Is there a specific stage to rest? Morphological changes in flower primordia in relation to endodormancy in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.)

24 Pags.- 8 Figs. The definitive version is available at: https://link.springer.com/journal/468In temperate woody deciduous perennials, dormancy is a survival strategy to persist winter temperatures; but chilling is also required for the release of flower bud dormancy and for the completion of flower development. This was noticed over 100 years ago, but the biological mechanisms underlying cold regulated dormancy and its release remain poorly understood. That chilling is required for the completion of flower development led us to hypothesize that a particular stage of flower development may be consistently associated with the dormant phase of flower bud development. Flower development of five sweet cherry cultivars was examined weekly under stereoscopic and optical microscopes over 3 years. Chilling requirements for each cultivar were determined by placing weekly shoots in forcing conditions. The establishment of a flower developmental scale showed that early and late flower development, in the autumn and spring, were asynchronous among cultivars and years. However, in all circumstances, dormancy occurred at the same stage of flower development, characterized by the presence of all flower whorls, with the anthers clearly differentiated in the four locules, and the pistil showing an incipient ovary, style and stigma. The length of time flower buds remained at this stage differed between cultivars and was related to their chilling requirements and date of flowering. The observation that a particular stage of flower development, common to the five cultivars examined, exists during the combined rest period provides a framework for further studies on the physiology and cellular biology of dormancy.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad—European Regional Development Fund, European Union (Grant Numbers AGL2012-40239, BES-2010–037992 to EF); Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (Grant Numbers RFP2015-00015-00, RTA2014-00085-00, RTA2017-00003-00); and Gobierno de Aragón—European Social Fund, European Union (Grupo Consolidado A12_17R).Peer reviewe

The grapevine VviPrx31 peroxidase as a candidate gene involved in anthocyanin degradation in ripening berries under high temperature

Anthocyanin levels decline in some red grape berry varieties ripened under high-temperature conditions, but the underlying mechanism is not yet clear. Here we studied the effects of two different temperature regimes, representing actual Sangiovese (Vitis vinifera L.) viticulture regions, on the accumulation of mRNAs and enzymes controlling berry skin anthocyanins. Potted uniform plants of Sangiovese were kept from veraison to harvest, in two plastic greenhouses with different temperature conditions. The low temperature (LT) conditions featured average and maximum daily air temperatures of 20 and 29 °C, respectively, whereas the corresponding high temperature (HT) conditions were 22 and 36 °C, respectively. The anthocyanin concentration at harvest was much lower in HT berries than LT berries although their profile was similar under both conditions. Under HT conditions, the biosynthesis of anthocyanins was suppressed at both the transcriptional and enzymatic levels, but peroxidase activity was higher. This suggests that the low anthocyanin content of HT berries reflects the combined impact of reduced biosynthesis and increased degradation, particularly the direct role of peroxidases in anthocyanin catabolism. Overexpression of VviPrx31 decreased anthocyanin contents in Petunia hybrida petals under heat stress condition. These data suggest that high temperature can stimulate peroxidase activity thus anthocyanin degradation in ripening grape berries

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data