In this article, we research the phylogenetic position of the rare endemic banana, Musa huangbaioa, which was described only in Chinese journal in 1987. This banana was found at the foot of the Mount Emei in Sichuan Province and has remarkable morphological features, e. g., undulated petiole margins, ribbed fruits and irregular form of the seeds, which are rather unusual in the genus and distinguish it from all other species. In addition, due to its uncertain affinity, we researched the position of M. huangbaioa in the Musaceae family with the aid of molecular phylogenetic analysis of two marker sequences, nrITS and trnL–trnF. We found that this species belongs to the large and rather complicated group of Chinese bananas, M. basjoo–M. itinerans clade. According to the ITS data, M. huangbaioa is monophyletic with one M. basjoo specimen that was cultivated in Central America. Probably, this fact represents that this species can be modern hybrid with one of the genomes inherited from M. basjoo s. l. The whole group M. basjoo–M. itinerans, which M. huangbaioa belongs to, is well separated within the sect. Musa and could be prone to frequent hybridizations in the natural environment; it requires an additional research for more precise differentiation of the group.
The role of Botanical Gardens in biodiversity conservation is considered. The analysis of the greenhouse collection of Cycadales representatives is carried out. Both the general characteristics of this group of plants (distribution, growth forms, reproduction, taxonomy) and the characteristics of the families and genera Cycadales presented in the collection of the Peter the Great Botanical Garden are given. In the greenhouses, 47 species of Cycadales belonging to 9 genera are grown, all species have a conservation status: CR - 7 species, EN - 10 species, VU - 6 species, NT - 16 species, LC - 8 species.
The work researches the role of botanical gardens in biodiversity conservation. It cites the total number of rare and endangered plants in the greenhouse collection of Peter the Great Botanical garden (BIN RAN). The greenhouse collection of Pinaceae representatives has been analysed, provided with a short description of family, genus and certain species, presented in the collection. The article highlights the importance of Pinaceae for various industries, decorative value of plants of this group, the worth of the pinaceous as having environment-improving properties. In the greenhouses there are 37 species of Pinaceae, of 7 geni, all species have a conservation status: CR – 2 species, EN – 3 species, VU- 3 species, NT – 4 species, LC – 25 species. For most species it is indicated what causes depletion. Most often it is the destruction of natural habitats, uncontrolled clearance, insect invasion and diseases.
In this article, we compare the phylogenetic position of various specimens of the Japanese banana (Musa basjoo) originating from the greenhouses of the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden of Peter the Great and from the Kyoto Garden using the analysis of marker sequences ITS1–5.8S rRNA–ITS2 and trnL–trnF. Samples of M. basjoo grown in the Peter the Great Botanical Garden originate from China and have some morphological differences from typical Japanese ones. In addition, we used sequences from the international GenBank database. According to the results of the analysis of ITS sequences, the M. basjoo samples form a single clade with M. itinerans and M. tonkinensis, possibly corresponding to the subsection in the section Musa. At the same time, M. basjoo from Peter the Great Botanical Garden differs in the primary sequence of the ITS1–5.8S rRNA–ITS2 from Japanese one forming a lowly supported clade with M. tonkinensis. Two M. basjoo samples collected in China, whose sequences are taken from the GenBank database, fall into a separate subclade within M. basjoo clade, possibly being a special species from this affinity group. According to the trnL–trnF chloroplast sequences, most of the M. basjoo samples also fall into the clade with M. itinerans. However, one M. basjoo specimen from the Genbank database is monophyletic with M. acuminata from a completely different clade. Possibly, the affinity group of M. basjoo is a compound hybrid complex containing plants that differ in the composition of the maternal genome.
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