Blanca M. Rojas Andrés

• PhD
• Associate professor at University of Salamanca

The large genus Veronica L. has a complex evolutionary history. Within it, Veronica subsect. Pentasepalae Benth. represents an ideal system to study important evolutionary processes, such as hybridization and polyploidization. Delimitation of species boundaries within the subsection is a difficult task and the highly complicated taxonomy of the gro...

Taxonomic checklists used to verify published plant names and identify synonyms are a cornerstone of biological research. Four global authoritative checklists for vascular plants exist: Leipzig Catalogue of Vascular Plants, World Checklist of Vascular Plants, World Flora Online (successor of The Plant List, TPL), and WorldPlants. We compared these...

Ruagea (Meliaceae) comprises c. 15 species of small or medium-sized trees distributed in Central and South America, predominantly in montane rain forest and cloud forest of the Andes. The taxonomic position of Ruagea has changed several times in the past, and it was previously included in Guarea. Ruagea is currently accepted as a separate genus bas...

The Indonesian Archipelago accommodates the largest mangrove area in Southeast Asia and possesses the world's richest composition of mangrove species. The archipelago comprises areas of the biogeographic regions Sunda and Wallacea, separated by Wallace's line. Here, we used the true mangrove species Lumnitzera littorea and Lumnitzera racemosa as a...

We here provide, first, a general introduction into the woody angiosperm family Meliaceae, including updated numbers of the genera and species found in different parts of the globe, paying attention to geographic centres of diversity and patterns of endemism. Second, and more specifically, we review the latest literature concerning land connections...

The neotropical genus Ruagea H.Karst. is revised. Fifteen species are recognised, including three R. obovata T.D.Penn., R. beckii T.D.Penn. and R. parvifructa T.D.Penn. which are described as new to science. A key to the species is presented, along with information on the morphology, distribution, ecology, conservation assessments, local names, use...

Hybridization is an important mechanism in plant evolution, which contributes to the adaptability and biological diversity of species in fundamental ways. Based on morphological data, Veronica × gundisalvi Sennen (Veronica orsiniana × V. tenuifolia subsp. tenuifolia) is an Iberian endemic taxon of presumably polytopic hybrid origin restricted to fi...

The Balkan Peninsula is recognized as one of the hotspots of biodiversity in Europe. This area has shown since the Last Glacial Maximum appropriate conditions for species diversification and hybridization, which has led to the existence of numerous taxonomically unresolved entities. Here, we focus on the Western Balkans and explore the genetic stru...

Background and aims: The distribution of cytotypes and its potential correlation with environmental variables represent a cornerstone to understanding the origin and maintenance of polyploid lineages. Although many studies have addressed this question in single species at a regional scale, only a few have attempted to decipher this enigma in group...

Despite the role of polyploidy in multiple evolutionary processes, its impact on plant diversification remains controversial. An increased polyploid frequency may facilitate speciation through shifts in ecology, morphology or both. Here we used Allium to evaluate: (1) the relationship between intraspecific polyploid frequency and species diversific...

Polyploidization and hybridization are important sources of variation that may lead to species formation, but -at the same time- they frequently blur phylogenetic relationships among lineages, which may also prevent speciation. Polyploid complexes represent therefore challenging research subjects in phylogenetics. Veronica subsect. Pentasepalae com...

The dataset includes 209 populations belonging to 20 of the 23 species and subspecies comprising Veronica subsection Pentasepalae. The measurements were taken from a leaf situated in the central segment of the stem (medium leaf) and from one on the apical shoot.

This study exhaustively explores leaf features seeking diagnostic characters to aid the classification (assigning cases to groups, i.e. populations to taxa) in a polyploid plant-species complex. A challenging case study was selected: Veronica subsection Pentasepalae, a taxonomically intricate group. The “divide and conquer” approach was implemented...

Example of the architecture of an artificial neural network. (I) input layers = 15; (H) hidden layers = 1; number of neurons = 8; (O) output layers = 8. Output layers correspond to taxa (see Table 1 for abbreviations), input layers correspond to variables (see Table 2 for abbreviations). Positive and negative connections are represented by black an...

Box-plots corresponding to terminal groups (I to VIII) established through guided DAs. The black line in each box-plot indicates the threshold applied to perform the division. (DOCX)

Voucher information. Voucher information for the Veronica samples used in this study. (DOCX)

Systematic DA information. Discriminant functions, standard coefficients and structure matrix tables for the systematic unsupervised discriminant analysis. (XLSX)

MCR vs. number of species. Misclassification rate in relation to the number of output layers (i.e., number of species and subspecies). Each point represents a different combination of randomly chosen OTUs. (TIF)

Box-plots showing the divisions performed with the most discriminant characters found through unsupervised DAs. The black line in each box-plot indicates the threshold that minimizes the misclassification rate. (DOCX)

Guided DA information. Discriminant functions, standard coefficients and structure matrix tables for the sequential guided discriminant analysis. (XLSX)

A reliable taxonomic framework and the identification of evolutionary lineages are essential for effective decisions in conservation biodiversity programs. However, phylogenetic reconstruction becomes extremely difficult when polyploidy and hybridization are involved. Veronica subsection Pentasepalae is a diploid-polyploid complex of ca. 20 species...

The present work is a first approximation to describe the ecological preferences of V. tenuifolia ssp. javalambrensis cytotypes.

Veronica subsect. Pentasepalae is a monophyletic group of perennial herbs distributed mainly in Europe, with a few species reaching Siberia and one N Africa. Since its first description by Bentham in 1846, both the circumscription of the subsection and the species boundaries have been subject to controversy. The first complete taxonomic revision of...

This study reaffirms the utility of AFLP data in order to provide new insights into the evolutionary history and assist species delimitation within a plant species complex in which polyploidization and hybridization have played important roles. Future studies will focus in trying to go deeper into the ecological and adaptive significance, as well a...

Hybridization and polyploidization are important evolutionary mechanisms in angiosperms. Although several studies have been focused on the causes and consequences of genome duplication, little is known about the influence that ecological conditions may have on the distribution of cytotypes. Alpine and arctic floras have been reported to have high f...

Veronica subsection Pentasepalae is a diploid–polyploid complex of c. 20 species distributed in Eurasia and North Africa, in which species boundaries are difficult to determine. Here, we present the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of V. subsection Pentasepalae based on nucleotide sequences [internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the plasti...

The study of genome size evolution in a phylogenetic context in related polyploid and diploid lineages can help us to understand the advantages and disadvantages of genome size changes and their effect on diversification. Here, we contribute 199 new DNA sequences and a nearly threefold increase in genome size estimates in polyploid and diploid Vero...

Veronica subsect. Pentasepalae Benth. (Plantaginaceae, sensu APG III) is one of the four subsections currently recognized within the monoplyletic subgenus V. subgen. Pentasepalae M.M. Mart. Ort., Albach & M. A. Fischer (Albach et al., 2008). This subsection comprises ca. 15 perennial species (and several infraspecific taxa) and is represented in th...

Veronica subsect. Pentasepalae Benth. [Plantaginaceae, sensu APGIII (Chase et al., 2009)] is a diploid-polyploid complex that comprises ca. 15 perennial species distributed in Eurasia, with one species in North Africa. It is part of V. subg. Pentasepalae (Benth.) M. M. Mart. Ort., Albach & M. A. Fisch. (Albach et al., 2004b), together with other fo...

La germinación de semillas es un proceso de desarrollo complejo, regulado por la interacción de diversas hormonas vegetales. Con el objetivo de profundizar en el mecanismo de regulación de estas rutas de señalización hormonal durante la germinación, nos centramos en el estudio del papel de proteín-fosfatasas tipo 2C (PP2Cs) de Arabidopsis. Utilizan...