Volume 15, Issue 1, January 2023

The scientific work of Alexander von Humboldt was influenced by his interaction with the diversity and natural wealth of the Neotropics. Here, we evaluated several hypotheses in explaining plant diversity along an elevational gradient that Humboldt himself visited during his journey across Mexico. We analysed the species diversity of flowering plants at eight sites between 30 to 3500 m a.s.l. We found that temperature was the main predictor of the diversity of the studied plants. Given the current global environmental crisis, an integrative vision based on Humboldt’s method is necessary.

Cassava MeGATAsplay multiple roles in growth and development, abiotic stresses and starch metabolism of cassava.

This is one of the first phylogeographic studies on tropical palms in Lower Central America (LCA) and the first in the genus Chamaedorea. It gives insight on gene flow and dispersal patterns of Chamaedorea tepejilotein Costa Rica. Chamaedorea tepejilotepopulations contain moderate to high nuclear genetic diversity and very minimal chloroplast DNA diversity. High-elevation mountain ranges appear to be a barrier for gene flow between populations on the Caribbean and Pacific slopes of Costa Rica, although low-elevation passages are permeable. Gene flow between Pacific and Caribbean populations may have occurred through Panama, a colonization pathway not previously considered for LCA plants.