Investigating the Discriminative Power of Anatomy and Micromorphology in Verbascum Taxonomy: A Detailed Statistical Analysis

Identification of High-Impact Anatomical Markers in Verbascum Genetic Resources: An Integrative Study of Section Bothrospermae from a Major Biodiversity Corridor | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Identification of High-Impact Anatomical Markers in Verbascum Genetic Resources: An Integrative Study of Section Bothrospermae from a Major Biodiversity Corridor Meltem Yılmaz, Gülay Ecevit Genç This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8601542/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract This study evaluated the taxonomic significance of the anatomical and micromorphological characteristics of the Verbascum genus (Scrophulariaceae) using a comprehensive quantitative approach. This study focused on 20 Verbascum taxa that naturally occur in the northwestern part of Anatolia, a region where the Euro-Siberian, Irano-Turanian, and Mediterranean phytogeographic zones converge. Precise anatomical measurements and multivariate statistical techniques were used. Specimens were collected during the flowering stage. Cross-sections of stems and leaves were analyzed using light microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the micromorphology of the leaf surfaces. Quantitative anatomical data were collected using ImageJ and analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Clustering Analysis (HCA). PCA revealed that certain quantitative anatomical features, particularly the dimensions of the lower epidermal cells and collenchyma cells of the leaves, were most effective in differentiating the taxa, with pubescence-related characteristics providing additional qualitative insights into their taxonomy. HCA produced distinct clusters that largely corresponded with established species boundaries and clearly demonstrated intraspecific variations. These results highlight the importance of quantitative anatomical traits in distinguishing species and subspecies within Verbascum and emphasize the need for controlled regional sampling to address taxonomically complex plant groups. Botany Plant Physiology and Morphology Anatomy classification cluster PCA Scrophulariaceae Verbascum Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files Table1.docx The collections data of the Verbascum taxa Table2StemanatomicalmesurementsofVerbascumtaxa.docx Stem anatomical mesurements of Verbascum taxa Table3LeafanatomicalmesurementsofVerbascumtaxa.docx Leaf anatomical mesurements of Verbascum taxa Table4.docx PCA variable loadings for the first two components. PC1: The first principal component, PC2: The second principal component Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8601542","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":577971366,"identity":"eb3fba4b-1e0f-4bcd-add0-5942b8b4e6b5","order_by":0,"name":"Meltem Yılmaz","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPACCxDB+ABI8PARqUVCAkgwG4C0sJGihQ1EMBDUws9+/AHTjQqJOn6xM2aVX3PsZNgYmB8+uoFHi2RPQgJzzhkJCcnZOWa3ZbclAx3GZmycg0eLwQ2GA8y5bRISBreBWiS3MQO18LBJ49Nif4OxgTn3n4SEPVBLseS2esJaDCSYGZhzG4C2SOeYMX7cdpiwFokzaQyHc45JSM64nVYszbjtOA8bMwG/8Lcff/g4p8aGn3928saPP7dV2/OzNwNF8GgBgQMQisOAmQdEMxNQjgTYHzD+IF71KBgFo2AUjCAAAO+FPeKbBtNjAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Istanbul University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Meltem","middleName":"","lastName":"Yılmaz","suffix":""},{"id":577971367,"identity":"e9195339-af3a-4f4a-b519-c7a5976758ee","order_by":1,"name":"Gülay Ecevit Genç","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Istanbul University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gülay","middleName":"Ecevit","lastName":"Genç","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-14 12:08:15","currentVersionCode":2,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8601542/v2","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8601542/v2","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108809784,"identity":"58ae5184-98fe-48d2-9ad1-1a442ed328e2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 15:55:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1560528,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ForPREREVIEWkopyas.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8601542/v2_covered_4320fc15-a2d0-4219-b69c-0f5823ea1221.pdf"},{"id":108805317,"identity":"469f6101-ba07-4d29-80c8-2d8a35f2f91b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 15:25:34","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":28617,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe collections data of the \u003cem\u003eVerbascum\u003c/em\u003e taxa\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Table1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8601542/v2/71d781b65e6b8d2f93f90496.docx"},{"id":108639186,"identity":"89e47994-0ae9-41c6-8def-d9330e72fcbb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-06 18:58:28","extension":"docx","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":21060,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eStem anatomical mesurements of \u003cem\u003eVerbascum\u003c/em\u003e taxa\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Table2StemanatomicalmesurementsofVerbascumtaxa.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8601542/v2/94049410deab81ad65cc0a13.docx"},{"id":108806429,"identity":"7ac8e913-41c2-4d3e-8b6a-e6f0f8b63bde","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 15:28:33","extension":"docx","order_by":3,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":24099,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eLeaf anatomical mesurements of \u003cem\u003eVerbascum\u003c/em\u003e taxa\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Table3LeafanatomicalmesurementsofVerbascumtaxa.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8601542/v2/886cdc89600d187fa01f8b00.docx"},{"id":108806201,"identity":"7ab8802e-db3d-4c3a-bdbc-ecffdd8bba48","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 15:27:59","extension":"docx","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":14939,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePCA variable loadings for the first two components. 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