Identifying plant species using architectural features of leaf microscopy images

This work proposes an analytical method to identify plant species based on microscopy images of the midrib cross-section of leaves. Unlike previous shape-based approaches based on the individual shape of external contours and cells, an architectural analysis is proposed, where the midrib is semi-automatically segmented and partitioned into histologically relevant structures composed of layers of cells and vascular structures. Using a sequence of morphological operations, a set of geometrical measures from the cells in each layer is extracted to produce a vector of features for species categorization. The method applied to a database containing 10 species of plants from the Brazilian flora achieved a success rate of 91.7%, outperforming other classical shape-based approaches published in the literature.Fil: Florindo, Joao Batista. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Bruno, Odemir Martinez. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Rossatto, Davi Rodrigo. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Kolb, Rosana Marta. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Gómez, María Cecilia. Universidad Nacional del Litoral; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Landini, Gabriel. University Of Birmingham; Reino Unid

Evaluation of the genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of Melissa officinalis in mice

Melissa officinalis (L.) (Lamiaceae), a plant known as the lemon balm, is native to the east Mediterranean region and west Asia. Also found in tropical countries, such as Brazil, where it is popularly known as “erva-cidreira” or “melissa”, it is widely used in aqueous- or alcoholic-extract form in the treatment of various disorders. The aim was to investigate in vivo its antigenotoxicity and antimutagenicity, as well as its genotoxic/mutagenic potential through comet and micronucleus assaying. CF-1 male mice were treated with ethanolic (Mo-EE) (250 or 500 mg/kg) or aqueous (Mo-AE) (100 mg/kg) solutions of an M. officinalis extract for 2 weeks, prior to treatment with saline or Methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) doses by intraperitoneal injection. Irrespective of the doses, no genotoxic or mutagenic effects were observed in blood and bone-marrow samples. Although Mo-EE exerted an antigenotoxic effect on the blood cells of mice treated with the alkylating agent (MMS) in all the doses, this was not so with Mo-AE. Micronucleus testing revealed the protector effect of Mo-EE, but only when administered at the highest dose. The implication that an ethanolic extract of M. officinalis has antigenotoxic/antimutagenic properties is an indication of its medicinal relevance

Climate seasonality limits leaf carbon assimilation and wood productivity in tropical forests

The seasonal climate drivers of the carbon cycle in tropical forests remain poorly known, although these forests account for more carbon assimilation and storage than any other terrestrial ecosystem. Based on a unique combination of seasonal pan-tropical data sets from 89 experimental sites (68 include aboveground wood productivity measurements and 35 litter productivity measurements), their associate canopy photosynthetic capacity (enhanced vegetation index, EVI) and climate, we ask how carbon assimilation and aboveground allocation are related to climate seasonality in tropical forests and how they interact in the seasonal carbon cycle. We found that canopy photosynthetic capacity seasonality responds positively to precipitation when rainfall is < 2000 mm.yr−1 (water-limited forests) and to radiation otherwise (light-limited forests); on the other hand, independent of climate limitations, wood productivity and litterfall are driven by seasonal variation in precipitation and evapotranspiration respectively. Consequently, light-limited forests present an asynchronism between canopy photosynthetic capacity and wood productivity. Precipitation first-order control indicates an overall decrease in tropical forest productivity in a drier climate.Peer reviewe