Plant biodiversity DNA banks are scarce despite the current plant biodiversity loss, their value for ex situ conservation, DNA preservation progress, and the rapid growth of DNA-dependent research fields. We explore the principles and basic organization of plant biodiversity DNA banking and propose new ways of addressing the biodiversity loss through their implementation. Small departmental collections can be created through a six-step holistic process that integrates three types of collections (DNA extracts, DNA-rich tissues, and herbarium vouchers) to generate extended specimens, thereby contributing to local and global plant biodiversity knowledge and conservation efforts. We propose a revision to the international biobanking strategy (the Dynamo scheme) that leverages the strengths of interconnected small departmental collections. By doing so, we can mitigate the risk of sample loss in the event of a catastrophe, optimize sampling strategies, and provide more comprehensive coverage of taxa and distribution ranges while fostering national and international collaborations.

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The increased availability of large phylogenomic datasets is often accompanied by difficulties in disentangling and harnessing the data. These difficulties may be enhanced for species resulting from reticulate evolution and/or rapid radiations producing large-scale discordance. As a result, there is a need for methods to investigate discordance, and in turn, use this conflict to inform and aid in downstream analyses. Therefore, we drew upon multiple analytical tools to investigate the evolution of Micranthes (Saxifragaceae), a clade of primarily arctic-alpine herbs impacted by reticulate and rapid radiations. To elucidate the evolution of Micranthes we sought near-complete taxon sampling with multiple accessions per species and assembled extensive nuclear (518 putatively single copy loci) and plastid (95 loci) datasets. In addition to a robust phylogeny for Micranthes , this research shows that genetic discordance presents a valuable opportunity to develop hypotheses about its underlying causes, such as hybridization, polyploidization, and range shifts. Specifically, we present a multi-step approach that incorporates multiple checks points for paralogy, including reciprocally blasting targeted genes against transcriptomes, running paralogy checks during the assembly step, and grouping genes into gene families to look for duplications. We demonstrate that a thorough assessment of discordance can be a source of evidence for evolutionary processes that were not adequately captured by a bifurcating tree model, and helped to clarify processes that have structured the evolution of Micranthes .

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Long-distance dispersal (LDD) processes influence the founder effect on islands. We use genetic data for 25 Atlantic species and similarities among regional floras to analyse colonization, and test whether the genetic founder effect on five islands is associated with dispersal distance, island size and species traits. Most species colonized postglacially via multiple dispersal events from several source regions situated 280 to >3000 km away, and often not from the closest ones. A strong founder effect was observed for insect-pollinated mixed maters, and it increased with dispersal distance and decreased with island size in accordance with the theory of island biogeography. Only a minor founder effect was observed for wind-pollinated outcrossing species. Colonization patterns were largely congruent, indicating that despite the importance of stochasticity, LDD is mainly determined by common factors, probably dispersal vectors. Our findings caution against a priori assuming a single, close source region in biogeographic analyses.

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Climate change will lead to loss of range for many species, and thus to loss of genetic diversity crucial for their long-term persistence. We analysed range-wide genetic diversity (amplified fragment length polymorphisms) in 9581 samples from 1200 populations of 27 northern plant species, to assess genetic consequences of range reduction and potential association with species traits. We used species distribution modelling (SDM, eight techniques, two global circulation models and two emission scenarios) to predict loss of range and genetic diversity by 2080. Loss of genetic diversity varied considerably among species, and this variation could be explained by dispersal adaptation (up to 57%) and by genetic differentiation among populations (F(ST); up to 61%). Herbs lacking adaptations for long-distance dispersal were estimated to lose genetic diversity at higher rate than dwarf shrubs adapted to long-distance dispersal. The expected range reduction in these 27 northern species was larger than reported for temperate plants, and all were predicted to lose genetic diversity according to at least one scenario. SDM combined with F(ST) estimates and/or with species trait information thus allows the prediction of species' vulnerability to climate change, aiding rational prioritization of conservation efforts.

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