RESULTS: SatA comprises c. 14.5% of the P. armeniacum genome and is specific to subgenus Parvisepalum. It is composed of four primary monomers that range from 230 to 359 bp and contains multiple inverted repeat regions with hairpin-loop motifs. A new karyotype of P. vietnamense (2n = 28) is presented and shows that the chromosome number in subgenus Parvisepalum is not conserved at 2n = 26, as previously reported. The physical locations of SatA sequences were visualised on the chromosomes of all seven Paphiopedilum species of subgenus Parvisepalum (2n = 26-28), together with the 5S and 45S rDNA loci using FISH. The SatA repeats were predominantly localisedin the centromeric, peri-centromeric and sub-telocentric chromosome regions, but the exact distribution pattern was species-specific.
CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the newly discovered, highly abundant and rapidly evolving satellite sequence SatA is specific to Paphiopedilum subgenus Parvisepalum. SatA and rDNA chromosomal distributions are characteristic of species, and comparisons between species reveal that the distribution patterns generate a strong phylogenetic signal. We also conclude that the ancestral chromosome number of subgenus Parvisepalum and indeed of all Paphiopedilum could be either 2n = 26 or 28, if P. vietnamense is sister to all species in the subgenus as suggested by the ITS data.
Methods: Faeces were collected under the roost ofE. spelaeaonce a week from December 2015 to March 2016. Plant DNA was extracted from the faeces, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified atITS2andrbcLregions and mass sequenced. The resultant plant operational taxonomic units were searched against NCBI GenBank for identification.
Results: A total of 55 species of plants were detected from faeces ofE. spelaeaincludingArtocarpus heterophyllus, Duabanga grandifloraandMusaspp. which are likely to be important food resources for the cave nectar bat.
Discussion: Many native plant species that had not been reported in previous dietary studies ofE. spelaeawere detected in this study includingBauhinia strychnoideaandUrophyllum leucophlaeum, suggesting thatE. spelaearemains a crucial pollinator for these plants even in highly disturbed habitats. The detection of many introduced plant species in the bat faeces indicates thatE. spelaeaare exploiting them, particularlyXanthostemon chrysanthus,as food resources in urban area. Commercial food crops were detected from all of the faecal samples, suggesting thatE. spelaeafeed predominantly on the crops particularly jackfruit and banana and play a significant role in pollination of economically important plants. Ferns and figs were also detected in the faeces ofE. spelaeasuggesting future research avenues to determine whether the 'specialised nectarivorous'E. spelaeafeed opportunistically on other parts of plants.