2 research outputs found
From acaveate to caveate: evolution of pollen types in the Rhaponticum group (Asteraceae, Centaureinae) related to extreme conditions
12 p.A survey of pollen morphology and ultrastructure within the Rhaponticum group, using both scanning and
transmission electron microscopy, revealed two pollen types. Most representatives of the Rhaponticum group
exhibited Serratula-type pollen. The exceptions were the genus Oligochaeta, with Centaurea jacea-type pollen, and
the genus Myopordon, with both types of pollen. Phylogenetic inference within the group indicated that Jacea-type
pollen is derived from Serratula-type pollen. The fact that Myopordon exhibited a series of pollen types, from
Serratula type to Jacea type, suggests that a transition from one form to another has occurred in the genus.
Therefore, the factor which has produced this evolutionary tendency should be sought within Myopordon.
Jacea-type pollen is characterized by a decrease in size, ornamentation, the absence of a columellar infratectum
and the presence of a cavea. A comparative survey of similar tendencies in other groups, and their correlation with
potential functional implications, prompted the hypothesis that the critical factor involved in such evolution of
pollen could be habitats with extreme conditions.Peer reviewe