For Tennessee, we report the first collections of the non-native Montia linearis and Cuphea carthagenensis. Both species were documented at Bark Camp Barrens Wildlife Management Area in Coffee County.
This is the first documentation of extrafloral nectaries and associated myrmecophytism in Opuntia cespitosa. Three species of ants were observed visiting extrafloral nectaries on O. cespitosa, and two species were observed exhibiting competitive plant-guarding behavior.
Carnivorous plants rely on prey digestion to supplement nutrient acquisition in low-nutrient habitats, yet the physiological costs of this adaptation remain understudied. Here, we test whether carnivory engages stress programs at the expense of photosynthesis (Givnish model) by profiling Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) gene expression across a time series of prey capture and digestion. Using a transcriptome-guided RNA-seq analysis, we quantify trap-wide responses in a curated set of 75 stressassociated genes spanning oxidative detoxification, protein folding, and signal transduction. We find minimal activation following mechanical stimulation alone, but significant upregulation during prey digestion, particularly at 12-72 h. Summed transcripts per million (TPM) and differential expression analyses indicate that prey presence, not closure per se, is the primary driver of stress signaling. We extend this analysis with a targeted photosynthesis gene panel, which reveals an early (3 h) onset and pronounced late (48-72 h) suppression of PSI/PSII core, antenna, and ATP synthase transcripts in traps with prey, consistent with a selective, digestion-coupled down-regulation of the light-harvesting/ photochemical apparatus.
A survey of the lichens of Mount Mitchell State Park, North Carolina, published in 2017, recovered 171 species and reported 27 historically reported taxa missing. Here we report 72 lichen taxa as new for the park-based on both recent and historical specimens-for a total of 243 total taxa reported for all time points. In addition, 13 of the 27 taxa reported missing for the park in the 2017 survey were rediscovered. Most of these were found by either investigating non-spruce-fir substrates, which was the focus of the most recent survey in 2016, or returning to localities where historical specimens had previously been collected and intensively searching for the species. A revised list of 27 taxa that have not been seen since at least the early 1970s is presented, nine of which belong to the speciose genus Cladonia. The updated checklist for the park contains a surprisingly high level of cyanolichen diversity, suggesting the impacts of pollution and invasive insects on the lichen biota of the park are not as severe as previously thought. Molecular data (nrITS) confirm that Parmelia neodiscordans is distinct from other species of Parmelia and suggest that Appalachian material identified as P. omphalodes may be conspecific with the eastern Asian species P. f'ertilis B'. Lastly, five rare lichens recorded from the park (Alectoria fallacina, Hypotrachyna densirhizinata, Lobarina scrobiculata, Nephroma parile and Parmelia neodiscordans) are proposed for conservation at the state level.
