Phylogenomics and integrative taxonomy reveal two new species of Amana(Liliaceae)

Until now the genus Amana(Liliaceae),known as ’East Asian tulips’,has contained just seven species.In this study,a phylogenomic and integrative taxonomic approach was used to reveal two new species,Amana nanyueensis from Central China and A.tianmuensis from East China.A.nanyueensis resembles Amana edulis in possessing a densely villous-woolly bulb tunic and two opposite bracts,but differs in its leaves and anthers.Amana tianmuensis resembles Amana erythronioides in possessing three verticillate bracts and yellow anthers,but differs in aspects of its leaves and bulbs.These four species are clearly separated from each other in principal components analysis based on morphology.Phylogenomic analyses based on plastid CDS further support the species delimitation of A.nanyueensis and A.tianmuensis and suggests they are closely related to A.edulis.Cytological analysis shows that A.nanyueensis and A tianmuensis are both diploid(2n=2x=24),different from A edulis,which is either diploid(northern populations) or tetraploid(southern populations,2n=4x=48).The pollen morphology of A.nanyueensis is similar to other Amana species(single-groove germination aperture),but A.tianmuensis is quite different because of the presence of a sulcus membrane,which creates the illusion of double grooves.Ecological niche modelling also revealed a niche differentiation between A.edulis,A.nanyueensis and A.tianmuensis.

Quantifying the electron-donating and-accepting capacities of wastewater for evaluating and optimizing biological wastewater treatment processes

Biological processes have been widely used for the treatment of both domestic and industrial wastewaters.In such biological processes,pollutants are converted into pollution-free substances by microorganisms through oxidation-reduction reactions.Thus,how to quantify the internal oxidation-reduction properties wastewaters and seek out targeted countermeasures is essential to understand,operate,and optimize biological wastewater treatment systems.So far,no such approach is available yet.In this work,a novel concept of electron neutralization-based evaluation is proposed to describe the internal oxidation-reduction properties of wastewater.Pollutants in wastewater are defined as electron donor substances(EDSs)or electron acceptor substances(EASs),which could give or accept electrons,respectively.With such an electron neutralization concept,several parameters,i.e.,electron residual concentration(R),economy-related index(E and E r),and economical evaluation index(Y and Y r),are defined.Then,these parameters are used to evaluate the performance and economic aspects of currently applied wastewater treatment processes and even optimize systems.Three case studies demonstrate that the proposed concept could be effectively used to reduce wastewater treatment costs,assess energy recovery,and evaluate process performance.Therefore,a new,simple,and reliable methodology is established to describe the oxidation-reduction properties of wastewater and assess the biological wastewater treatment processes.