Sepal identity of the pappus and floral organ development in the common dandelion (<i>Taraxacum officinale</i>; Asteraceae)

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Dextral and sinistral Amphidromus inversus (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Camaenidae) produce dextral sperm

Coiling direction in pulmonate gastropods is determined by a single gene via a maternal effect, which causes cytoskeletal dynamics in the early embryo of dextral gastropods to be the mirror image of the same in sinistral ones. We note that pulmonate gastropod spermatids also go through a helical twisting during their maturation. Moreover, we suspect that the coiling direction of the helical elements of the spermatozoa may affect their behaviour in the female reproductive tract, giving rise to the possibility that sperm chirality plays a role in the maintenance of whole-body chiral dimorphism in the tropical arboreal gastropod Amphidromus inversus (Müller, 1774). For these reasons, we investigated whether there is a relationship between a gastropod’s body chirality and the chirality of the spermatozoa it produces. We found that spermatozoa in A. inversus are always dextrally coiled, regardless of the coiling direction of the animal itself. However, a partial review of the literature on sperm morphology in the Pulmonata revealed that chiral dimorphism does exist in certain species, apparently without any relationship with the coiling direction of the body. Though our study shows that body and sperm chirality follows independent developmental pathways, it gives rise to several questions that may be relevant to the understanding of the chirality of spermatid ultrastructure and spermatozoan motility and sexual selection

Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Orchid Fruit Development

Efficient seed dispersal in flowering plants is enabled by the development of fruits, which can be either dehiscent or indehiscent. Dehiscent fruits open at maturity to shatter the seeds, while indehiscent fruits do not open and the seeds are dispersed in various ways. The diversity in fruit morphology and seed shattering mechanisms is enormous within the flowering plants. How these different fruit types develop and which molecular networks are driving fruit diversification is still largely unknown, despite progress in eudicot model species. The orchid family, known for its astonishing floral diversity, displays a huge variation in fruit dehiscence types, which have been poorly investigated. We undertook a combined approach to understand fruit morphology and dehiscence in different orchid species to get more insight into the molecular network that underlies orchid fruit development. We describe fruit development in detail for the epiphytic orchid species Erycina pusilla and compare it to two terrestrial orchid species: Cynorkis fastigiata and Epipactis helleborine. Our anatomical analysis provides further evidence for the split carpel model, which explains the presence of three fertile and three sterile valves in most orchid species. Interesting differences were observed in the lignification patterns of the dehiscence zones. While C. fastigiata and E. helleborine develop a lignified layer at the valve boundaries, E. pusilla fruits did not lignify at these boundaries, but formed a cuticle-like layer instead. We characterized orthologs of fruit-associated MADS-domain transcription factors and of the Arabidopsis dehiscence-related genes INDEHISCENT (IND)/HECATE 3 (HEC3), REPLUMLESS (RPL) and SPATULA (SPT)/ALCATRAZ (ALC) in E. pusilla, and found that the key players of the eudicot fruit regulatory network appear well-conserved in monocots. Protein-protein interaction studies revealed that MADS-domain complexes comprised of FRUITFULL (FUL), SEPALLATA (SEP) and AGAMOUS (AG) /SHATTERPROOF (SHP) orthologs can also be formed in E. pusilla, and that the expression of HEC3, RPL, and SPT can be associated with dehiscence zone development similar to Arabidopsis. Our expression analysis also indicates differences, however, which may underlie fruit divergence

Documentation of floral secretory glands in Pleurothallidinae (Orchidaceae) using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

A clear, step by step description of the treatment of orchid flowers, subtribe Pleurothallidinae, with Critical Point Drying for SEM is presented. It shows that a simple, short fixation and dehydration method prior to Critical Point Drying is sufficient to obtain good results.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Jardín Botánico Lankester (JBL

Evolution of wood anatomical characters in Nepenthes and close relatives of Caryophyllales

Background and AimsNepenthes attracts wide attention with its spectacularly shaped carnivorous pitchers, cultural value and horticultural curiosity. Despite the plant’s iconic fascination, surprisingly little anatomical detail is known about the genus beyond its modified leaf tip traps. Here, the wood anatomical diversity of Nepenthes is explored. This diversity is further assessed with a phylogenetic framework to investigate whether the wood characters within the genus are relevant from an evolutionary or ecological perspective, or rather depend on differences in developmental stages, growth habits, substrates or precipitation. Methods Observations were performed using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Ancestral states of selected wood and pith characters were reconstructed using an existing molecular phylogeny for Nepenthes and a broader Caryophyllales framework. Pairwise comparisons were assessed for possible relationships between wood anatomy and developmental stages, growth habits, substrates and ecology. Key Results Wood anatomy of Nepenthes is diffuse porous, with mainly solitary vessels showing simple, bordered perforation plates and alternate intervessel pits, fibres with distinctly bordered pits (occasionally septate), apotracheal axial parenchyma and co-occurring uni- and multiseriate rays often including silica bodies. Precipitation and growth habit (stem length) are linked with vessel density and multiseriate ray height, while soil type correlates with vessel diameter, vessel element length and maximum ray width. For Caryophyllales as a whole, silica grains, successive cambia and bordered perforation plates are the result of convergent evolution. Peculiar helical sculpturing patterns within various cell types occur uniquely within the insectivorous clade of non-core Caryophyllales. Conclusions The wood anatomical variation in Nepenthes displays variation for some characters dependent on soil type, precipitation and stem length, but is largely conservative. The helical-banded fibre-sclereids that mainly occur idioblastically in pith and cortex are synapomorphic for Nepenthes, while other typical Nepenthes characters evolved convergently in different Caryophyllales lineages. This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in nnals of Botany following peer review. The version of record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcx01

Going north and south:The biogeographic history of two Malvaceae in the wake of Neogene Andean uplift and connectivity between the Americas

The evolution of the tropical lowland forests in northern South America is poorly understood, yet new insights into past composition and changes through time can be obtained from the rich and diverse fossil pollen record. Here we present a revision of two diagnostic Malvaceae taxa from the Cenozoic record of northern South America and we relate their evolutionary history to recently updated geological models. In our study we review the pollen morphology and botanical affinity of Rhoipites guianensis and Malvacipolloides maristellae, and integrate these data into a phylogenetic framework. We also produce distribution maps for both fossil and extant taxa, infer the phylogeny and historical biogeography of the lineages to which they belong, and identify their ecological associates and environmental settings. The closest extant relatives of Rhoipites guianensis (Grewioideae) are Vasivaea and Trichospermum, which are taxa of South American origin. During the late Eocene to early Miocene Rhoipites guianensis was widely distributed in the lowland floodplain environments of northern South America. The closest living relatives of Malvacipolloides maristellae (Malvoideae) are members of Abutilinae (e.g., Abutilon, Bakeridesia, Callianthe and Herissantia), which have their origin in the northern hemisphere. This taxon makes its first appearance in the fossil record of northern South America during the early Miocene, and is typically found in fresh water floodplain and lacustrine environments. Our study suggests that both taxa migrated across the Central American Seaway in the early Miocene (around 18 Ma), and virtually disappeared from the fossil record in northern South America during the middle Miocene, coinciding with Andean uplift. However, their descendants expanded and -in the case of the Abutilinae—diversified in the Andes. We conclude that the biogeographic history of these Malvaceae is influenced by Andean uplift and the incipient bridging of the Americas. Thereafter, climate change and diversification of the Andean landscape enabled their descendants to move upslope and into the Andes

Fig 3 -

Leaf anatomy and histochemistry of orchid species used in the experiments: A1. Parenchyma cells on adaxial side of leaf of C. triplicata. A2. Parenchyma cells on abaxial side of leaf of C. triplicata. A3. Parenchyma cell surface on adaxial side of leaf of C. triplicata. A4. Trichomes on abaxial side of leaf of C. triplicata. A5. Section through epidermal surface on adaxial side of leaf of C. triplicata. A6. Section through epidermal surface on abaxial side of leaf of C. triplicata. B1. Ornamentation of adaxial side of leaf of D. pallidiflavens. B2. Ornamentation of abaxial side of leaf of D. pallidiflavens. B3. Parenchymal cell surface on adaxial side of leaf of D. pallidiflavens. B4. Trichome on abaxial side of leaf of D. pallidiflavens. B5. Section through epidermal surface on adaxial side of leaf of D. pallidiflavens. B6. Trichome basal cell on abaxial side of leaf of D. pallidiflavens. C1. Surface of parenchymal cells on adaxial side of leaf of T. ferox. C2. Surface of parenchymal cells on abaxial side of leaf of T. ferox. C3. Paired trichomes on leaf of T. ferox. C4. Paired trichomes on leaf of T. ferox. C5. Section through epidermal surface on adaxial side of leaf of T. ferox. C6. Section through epidermal surface on abaxial side of leaf of T. ferox. 7–10: Histochemistry of parenchymal cells of the epidermis of leaves of C. triplicata (A), D. pallidiflavens (B), T. ferox (C). A-C7. Black arrows indicate trichomes. Staining with Etzold (lignin), A-C8. Staining with TBO (proteins), A-C9. Staining with PAS (polysaccharides), A-C10. Staining with van Kossa (calcium).</p

Linear mixed model fit by REML.

Protective structures in the epidermis are essential for land plants to defend themselves against herbivores. In this study, we investigated the effect of different types of trichomes of three orchids, Calanthe triplicata, Dendrochilum pallidiflavens and Trichotosia ferox, on attachment of herbivorous land snails, using histochemistry and centrifuge experiments. Size, ornamentation and histochemistry of epicuticular trichomes on the orchid leaves were assessed with light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Total forces needed to detach two differently shaped snail species, Subulina octona and Pleurodonte isabella, were measured using a turntable equipped with a synchronized strobe. Snails were placed in two positions, either perpendicular or parallel to the main veins on the orchid leaves, both on the adaxial (= upper) or abaxial (= lower) side. The results obtained provided three new insights. First, a perpendicular or parallel position of the snails to the main veins did not significantly affect the attachment performance of either species tested. Secondly, snails detached significantly easier on leaf sides covered with a high density of lignin filled epicuticular trichomes. Thirdly, the removal of glandular trichomes did not affect the attachment forces; however, the absence of lignified trichomes increased the attachment of the snails. Our study highlights the importance of studying micro-ornamentation in combination with performance for obtaining a better understanding of the defense mechanisms employed by different species of orchids to deter herbivorous snails.</div

Overview of different characteristics and epicuticular properties of three species of orchids investigated in this study.

The ranges in T. ferox represent the ab/adaxial side and the ab/adaxial side respectively.</p