentum) compared to the parental taxa. These plants also have lower fertility, with pollen viability ranging from 2 to 33%, compared to their parents, which had pollen viability 70?98%. On the basis of these results, including the confirmation of the hybrid status and the ability to distinguish these plants from both parental taxa, we describe a new hybrid, Pulmonaria?x?superflua Vejvodová and Kobrlová, as a hybrid between P. obscura and P. officinalis s. str. We also revised the frequency of non-native populations (garden escapes) and explored their potential coexistence with native populations of the P. officinalis complex and forming of the anthropogenic contact zone.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10611 - Plant sciences, botany

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Plant Systematics and Evolution

ISSN

0378-2697

e-ISSN

1615-6110

Volume of the periodical

311

Issue of the periodical within the volume

41

Country of publishing house

AT - AUSTRIA

Number of pages

19

Pages from-to

1-19

UT code for WoS article

001599875400001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

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