New cycad species description: Ceratozamia sanchezae

We recently published the description of a new cycad species from Chiapas Highlands, Mexico: Ceratozamia sanchezae.

This new species lives at high altitudes (>1500 masl), has partially subterranean trunks, arched leaves with thin petioles sparsely armed with thin prickles, oblanceolate leaflets in juveniles, and linear lanceolate or falcate in adults.

This article can be found in Phytotaxa: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.500.3.4

How to cite:

Gutiérrez-Ortega J.S., Pérez-Farrera M.A., Vovides A.P., Chávez-Cortázar A., López S., Santos-Hernández N.G., Ruíz-Roblero S.K. 2021. Ceratozamia sanchezae (Zamiaceae): a new cycad species from Chiapas Highlands (Mexico). Phytotaxa 500 (3):201-216. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.500.3.4

New article: Evolutionary history of Dioon sonorense-D. vovidesii

I am very happy for the publication of our new article entitled “Speciation along a latitudinal gradient: The origin of the Neotropical cycad sister pair Dioon sonorense–D. vovidesii (Zamiaceae)” in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

In this study, we evaluated the history of lineage divergence between two sister species from North-western Mexico: Dioon sonorense and D. vovidesii. We used population genetics and ecological niche models to identify the demographic and environmental factors involved in speciation. This study demonstrate that the speciation within this species group includes a genetic component that is influenced by disparate genetic drift and natural selection, and an geographic/ecological component that has an additive factor associated with speciation.

How to cite:

Gutiérrez-Ortega J.S., Martínez J.F., Molina-Freaner F., Pérez-Farrera M.A., Vovides A.P., Hernández-López A., Tezuka A., Nagano A.J., Watano Y., Takahashi Y., Murakami M. Kajita T. 2021. Speciation along a latitudinal gradient: The origin of the Neotropical cycad sister pair Dioon sonorense-D. vovidesii (Zamiaceae). Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7545

Open Access!

You can find our manuscript here: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7545

Or download it here:

gutierrez-ortega-et-al.-2021.-ece3.7545Download

Participation in iTHEMS seminars, RIKEN

On March 25th, 2021, I had the great pleasure to participate in the iTHEMS seminars on Biology, RIKEN. RIKEN is famous for their top researchers, and for their interdisciplinary team, in which many members don’t have any experience on biological research. Thus, it was very challenging to explain my research to a broad public of brilliant scientists of other disciplines.

Further details here: https://ithems.riken.jp/en/news/biology-seminar-dr-jose-gutierrez-march-25-2021

Participation in the 68th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan

Last week, I had the great chance to participate in the 68th meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan (ESJ). I am amazed by the great number of presentations, symposia and workshops that were held online in just a small bunch of days. Also, it is great to learn from experts in a great variety of research fields in ecology.

This time, I presented our progress in our research on the history of diversification of cycads, particularly our most recent researches in the sister pair of cycads Dioon sonorense and D. vovidesii.

Additionally, I was honored to receive this year the 9th Young Scholar Award of the Ecological Society of Japan (Suzuki Award)! I appreciate the great attention that our research has received in the ESJ. I was allowed to give a talk about my life in research and the contributions of our researches in science.

Also, congratulation to the other award winners! And see you in the 69th meeting, hopefully, in person.

My participation:

1. Gutiérrez-Ortega J.S.* 2021.Evolutionary conservativeness and diversification of cycads: Understanding the evolution of living fossils. Young Scholar Award of the Ecological Society of Japan (9th ESJ Suzuki Award). The 68th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan. (Original title in Japanese: ソテツ類の進化的保守性と多様化:生きている化石の進化を考察す)る。9th 第9回 日本生態学会奨励賞（鈴木賞）受賞。(第68回日本生態学会大会). March 17-21, 2021. [Award presentation].
2. Gutiérrez-Ortega J.S.*, Molina-Freaner F., Martínez J.F., Pérez-Farrera M.A., Vovides A.P., Hernández-López A., Tezuka A., Nagano A.J., Watano Y., Takahashi Y., Murakami M., Kajita T. 2021. Speciation along a latitudinal gradient: The origin of the Neotropical cycad sister pair Dioon sonorense–D. vovidesii (Zamiaceae). The 68th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan.. Online meeting. (第68回日本生態学会大会). March 17-21, 2021. [Oral presentation].

Participation in the 20th Annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Plant Systematics

The 20th Annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Plant Systematics (日本植物分類学会第 20 回大会) was held online on March 8-9, 2021. Although we couldn’t see each other in person this year, it was nice to share findings, ideas and nice conversations among members of the society through our screens.

This time, I had the chance to present the progress of our research entitled “Speciation along a latitudinal gradient: The origin of the Neotropical cycad sister pair Dioon sonorense–D. vovidesii (Zamiaceae)”. I appreciate the comments and the interesting questions that I received!

In addition, I felt honored to receive the Award for Young Scientists of the Japanese Society for Plant Systematics! I was invited to give a commemorative award talk that I entitled “Revealing the evolutionary history of the Neotropical cycad genus Dioon (Zamiaceae)”. This was a good opportunity to summarize several years of efforts! Thank you very much for this recognition!

How to cite:

1. Gutiérrez-Ortega J.S.*, Molina-Freaner F., Martínez J.F., Pérez-Farrera M.A., Vovides A.P., Hernández-López A., Tezuka A., Nagano A.J., Watano Y., Takahashi Y., Murakami M., Kajita T. 2021. Speciation along a latitudinal gradient: The origin of the Neotropical cycad sister pair Dioon sonorense–D. vovidesii (Zamiaceae). 20th Annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Plant Systematics (日本植物分類学会第 20 回大会). Online meeting. March 8-10, 2021. [Oral presentation].
2. Gutiérrez-Ortega J.S.* 2021. Revealing the evolutionary history of the Neotropical cycad genus Dioon (Zamiaceae). 20th Annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Plant Systematics (日本植物分類学会第 20 回大会). Online meeting. March 8-10, 2021. [Commemorative award presentation].

Dioon oaxacensis: a new cycad species from Oaxaca, Mexico

We are glad to introduce a new cycad species from Oaxaca, Mexico: Dioon oaxacensis.

Dioon oaxacensis represents a lineage of cycads that evolved in arid habitats of eastern Oaxaca. It shares morphological similarities with its sister D. merolae and a closely related species, D. purpusii. You can find the article in Phytotaxa:

https://www.biotaxa.org/…/article/view/phytotaxa.474.1.5

How to cite:

Gutiérrez-Ortega J.S., Pérez-Farrera M.A., Vovides A.P., Salas-Morales S.H., Chemnick J. 2020. Dioon oaxacensis (Zamiaceae): a new cycad species from the arid central valleys of Oaxaca (Mexico). Phytotaxa 474 (1): 51-61. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.474.1.5

New publication: Cycad anatomy: Old techniques solving new problems

In a new chapter included in the “Proceedings of Cycad 2015: The 10th International Conference on Cycad Biology“, Andrew P. Vovides and we, his collaborators, talk about the advantages on using the traditional methods on plant anatomy to understand the biology and evolution of cycads.

You can find this Proceedings chapter here:

Vovides A.P., Pérez-Farrera M.A., Gutiérrez-Ortega J.S., Stevenson D.W., González D., Avendaño S., Sánchez-Tinoco Y., Galicia S. 2020. Cycad anatomy: Old techniques solving new problems. In: López-Gallego C., Calonje M., Griffith M.P., Khuraijam J.S. (Eds.). Proceedings of Cycad 2015: The 10th International Conference on Cycad Biology. Cycads: Official Newsletter of IUCN SSC Cycad Specialist Group. Vol. 5(1) (Special Issue), p. 33-44. ISSN 2473-442X. http://www.cycadgroup.org/?attachment_id=766

Becoming an assistant professor

This August, 2020, I started my services as assistant professor and coordinator of the ASCENT Program of the Global Science Campus of Chiba University, Japan. This position will give me the great opportunity to contribute for the educational formation of young Japanese students aiming to become the leader scientists of the future!

New paper: Leaflet anatomy of the Ceratozamia miqueliana species complex

I collaborated in the recently published paper “A revision of the Ceratozamia miqueliana (Zamiaceae) species complex based on analyses of leaflet anatomical characters”.

In this study, we demonstrated that a set of anatomical leaflets can be useful for the distinction of the five cycad species within this species complex. As a consequence, we suggest that the species C. becerrae should be considered as a valid taxonomic species.

You can find the published article in Flora journal, in this link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0367253020301493

 

How to cite:

Vovides, A. P., Pérez-Farrera, M. A., Gutiérrez-Ortega, J. S., Avendaño, S., Medina-Villarreal, A., González-Astorga, J., & Galicia, S. (2020). A revision of the Ceratozamia miqueliana (Zamiaceae) species complex based on analyses of leaflet anatomical characters. Flora, 151649.

¡Presentación en línea! Una conferencia para la Sociedad Mexicana de Botánica A.C.

Hace unos días participé en la primera sesión del programa “Plantástico!: Diálogos botánicos”, organizado por la página de FaceBook de la Sociedad Mexicana de Botánica.

En mi presentación hablé sobre mi investigación titulada “Historia evolutiva de las cícadas del género Dioon: ¿por qué México tiene tantas especies de cícadas?”

Fue una experiencia muy divertida para mí, y espero que haya sido muy informativo para el público general. Puedes ver la grabación de mi presentación en este sitio: https://www.facebook.com/145257752203714/videos/573218950270386/