Mitchell E. Mcglaughlin

• Professor
• School Director/ Professor at University of Northern Colorado

The California Channel Islands are a group of eight oceanic islands located off the coast of southern California that are substantially closer to the mainland than most other well-studied island systems. The equilibrium theory of island biogeography proposed by MacArthur and Wilson posits that species diversity on an island will be positively impac...

Genetic monitoring of reintroduced plantpopulations can allow assessment of the successin establishing new populations thatgenetically resemble native populations. Weused a PCR-based method (Intersimple SequenceRepeats) to quantify genetic variation in fourreintroduced populations of Abroniaumbellata ssp. breviflora, an annualforb native to the Pac...

Galium catalinense (Rubiaceae) is a perennial shrub consisting of two subspecies endemic to California’s Channel Islands: Galium catalinense subsp. catalinense on Santa Catalina Island, and G. catalinense subsp. acrispum, a state-endangered taxon on San Clemente Island. A long history of overgrazing by introduced herbivores has contributed to popul...

The Hawaiian silversword alliance (Asteraceae) is one the best examples of a plant adaptive radiation, exhibiting extensive morphological and ecological diversity. No research within this group has addressed the role of geographical isolation, independent of ecological adaptation, in contributing to taxonomic diversity. The aims of this study were...

The relative roles of gene flow and natural selection in maintaining species differentiation have been a subject of debate for some time. The traditional view is that gene flow constrains adaptive divergence and maintains species cohesiveness. Alternatively, ecological speciation posits that the reverse is true: that adaptive ecological differentia...

Sclerocactus dawsoniae McGlaughlin & Naibauer (Cactaceae), a new species from western Colorado, is described. Sclerocactus dawsoniae is segregated from S. glaucus (K. Schum.) L. D. Benson, differing by having a smaller overall size, fewer spines per areole, an allopatric distribution, and substantial genetic differentiation.

Introduction Recent advances in genetic data collection utilizing next-generation DNA sequencing technologies have the potential to greatly aid the taxonomic assessment of species of conservation concern, particularly species that have been difficult to describe using morphology alone. Accurate taxonomic descriptions aided by genetic data are essen...

Legal Cannabis products in the United States are required to report THC potency (total THC % by dry weight) on packaging, however concerns have been raised that reported THC potency values are inaccurate. Multiple studies have demonstrated that THC potency is a primary factor in determining pricing for Cannabis flower, so it has an outsized role in...

Cannabis sativa L. is grown and marketed under a large number of named strains. Strains are often associated with phenotypic traits of interest to consumers, such as aroma and cannabinoid content. Yet genetic inconsistencies have been noted within named strains. We asked whether genetically inconsistent samples of a commercial strain also display i...

A final report for genetic testing of Corispermum navicula in northern Colorado.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is the sole producer of Cannabis for research purposes in the United States, including medical investigation. Previous research established that cannabinoid profiles in the NIDA varieties lacked diversity and potency relative to the Cannabis produced commercially. Additionally, microsatellite marker analy...

Currently in the United States, the sole licensed facility to cultivate Cannabis sativa L. for research purposes is the University of Mississippi, which is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Studies researching Cannabis flower consumption rely on NIDA-supplied “research grade marijuana.” Previous research found that cannabinoid...

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is the sole producer of Cannabis for research purposes in the United States, including medical investigation. Previous research established that cannabinoid profiles in the NIDA varieties lacked diversity and potency relative to the Cannabis produced commercially. Additionally, microsatellite marker analy...

Corispermum navicula Mosyakin (Amaranthaceae), known as the Boat-shaped bugseed, is an endemic species found in unique sand dune habitat in Jackson County, CO. Corispermum navicula is globally ranked as critically imperiled (G1) according to NatureServe and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program. Both the USDA Forest Service and Bureau of Land Manag...

Evolutionary patterns of Sclerocactus glaucus and other closely related species in Western Colorado and Eastern Utah.

Eriogonum brandegeei Rydb. (Polygonaceae), commonly known as Brandegee’s Buckwheat, is an endemic plant found in disjunct populations located in Chaffee and Fremont counties, Colorado. Eriogonum brandegeei is ranked as globally critically imperiled (G1) according to NatureServe and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program. Both the USDA Forest Service...

Background: Unlike other plants, Cannabis sativa is excluded from regulation by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Distinctive Cannabis varieties are ostracized from registration and therefore nearly impossible to verify. As Cannabis has become legal for medical and recreational consumption in many states, consumers have been expo...

Public comfort with Cannabis (marijuana and hemp) has recently increased, resulting in previously strict Cannabis regulations now allowing hemp cultivation, medical use, and in some states, recreational consumption. There is a growing interest in the potential medical benefits of the various chemical constituents produced by the Cannabis plant. Cur...

Premise of the study: Climate cycles of the Quaternary have impacted plants at a global scale, leaving behind a complex genetic legacy. Species of the northern Rocky Mountains of North America were exposed to more uniform glacial patterns than the central and southern ranges, where synergistic relationships between temperature and precipitation ca...

The California Channel Islands are unique relative to other island chains due to their close proximity to the California mainland and the fact that individual islands, or groups of islands, vary in their distance to the mainland and other islands. This orientation raises questions about whether island taxa with widespread distributions form cohesiv...

California Channel Island buckwheats are important components of scrub communities on the Channel Islands. A long history of overgrazing by introduced herbivores on San Clemente Island has contributed to scrub vegetation loss and population declines in 2 endemic island taxa, Eriogonum giganteum var. formosum and E. grande var. grande. Since herbivo...

DNA barcoding is a simple technique used to develop a large-scale system of classification that is broadly applicable across a wide variety of taxa. DNA-based analysis of snake venoms can provide a system of classification independent of currently accepted taxonomic relationships by generating DNA barcodes specific to each venom sample. DNA purific...

Cannabis sativa is listed as a Schedule I substance by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and has been federally illegal in the United States since 1937. However, the majority of states in the United States, as well as several countries, now have various levels of legal Cannabis. Products are labeled with identifying strain names but there i...

The United States is one of several countries relaxing previously strict regulations on Cannabis. Genetic comparisons within Cannabis strains from different sources find there are inconsistencies even though Cannabis is largely propagated by cloning. Cannabis is known to be highly plastic, not only in morphology, but also chemical profile. The chem...

Premise of the study: Taxa inhabiting the California Channel Islands exhibit variation in their degree of isolation, but few studies have considered patterns across the entire archipelago. We studied phylogeography of insular Acmispon argophyllus and A. dendroideus to determine whether infraspecific taxa are genetically divergent and to elucidate...

Although research on the chemical constituents of Cannabis, including cannabinoids and terpenes, is abundant, relatively few genetic studies have been conducted, and the origins and genetic identities of most Cannabis strains are largely unknown. There are even fewer strain specific Cannabis studies assessing genetic and chemical aspects together....

The relative roles of chance colonization and subsequent gene flow in the development of insular endemic biotas have been extensively studied in remote oceanic archipelagos, but are less well characterized on nearshore island systems. The current study investigated patterns of colonization and divergence between and within two wild buckwheat specie...

This study revisits the hypothesis that dispersal to California’s Channel Islands follows a stepping-stone pattern from mainland California, based on earlier work indicating that the floras conform to classic island-biogeographic expectations. A re-examination of data incorporating the directions of prevailing and seasonal Santa Ana winds greatly s...

Premise of the study: Investigations of recently derived and edaphically (soil) defined plant systems have provided insight into important mechanisms of ecological divergence. We investigated the impact of edaphic adaptation on recent divergence between two Colorado Plateau endemics: the gypsum facultative Oreocarya revealii (Boraginaceae) and its...

Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were designed for Calochortus gunnisonii (Liliaceae), a montane lily species of the central and southern Rocky Mountains, using next-generation DNA sequencing. The markers will be used to investigate population structure, genetic diversity, and demographic history. Methods and Results: Thirteen polymorph...

Natural interspecific hybridization within plants is relatively common and plays an important evolutionary role. Hybridization between rare and common taxa is of concern due to questions of protection status related to hybrids. However, field based identification of hybrid plants can be challenging. Sclerocactus glaucus (Cactaceae), the Colorado ho...

Natural interspecific hybridization within plants is relatively common and plays an important evolutionary role. Hybridization between rare and common taxa is of concern due to questions of protection status related to hybrids. However, field based identification of hybrid plants can be challenging. Sclerocactus glaucus (Cactaceae), the Colorado ho...

Sibara filifolia (Brassicaceae), Santa Cruz Island Rock Cress, an endangered annual plant endemic to the California Channel Islands which was presumed extinct for nearly 50 years, is currently known from only a few small patches on San Clemente Island (SCl) and Santa Catalina Island (SCa). In addition to protecting extant populations, recovery effo...

GRAS proteins comprise a large family of genes that play important roles in regulating gene expression throughout all stages of plant development. The physiological and phylogenetic breadth of GRAS proteins known among model species suggests that they may be useful as molecular genetic markers in non-model species. For example, GRAS genes involved...

Genus Oreocarya (Boraginaceae) contains approximately 62 species, many rare or uncommon. The genus is endemic to western North America with a center of diversity in the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin of the U.S. Rarer members are often restricted to regionally uncommon soil types. Twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from three ta...

The genus Rhinanthus L. is complex, containing many taxonomically unresolved taxa. In this paper we studied genetic variation and species relationships in 15 populations of six Rhinanthus species from three sections. For this purpose, we developed new microsatellite primers for R. osiliensis and used them to investigate genetic variation in two nar...

Premise of the study: To estimate genetic structure, chloroplast loci containing length-variable regions were developed for two legumes, Acmispon argophyllus and A. dendroideus. Methods and Results: Primers for 14 chloroplast loci containing repeat regions were developed from the chloroplast genome sequence of the legume Lotus japonicus and tested...

The genus Sclerocactus (Cactaceae) consists of 15 species, which have a confused taxonomic history due to morphological similarities and distribution overlap. Habitat loss and hybridization are of concern and have established cause for genetic investigations to further understand the genus and develop conservation strategies. Thirteen variable micr...

Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were designed for Eriogonum giganteum var. formosum, an endemic shrub of San Clemente Island, to investigate population structure, genetic diversity, and demographic history. Methods and results: Twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from the California Channel Island endemic Eriogonum...

Rhamnus pirifolia Greene (Rhamnaceae), the island redberry, is a small evergreen tree endemic to the California Channel Islands and Guadalupe Island, Mexico. Nine polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from the taxon and were screened for variability in populations from three California Channel Islands. Moderate levels of variability were ob...

Lotus subgenus Syrmatium is a group of 11 plant species that exhibit extensive ecological and morphological diversity throughout the California floristic province. Fifteen polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from two taxa, Lotus argophyllus var. adsurgens and L. dendroideus var. traskiae, and were screened for variability in 15 additional...

Galium catalinense subspecies acrispum (Rubiaceae) is a state-endangered perennial shrub endemic to San Clemente Island. Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from G. catalinense ssp. acrispum. These loci show high levels of variability, averaging 6.5 alleles per locus and an expected heterozygosity of 0.550. One locus exhibited signi...

Incongruence among different estimates of species relationships in plants, from different molecules, cytogenetic data, biogeographic data, morphological/anatomical data or other sources, has been used frequently as an indication of introgression, hybrid species origin, or chloroplast (cp) capture. In plants, these incongruences are most often seen...

Sibara filifolia (Brassicaceae) is a federally endangered annual herb found on two of the California Channel Islands. Previous studies based on allozymes revealed little genetic variability on San Clemente Island. Nine polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from individuals on San Clemente Island. We found low levels of allelic variation (me...

Clonal plants have the ability to spread and survive over long periods of time by vegetative growth. For endangered species, the occurrence of clonality can have significant impacts on levels of genetic diversity, population structure, recruitment, and the implementation of appropriate conservation strategies. Here we␣examine clone structure in thr...

Adaptive diversification can be viewed as a balance between the conservative force of interpopulation gene flow and selection for differential environments. In this paper, we examine ecological, morphological, and genetic differentiation in a small clade consisting of four East Maui-endemic species of Dubautia: D. menziesii, D. platyphylla, D. reti...