Ofelia Vargas-Ponce

• Professor at University of Guadalajara

The Cozumel Reefs National Park (CRNP) is an important stepping-stone location in the Caribbean region, yet it has been exposed to natural disturbances such as hurricanes and thermal-stress episodes that can affect coral community structure, and the potential to change the coral functional roles. Therefore, this work evaluated the spatial and tempo...

Corals perform vital functions within coral reefs, including building the physical framework, balancing geochemical cycles, and maintaining ecological niches. However, increased natural stressors due to climate change have resulted in species loss and a reconfiguration of coral assemblages, leading to a decline in reef functions. The objective of t...

Microbes of low abundance (i.e., rare biosphere) are involved in the ability of the coral as holobiont, to respond and acclimatize to local and global environmental disturbances. However, no complete characterization of these important microbial assemblages has been conducted. Outlining these assemblages would greatly benefit our understanding of t...

Fungi of the genus Tulostoma are part of the diverse order Agaricales. These fungicomprise a monophyletic group characterized by globose-stipitate basidiomes, apowdery gleba, and a stipe with a volva or volvoid structure. Tulostoma is consideredcosmopolitan; however, little is known about its species diversity and phylogeneticrelationships in the N...

Factors such as life history traits, environmental conditions, and landscape characteristics influence genetic diversity and structure. Rivers act as corridors that aid dispersal and gene flow among riparian species, such as the bamboo Guadua trinii, commonly known as the “tacuara brava” which grows along riversides and gallery forests in South Ame...

Antecedentes: Los inventarios florísticos documentan especies observadas en una región y constituyen aportes básicos para el conocimiento de sus recursos bióticos. Jalisco es uno de los estados con mayor riqueza florística a nivel nacional. Sin embargo, las constantes adiciones que se documentan con el trabajo exploratorio y los periódicos cambios...

The Mexican Central Pacific (MCP) region has discontinuous coral ecosystems with different protection and anthropogenic disturbance. Characterizing the bacterial assemblage associated with the sea urchin Toxopneustes roseus and its relationship with environmental variables will contribute to understanding the species’ physiology and ecology. We col...

The Mexican Central Pacific (MCP) has discontinuous coral ecosystems with different protection and anthropogenic disturbance. Characterizing the bacterial assemblage associated with the sea urchin Toxopneustes roseus and its relationship with environmental variables will contribute to understanding the species’ physiology and ecology. We collected...

Although insect herbivory is thought to be higher in agroecosystems compared to natural ecosystems, direct evidence on how agriculture itself has impacted herbivory remains scarce. To understand the effects of agriculture, or the cultivation of domesticated crops, over higher trophic levels, it is necessary to compare cultivated crops and their wil...

We describe a new monotypic genus Cataracta based on Physalis microphysa. From 1896 to 2016, five different authors have pointed out that removing P. microphysa from Physalis may contribute to the monophyly of the genus. Recent phylogenetic analyses showed that P. microphysa does not share the most recent common ancestor with Physalis, and its taxo...

The husk tomato (Physalis spp.) is an exceptional commercial crop for its nutritional and medicinal properties where the whole plant is used. This has led to the search for new micropropagation methods to accelerate plant production in the field. P. angulata and P. chenopodifolia were micropropagated via shoot proliferation of axillary buds and ind...

Los ensamblajes bacterianos asociados a los octocorales les aportan estrategias defensivas mediante la producción de compuestos antimicrobianos para protección frente a los microorganismos patógenos al evitar la colonización por otros microorganismos. Debido a la disminución en el descubrimiento de nuevos compuestos en los entornos terrestres, el p...

This work presents an inventory of the Polyplacophora species registered in December 2019 in the intertidal environment of 10 sampling sites of the Northern Gulf of California, México. Fifteen species were obtained from a total of 33 species previously reported throughout the Gulf. Acanthochitona avicula, Ischnochiton guatemalensis, Lepidozona serr...

River network connectivity is the transfer of matter, energy, and organisms along the river and it can influence the pattern of genetic diversity and the population differentiation of riparian species. Riparian bamboo species are unknown about the levels of genetic diversity and the landscape drivers of gene flow. Guadua velutina is a riparian wood...

Physalis (Solanaceae, Solanoideae) is an American genus of ca. 90 species, with its diversity centered on Mexico. We recognize 61 species within the country, for which we provide a generic morphological description, an artificial key to determine species, and brief descriptions. We include distributions, habitats, diagnostic characters, phenology,...

The formation of the Baja California Peninsula (BCP) has impacted the microevolutionary dynamics of different species in ways that depend on biological traits such as dispersal capacity. Plants with relatively low levels of vagility have exhibited high genetic divergence between the BCP and Continental mainland. Brahea armata (Arecaceae) is a palm...

The Mexican Tropical Pacific (MTP) is rich in chitons, mainly represented by the genera Callistochiton Carpenter in Dall, 1879 and Stenoplax Dall, 1879. Despite the widespread presence of these genera in the region, few species have been studied at a molecular level. Using partial cytochrome oxidase I (cox1) gene sequences, we analyzed the genetic...

This chapter explores the taxonomy and ethnobotany of Agave species from diverse mountain regions of Mexico, and a complete list of the useful Agaves from Mexico

El tomate de cáscara (Physalis) es reconocido como un ingrediente principal en la cocina mexicana. En México se cultiva Physalis angulata y P. philadelphica. El fruto es una baya que está encerrada por un cáliz acrescente conocido como cáscara, lo que le da su rasgo distintivo. Además de las dos especies más cultivadas, existen parientes silvestres...

Identifying the core microbiome structure of a metaorganism can be used to monitor the impact of a perturbation against it and the changes in its stability (i.e., dysbiosis), resistance, and resilience. The core‐microbiome interaction regulates holobiont health and homeostasis and is an indicator of the resilience of the whole community. This study...

Crop wild relatives (CWR) intra- and interspecific diversity is essential for crop breeding and food security. However, intraspecific genetic diversity, which is central given the idiosyncratic threats to species in landscapes, is usually not considered in planning frameworks. Here, we introduce an approach to develop proxies of genetic differentia...

BACKGROUND Metabolic reconfiguration in plants is a hallmark response to insect herbivory that occurs in the attack site and systemically in undamaged tissues. Metabolomic systemic responses can occur rapidly while the herbivore is still present and may persist in newly developed tissue to counterattack future herbivore attacks. This study analyzed...

In this study, we sequenced, assembled, and annotated the plastome of Physalis cordata Mill. and compared it with seven species of the genus Physalis sensu stricto. Sequencing, annotating, and comparing plastomes allow us to understand the evolutionary mechanisms associated with physiological functions, select possible molecular markers, and identi...

Background and Aims Shoot ontogenesis in grasses follows a transition from a vegetative phase into a reproductive phase. Current studies provide insight into how branch and spikelet formation occur during the reproductive phase. However, these studies do not explain all the complex diversity of grass inflorescence forms and are mostly focused on mo...

Ensuring food security is one of the world's most critical issues as agricultural sys�tems are already being impacted by global change. Crop wild relatives (CWR)—wild plants related to crops—possess genetic variability that can help adapt agriculture to a changing environment and sustainably increase crop yields to meet the food security challenge....

Genomics is the discipline that studies the structure, function, and evolution of genomes and addresses the methodological processes used tosequence and assemble the genome. Analyzing sequencing data requires state-of-the-art computational resources and specialized mathematicalalgorithms and software, which are together known as bioinformatics. The...

Pseudalcantarea grandis (Schltdl.) Pinzón & Barfuss is a tank bromeliad that grows on cliffs in the southernmost portion of the Chihuahuan desert. Phytotelmata are water bodies formed by plants that function as micro-ecosystems where bacteria, algae, protists, insects, fungi, and some vertebrates can develop. We hypothesized that the bacterial dive...

Many crustacean species are obligate associates of pocilloporid corals, where they feed, reproduce, and find shelter. However, these coral-associated crustaceans have been poorly studied in the eastern tropical Pacific. Determining the crustacean richness and taxonomic distinctness could help in comparing different coral reefs and the potential eff...

The fruits of P. philadelphica are of economic value in Mexico. The plants grow wild or cultivated in traditional farming systems. They are also produced as monoculture. Between the wild and cultivated pools, morphological and physiological differences exist. Plant breeding and the shift towards monoculture could modify the plastome sequence and in...

Husk tomato is an annual vegetable crop grown for its fruits in Mexico, where it grows as weedy and wild. Eight races are recognized from wild (Wild and Milpero) and cultivated (Arandas, Manzano, Puebla, Rendidora, Salamanca, and Tamazula) conditions based on morphological and ecological traits. However, few studies have addressed the genetic diver...

Societal Impact Statement Crop wild relatives (CWR) are plant taxa closely related to crops and are a source of high genetic diversity that can help adapt crops to the impacts of global change, particularly to meet increasing consumer demand in the face of the climate crisis. CWR provide vital ecosystem services and are increasingly important for f...

The Physalis genus includes species of commercial importance due to their ornamental, edible and medicinal properties. These qualities stem from their variety of biologically active compounds. We performed a metabolomic analysis of three Physalis species, i.e., P. angulata, P. grisea, and P. philadelphica, differing in domestication stage and culti...

Domestication is an evolutionary process with an impact on plant reproduction. Many domesticated plants are self-compatible (i.e., they lack mechanisms to reject their own pollen), but few domesticated plants are fully or partially self-incompatible. We used the husk tomato, Physalis philadelphica, as a study model to investigate changes in the rep...

Species delimitation in Cactaceae is a challenging task due to the proliferation of species and subspecies names. Echinocereus pulchellus occurs across a wide geographical range in Mexico and presents numerous polymorphisms. The species complex has been considered to comprise five subspecies. In the present work, we analyze morphological variation...

Forestry systems in Mexico are examples of traditional management of land and biodiversity that integrates the use, conservation and restoration of forest elements. Current in situ management practices of Agave maximiliana in western Mexico include the tolerance of many forest elements, reintroduction of young Agave plants and germination of seeds....

Species delimitation in Cactaceae is a challenging task due to the proliferation of species and subspecies names. Echinocereus pulchellus occurs across a wide geographical range in Mexico and presents numerous polymorphisms. The species complex has been considered to comprise five subspecies. In the present work, we analyze morphological variation...

Physalis chenopodifolia is a perennial wild tomatillo with traditional use in central Mexico because of its edible fruits. Due to their agronomic potential and nutraceutical properties, this species is a resource that can be a candidate to plant breeding programs to be included in the Mexican diet. Here, we report the complete chloroplast genome of...

La disposición de las hojas en el género Tillandsia (Bromeliaceae) facilita la acumulación de agua. En ella se forma un hábitat llamado fitotelma que puede albergar bacterias, algas, protistas y hongos. Tillandsia grandis es una planta saxícola y crece en la zona árida Queretano-Hidalguense. La metagenómica permite obtener secuencias de ADN de múlt...

Physalis philadelphica Lam. has horticultural importance because of its edible fruits. Cultivated and wild populations grow in Mexico. In this study, the complete plastome nucleotide sequence of wild plants was generated using the IonTorrent PGM sequencing technology. The plastome size was 156,804 bp and displayed the typical circular quadripartite...

Some species of Physalis develop fruits that are appreciated as fruit and as culinary ingredients. Only Physalis peruviana and Physalis philadelphica are grown on a larger scale in America. Physalis angulata is grown on a small scale in Jalisco, Mexico. It is a wild species with extensive cultivation potential in tropical areas and a model of wide...

Host-associated differentiation (HAD) has played a major role in insect diversification at both macroevolutionary and microevolutionary scales. This evolutionary process has been reported in insects associated with wild and domesticated plant species. In particular, domesticated species harbor large genetic and phenotypic diversity associated with...

Ecological and microevolutionary perspectives were used to investigate signs of background extinction in two endemic species. We studied relict populations of the cycad Dioon caputoi, contrasting its population structure and neighborhood size with those of Dioon planifolium as a demographically healthier reference population. Population dynamics an...

The study of evolutionary history allows us to examine diversification, selection and domestication processes. Mexico belongs to Mesoamerica, one of the world's most important centers of origin and diversification of plants. One of the plants that has sustained its peoples for over 10,000 years is the agave (Agave sp.). Mexico is the center of dive...

El presente trabajo caracteriza a los grupos de organismos asociados al agua contenida en bromelias tipo tanque, en acantilados de una zona árida.

The synanthropic species (weed) have been the object of study where they emphasize their attributes of adaptation to anthropogenic environments. The genus Physalis, is an ideal taxon to study the adaptation of these wild species to areas of cultivation. The objective of the research was to measure the adaptation of eight genotypes of Physalis in tw...

p>The synanthropic species (weed) have been the object of study where they emphasize their attributes of adaptation to anthropogenic environments. The genus Physalis , is an ideal taxon to study the adaptation of these wild species to areas of cultivation. The objective of the research was to measure the adaptation of eight genotypes of Physalis in...

Dada su riqueza forestal, México cuenta con numerosas especies silvestres del género Physalis (Solanaceae) que poseen potencial para su aprovechamiento, desde el punto de vista fitoquímico; además tiene importantes propiedades medicinales. Physalis chenopodifolia es una de ellas. Taxon de amplia presencia en el territorio nacional, pero poco estudi...

Background: The tribe Tigridieae (Iridaceae) is a monophyletic group restricted to America. It includes bulbous perennial plants with plicate and isobilateral leaves. The inflorescence is a rhipidium and the floral structures are fugacious, very variable in shape, color and size. Tigridieae is taxonomically and morphologically complex. Its generic...

The functional role of coral-associated bacteria and their contribution to coral health is still largely unknown. The first necessary step to address this gap in the knowledge is based on characterization of the microbial assemblage of the coral and the species-specific, temporal and spatial variation in its diversity. Branched corals (e.g., genus...

Population genetic structuring is common among herbivorous insects and frequently is associated with divergent host plants, such as crops and their wild relatives. Previous studies showed population genetic structuring in corn leafhopper Dalbulus maidis in Mexico, such that the species consists of two sympatric, host plant-associated populations: a...

Resumen Las prácticas de aprovechamiento y manejo humano de plantas, como la domesticación, pueden tener efectos evolutivos sobre las mismas. Para Darwin, las plantas y animales domes-ticados fueron fundamentales en la construcción de su teoría y en la actualidad siguen siendo objeto de estudio sobre biología evolutiva. La domesticación es un proce...

The Mexican Central Pacific is located in a zone of oceanographic transition between two biogeographic provinces with particular conditions that affect the associated fauna. The objective of this study was to evaluate the variation of hermatypic coral assemblages in this region and to determine their relationship with the heterogeneity of the benth...

Background: Knowledge on Mexican Solanaceae is uneven. Several areas are well collected and have been floristically treated in recent times, but others have been neglected and are poorly represented in herbaria. Question: Which species of Solanaceae grow in Mexico and which is their state distribution. Study site: Mexico from 2009 to 2011. Metho...

Centers of origin of agriculture and domestication have significantly contributed to the evolution of landraces, based on a long history of use and management of both wild and crop species. Our study examines Physalis angulata, an emerging horticultural crop in western Mexico. This wild and weedy species was adopted as an alternative crop to P. phi...

Agave potatorum is a wild endemic species of Mexico. Its stems are used for mescal production, which cancels sexual reproduction. Agaves extraction from forests decreases their reproductive success and demographic performance. We evaluated patterns of genetic diversity and structure of wild populations under and without extraction in order to ident...

Fifteen species of the genus Entoloma, found in high elevations of Nevado de Colima and the Tequila volcanos, both in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, are presented. Their macromorphological and micromorphological structures are described and general characteristics of their habitat; furthermore, comments about their distinctive features and similar s...

Bacterial assemblages associated with the hermatypic corals Pocillopora damicornis and Pocillopora verrucosa, the surrounding seawater and the sediment at six coral reef sites in the north section of the Tropical Eastern Pacific were assessed using MiSeq Illumina sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rDNA. The bacterial microbiota in both coral sp...

Bacterial assemblages associated with the hermatypic corals Pocillopora damicornis and P. verrucosa, the surrounding seawater and the sediment at six coral reef sites in the north section of the Tropical Eastern Pacific were assessed using MiSeq Illumina sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rDNA. The bacterial microbiota in both coral species, se...

El modelado de la distribución de especies sinantrópicas (malezas) y los factores ambientales que determinan dicha distribución han sido poco estudiados. Physalis tiene 90 especies distribuidas en las Américas, y algunas especies en el Viejo Mundo. México alberga cerca de 70 especies y aproximadamente 35 son endémicas. La sección Angulatae incluye...

Hylocereus en un género americano de importancia hortícola por sus frutos comestibles. En México crecen varias especies de Hylocereus. Sin embargo, su distribución no se conoce por completo, por ello se requiere ampliar este conocimiento. Con este objetivo se analizaron la riqueza de especies y los patrones de distribución geográfica de Hylocereus...

Due to its abundant forestry resources, Mexico has numerous species of the Physalis genus (Solanaceae), plants with a phytochemical potential and important medicinal properties. Physalis chenopodifolia, one of these Solanaceae with a widespread presence in our country, has been little studied. Therefore, the purpose of this work was the mineral cha...

Physalis is an American plant genus that includes species of economic importance for their edible fruit. Consumption of this fruit is a historic tradition in Mexico. Physalis philadelphica is one of the most abundant species, which can grow under wild, weedy or cultivated conditions. It presents high morphological variability in terms of vegetative...

Polaskia chende is a columnar cactus endemic to central Mexico, where it is managed via silviculture due to its edible fruits. We aimed to analyse the consequences of management on population genetics and compared information from different markers to analyse ecological and evolutionary aspects of incipient domestication and genetic resources conse...

Over the last 30 years, cultivation of Agave tequilana Weber var blue for industrial production of tequila, has generated soil erosion, chemical pollution, displacement of traditional food crops and traditional Agave landraces used for preparing “mezcals” in the Appellation of Origin Tequila area. It is also associated with harmful cycles 8–10 year...

Mexico is the center of diversity of the husk tomato (Physalis L., Solanaceae), which includes a number of commercially important edible and ornamental species. Taxonomic identification is presently based on morphological characteristics, but the presence of high inter- and intraspecific morphological variation makes this task difficult. Six ISSR p...

Traditional farming communities frequently maintain high levels of agrobiodiversity, so understanding their agricultural practices is a priority for biodiversity conservation. The cultural origin of agave spirits (mezcals) from west-central Mexico is in the southern part of the state of Jalisco where traditional farmers cultivate more than 20 landr...

Rhabdias manantlanensis n. sp., parasite of the lungs of Craugastor occidentalis is illustrated and described. Rhabdias manantlanensis differs from related species in the genus by the combination of the following characters: elongated body, cuticle slightly swollen (thin and smooth), 6 weakly developed lips (4 submedian + 2 lateral), localization o...

Mexico is a center of diversity for Solanaceae. Our objective is to analyze the species diversity and geographical distribution of the Solanaceae in Jalisco. The data come from 3 405 herbarium specimens. An analysis of these specimens indicates that the Solanaceae in Jalisco are represented by 20 genera, 138 species and 140 taxa. Four genera, Solan...

Se realizaron acciones para impulsar la conservación in situ, caracterización y promoción de la diversidad en el cultivo de mezcales tradicionales del sur de Jalisco. Las metas fueron: 1) establecer dos parcelas de conservación in situ de variedades tradicionales, 2) mantener la colección ex situ de germoplasma de agave, 3) caracterizar botánica y...

Extensive monovarietal cultivation of Agave tequilana Weber var. azul is threatening the diversity of the germplasm used in traditional Agave spirits production in west-central Mexico. To promote the preservation, use, and management of this germplasm, an ethnobotanical and morphological study was done in the center and south of the state of Jalisc...

Martínez, M. (Escuela de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Cerro de las Campanas s/n, Centro, Querétaro, Querétaro 76010 Mexico; mahinda@uaq.mx), & O. Vargas (Instituto de Botánica, Departamento de Botánica y Zoología, CUCBA, Universidad de Guadalajara, Apartado Postal 139, Zapopan, Jalisco 45100 Mexico; ovargas@maiz.cucba.udg.mx). A new...

Se da a conocer la presencia de Nierembergia angustifolia en el estado de Jalisco, México. Se comentan los rasgos distintivos de esta especie y se discute su distribución geográfica conocida.

Lycianthes manantlanensis is described as a new species from Mexico. Lycianthes manantlanensis is recognized by its glabrous, coriaceous, and shiny leaves, long slender pedicels at anthesis and in fruit, and minute calyx appendages. It is morphologically similar to L. barbatula, L. geminiflora, and L. orogenes and is here compared with them. /// Se...

Two new species ofPhysalis, both endemic to Jalisco, Mexico, are described and illustrated:P. longiloba andP. tamayoi.