Hordeum murinum L. is a polyploid complex of thermophilic, annual, zoochoric grasses of Mediterranean–Irano- Turanian origin that is commonly present in Europe. H. murinum complex includes three annual and most often autogamous taxa: glaucum, leporinum and murinum. The variation of nuclear microsatellites, chloroplast microsatellites and chloroplast SNP-based PCR-RFLP markers of H. murinum from Europe was analyzed in order to investigate its migration. The chloroplast markers revealed three distinct haplotypes. Two of them are characteristic of leporinum and murinum. A geographical pattern of haplotypes has been detected, however it does not correspond to the known patterns of migration routes in the Holocene. Geographic distribution of genotypes defined by nuclear microsatellites has shown a geographic trend that may link the migration of leporinum and murinum with the spread of Neolithic agriculture in Europe. This study also confirms genetic distinction of glaucum, as well as genetic uniformity of murinum and leporinum.

The eurybathic isopod species Chelator insignis shows a wide distribution south of Iceland. We analysed 51 specimens from shelf (213–305 m depth), slope (885–891 m and 1380–1390 m depth) and deep−sea habitats (2750 m) south of Iceland with different DNA markers. A fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) was studied for 47 specimens, 16S was studied for 36 specimens, and a fragment for the 18S rRNA gene could be amplified for 11 specimens. For the COI data, specimens clustered into five distinct lineages each separated by ³ 20% uncorrected pairwise distances. Both the mitochondrial 16S and the nuclear 18S sequence data further support this deep divergence, suggesting the presence of overlooked species inside the nominal C. insignis . Populations on the shelf occurring east and west of the Reykjanes Ridge were genetically identical suggesting that this ridge is not a barrier to gene flow. However, populations from different depth ranges differed substantially. Our multi−gene analysis suggests that the newly found species likely have more narrow vertical distribution ranges and highlights a possible role of bathymetry in speciation processes.

We studied the thermophilous grass Bromus erectus in Central Europe to determine its pattern of population genetic structure and genetic diversity, using ISSR-PCR fingerprinting to analyze 200 individuals from 37 populations. We found three genetic groups with a clear geographic structure, based on a Bayesian approach. The first group occurred west and south of the Alps, the second east and north of the Alps, and the third was formed by four genetically depauperated populations in Germany. The populations from Germany formed a subset of the Bohemian-Moravian populations, with one private allele. Two differentiation centers, one in the Atlantic- Mediterranean and the second in the Pannonian-Balkan area, were recognized by species distribution modeling. The geographic distribution of the genetic groups coincides with the syntaxonomic split of the Festuco-Brometea class into the Festucetalia valesiaceae and Brometalia erecti orders. We found a statistically significant decrease in mean ISSR bands per individual from south to north, and to a lesser extent from the east to west. The former was explained by Holocene long-distance migrations from southern refugia, the latter by the difference in the gradient of anthropopression. We hypothesize a cryptic northern shelter of the species in Central Europe in the putative Moravian-Bohemian refugium.