The transfer of genetic material from the mitochondria and plastid to the nucleus gives rise to nuclear integrants of mitochondrial DNA (NUMTs) and nuclear integrants of plastid DNA (NUPTs). This frequently occurring DNA transfer is ongoing and has important evolutionary implications. In this review, based on previous studies and the analysis of NUMT/NUPT insertions of more than 200 sequenced plant genomes, we analyzed and summarized the general features of NUMTs/NUPTs and highlighted the genetic consequence of organellar DNA insertions. The statistics of organellar DNA integrants among various plant genomes revealed that organellar DNA-derived sequence content is positively correlated with the nuclear genome size. After integration, the nuclear organellar DNA could undergo different fates, including elimination, mutation, rearrangement, fragmentation, and proliferation. The integrated organellar DNAs play important roles in increasing genetic diversity, promoting gene and genome evolution, and are involved in sex chromosome evolution in dioecious plants. The integrating mechanisms, involving non-homologous end joining at double-strand breaks were also discussed.

Crested ibis (Nipponia nippon) is globally endangered due to habitat loss and destruction. In 2007, a reintroduction project was implemented in Dongzhai National Nature Reserve, Henan Province, and 78 crested ibises were released between 2013 and 2015, with the aim of establishing a self-sustaining wild population outside the Qinling Mountains, where crested ibis was first reintroduced. The aim of this study was to detect suitable habitat areas, and evaluate the factors affecting the distribution of the crested ibis. We used a maximum entropy model with seven environmental variables to evaluate habitat suitability. Our results indicate that the current reserve may be too small to meet the crested ibises’ needs in the future, and we believe that more ibises will disperse outside the reserve as the population expands. The distribution of crested ibises in the Dongzhai Reserve area was mainly affected by altitude, followed by distance to forest, and distance to roads. Notably, our study confirmed that the crested ibis has adapted and regained the habit of living at low elevations in the Dongzhai Reserve. Although most suitable habitat was found inside the nature reserve, a large proportion of suitable habitat was also found outside of the reserve. In addition, we found evidence that crested ibises were fairly tolerant to human disturbances, such as presence of roads. As the population of crested ibises expands, more may move outside of the nature reserve. It is, therefore, important to also implement crested ibis conservation strategies such as public outreach and surveillance outside of the nature reserve, as well as continuing conservation efforts inside of the nature reserve.

The taxonomic status of subspecies of Hipposideros pomona (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) in China is controversial and uncertain. To explore the differences and subspecies differentiation in H. pomona from different regions of China, we conducted a series of bat surveys from 2011 to 2014. We performed multivariate morphometric analyses using 16 external and 21 skull measurements based on 100 samples and compared DNA sequence divergence. The results revealed distinct differences in both the external and skull measurements of H. pomona. The Cytb and COΙ sequence divergences of H. pomona from 3 regions ranged from 6.0% to 8.5% and 5.2% to 8.0%, respectively, which reached the levels required for subspecies classification. In contrast, the RAG1 gene was not considered to be a good molecular marker for identifying subspecies because the sequence divergence was 0–0.7% within a region and 0–0.8% among regions. Both the morphological and molecular results of this study supported the conclusion that H. pomona from the Min-Guang coastal (SM), South Yunnan (SY), and Hainan Island (SH) subregions in South China belonged to different subspecies. The SM population represents H. p. sinesis, and the SH population may be a unique subspecies. Whether the SY population belongs to H. p. gentilis requires further study.

Microbial Diversity in the Gastrointestinal Tract of a Bat, Hypsugo alaschanicus