Dioecy and the evolution of pollination systems inSchiedea and Alsinidendron (Caryophyllaceae:Alsinoideae) in the Hawaiian Islands

The transition from biotic to wind pollination and the consequencesof this transition for the evolution of dioecious breeding systems wereinvestigated in Schiedea and Alsinidendron(Caryophyllaceae: Alsinoideae), genera endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The potential for wind pollination was studied for five species ofSchiedea using a wind tunnel. Morphological correlates of windpollination for these species were then used to infer the presence orabsence of wind pollination in the remaining Schiedea species. Hermaphroditic Alsinidendron and Schiedea species,which occur in mesic to wet forests, or less commonly in dry habitats,show little or no indication of wind pollination. These species had lowpollen:ovule ratios, large relative pollen size, diffuse inflorescences,substantial nectar production in several cases, and appear to bebiotically pollinated or autogamous. Sexually dimorphic species, whichall occur in dry habitats, are wind pollinated, based on wind tunnelresults or morphological adaptations indicating the potential for windpollination. These adaptations include high pollen:ovule ratios, smallpollen size, moderately to highly condensed inflorescences, and reducednectaries and nectar production. Shifts to wind pollination anddimorphism are strongly correlated in Schiedea, suggesting theclose functional relationship of the twophenomena.     

Did insect pollination cause increased seed plant diversity?

The dominant paradigm for the disproportionate number of flowering plants is the unique coevolution that they underwent with pollinating insects. The theory underlying this biotic pollination hypothesis contradicts more generally accepted evolutionary theory. Furthermore, various lines of empirical evidence falsify the biotic pollination hypothesis: (a) several lineages of plants were insect pollinated – angiosperms, Gnetales, Bennettitales, Cheiro-lepidiaceae, Medullosales, and Cycadales - yet only the first four were ever diverse or underwent radiations; (b) the predicted rise in insect diversity, which was coupled with angiosperm radiation, does not appear in the fossil record; (c) the family Poaceae (grasses) are wind pollinated, yet are exceptionally diverse and species-rich; and (d) the family Formicidae (ants) were not pollinators, yet are exceptionally species-rich and ecologically dominant. I enumerate many alternate (and seldom investigated) hypotheses for these patterns of seed plant diversity, keeping in mind that although I show that insect pollination was neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for large numbers of species, it may have played a substantial role in both plant and insect speciation. Alternatively, existing theory regarding the biotic pollination hypothesis can be refined in an attempt to eliminate the aforementioned empirical anomalies and theoretical inconsistencies.     

Pollination function transferred: modified tepals of Albuca (Hyacinthaceae) serve as secondary stigmas

Background and Aims

The stigma, a structure which serves as a site for pollen receipt and germination, has been assumed to have evolved once, as a modification of carpels, in early angiosperms. Here it is shown that a functional stigma has evolved secondarily from modified tepals in some Albuca species (Hyacinthaceae).

Methods

Deposition of pollen on Albuca floral organs by bees was recorded. Pollen germination and fruit set was measured in flowers that had pollen deposited solely on their tepals or had their tepal tips experimentally isolated or removed after pollination.

Key Results

Leafcutter bees deposit pollen onto the papillate apices of the inner tepals of Albuca flowers. Pollen germinates in tepal-derived fluid secreted 2 or 3 d after anthesis and pollen tubes subsequently penetrate the style during flower wilting. Application of cross-pollen to the inner tepal apices of A. setosa flowers led to high fruit set. No fruits were produced in pollinated flowers in which the inner tepals were mechanically isolated or removed.

Conclusions

Pollen capture by tepals in the Albuca clade probably evolved in response to selection for floral morphology that maximizes the accuracy of pollen transfer. These findings show how pollination function can be transferred among floral organs, and shed light on how the original angiosperm stigma developed from sporophylls.     

Pollination drop in Juniperus communis: response to deposited material

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The pollination drop is a liquid secretion produced by the ovule and exposed outside the micropyle. In many gymnosperms, pollen lands on the surface of the pollination drop, rehydrates and enters the ovule as the drop retracts. The objective of this work was to study the formation of the pollination drop in Juniperus communis, its carbohydrate composition and the response to deposition of conspecific pollen, foreign pollen and other particulate material, in an attempt to clarify the mechanism of pollination drop retraction. METHODS: Branches with female cones close to pollination drop secretion were collected. On the first day of pollination drop exposure, an eyelash mounted on a wooden stick with paraffin was used to collect pollen or silica gel particles, which were then deposited by contact with the drop. Volume changes in pollination drops were measured by using a stereomicroscope with a micrometer eyepiece 3 h after deposition. The volume of non-pollinated control drops was also recorded. On the first day of secretion, drops were also collected for sugar analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography. KEY RESULTS: The pollination drop persisted for about 12 d if not pollinated, and formed again after removal for up to four consecutive days. After pollination with viable conspecific pollen, the drop retracted quickly and did not form again. Partial withdrawal occurred after deposition of other biological and non-biological material. Fructose was the dominant sugar; glucose was also present but at a much lower percentage. CONCLUSIONS: Sugar analysis confirmed the general trend of fructose dominance in gymnosperm pollination drops. Complete pollination drop withdrawal appears to be triggered by a biochemical mechanism resulting from interaction between pollen and drop constituents. The results of particle deposition suggest the existence of a non-specific, particle-size-dependent mechanism that induces partial pollination drop withdrawal. These results suggest that the non-specific response may decrease the probability of pollen landing on the drop, reducing pollination efficiency.     

Water status and associated processes mark critical stages in pollen development and functioning

Background

The male gametophyte developmental programme can be divided into five phases which differ in relation to the environment and pollen hydration state: (1) pollen develops inside the anther immersed in locular fluid, which conveys substances from the mother plant – the microsporogenesis phase; (2) locular fluid disappears by reabsorption and/or evaporation before the anther opens and the maturing pollen grains undergo dehydration – the dehydration phase; (3) the anther opens and pollen may be dispersed immediately, or be held by, for example, pollenkitt (as occurs in almost all entomophilous species) for later dispersion – the presentation phase; (4) pollen is dispersed by different agents, remaining exposed to the environment for different periods – the dispersal phase; and (5) pollen lands on a stigma and, in the case of a compatible stigma and suitable conditions, undergoes rehydration and starts germination – the pollen–stigma interaction phase.

Scope

This review highlights the issue of pollen water status and indicates the various mechanisms used by pollen grains during their five developmental phases to adjust to changes in water content and maintain internal stability.

Conclusions

Pollen water status is co-ordinated through structural, physiological and molecular mechanisms. The structural components participating in regulation of the pollen water level, during both dehydration and rehydration, include the exine (the outer wall of the pollen grain) and the vacuole. Recent data suggest the involvement of water channels in pollen water transport and the existence of several molecular mechanisms for pollen osmoregulation and to protect cellular components (proteins and membranes) under water stress. It is suggested that pollen grains will use these mechanisms, which have a developmental role, to cope with environmental stress conditions.     

Interspecific Pollen Transfer: Magnitude,Prevalence and Consequences for Plant Fitness

Interspecific pollen transfer (IPT) is one of the mechanisms underlying potential competition among plants for pollinators, and it refers to movement of pollen between different plant species by pollinators that visit their flowers simultaneously. Two components of IPT, related to each other, are distinguished: (a) heterospecific pollen deposition (HPD) on conspecific stigmas, which may interfere with fertilization by conspecific pollen; and (b) conspecific pollen loss (CPL) on heterospecific flowers, which may reduce the amount of pollen transferred between conspecific flowers. Thus, IPT may lead to reciprocal losses for male and female functions of the plant, with potentially important ecological and evolutionary consequences. In this review, we explore the magnitude and prevalence of IPT, examining documented mechanisms and evaluating such potential ecological and evolutionary consequences. We compiled existing evidence of interspecific pollinator sharing and interspecific pollinator switching between flowers of different species in natural communities. We evaluated the relative importance of both HPD and CPL from studies comparing these variables in pure vs. mixed floral neighborhoods, analyzing evidence for the claim that IPT is an evolutionary force promoting character displacement in habitat affinity, flowering times, and floral morphology. We also examined the findings of hand-pollination experiments carried out to reveal different mechanisms by which heterospecific pollen can affect performance of native pollen. Finally, we review evidence for impacts of alien plant species on native species' reproduction, and briefly comment on risks of crop-to-wild gene flow imposed by the release of genetically modified (transgenic) crops through IPT.     

基于核rDNA的ITS序列在种子植物系统发育研究中的应用

种子植物核rDNA是高度重复的串联序列,由于同步进化的力量．大多数物种中这些重复单位间已发生纯合或接近纯合。5．8S rDNA把核rDNA的内转录间隔区分为ITS1和ITS2两部分．在被子植物中ITS1的长度为165～298bp,ITS2的长度为177～266bp,而在裸子植物中ITS片段较长。且其长度变化主要由ITS1的长度变异所致。可对这两个片段PCR产物进行直接测序或克隆测序。由于ITS序列变异较快．能够提供较丰富的变异位点和信息位点,已成为被子植物较低分类阶元的系统发育和分类研究中的重要分子标记,为探讨多倍体复合体网状进化关系,异源多倍体的起源提供了重要的系统学信息．但它一般不适合科以上水平的系统学研究。裸子植物中ITS片段较长,重复序列间的纯合程度不同,测序比较困难．因此对探讨裸子植物系统发育和分类受到了一定的限制,但近年来有所发展。     

Fossil Woods From Williams Point Beds, Livingston Island, Antarctica: A Late Cretaceous Southern High Latitude Flora

The wood flora from Williams Point, Livingston Island, contains 12 wood types of gymnosperm and angiosperm origin. Recent collections of material have increased the biodiversity of a postulated species-rich vegetation. The gymnosperm wood can be readily assigned to four form-genera: Araucarioxylon Kraus, Araucariopitys Jeffrey, Podocarpoxylon Gothan and Sahnioxylon Bose and Sah. This indicates a diversity of coniferous araucarian and podocarp trees alongside woods of uncertain affinity ( Sahnioxylon ; Bennettitales). Two angiosperm morphotypes are assigned to the organ genera Hedycaryoxylon Su¨ss (Monimiaceae) and Weinmannioxylon Petriella (Cunoniaceae). The remaining four taxa of angiosperm wood cannot be confidently placed in extant families as they exhibit features that suggest relationships with the Magnoliidae, Hamamelidae and Rosidae. This paper presents the first comprehensive taxonomic revision of the wood flora from Livingston Island and discusses the palaeoecology that prevailed at a latitude of about 60 degrees south during the Late Cretaceous. Newly described taxa are Araucarioxylon chapmanae sp. nov., Araucariopitys antarcticus sp. nov., Podocarpoxylon chapmanae sp. nov., P. verticalis sp. nov., P. communis sp. nov., Weinmannioxylon ackamoides sp. nov., Antarctoxylon livingstonensis gen. et sp. nov., A. multiseriatum gen. et sp. nov., A. heteroporosum gen. et sp. nov. and A. uniperforatum gen et sp. nov.     

植物胚胎学在中国的发展

植物胚胎学在中国的发展大体可划分为3个时期: (1) 初始时期, 主要在裸子植物胚胎发育的观察和实验研究方面开展了一些工作. (2) 在20世纪50年代后的十几年是学科的建立时期.这期间培养了一些植物胚胎学的人才和开展了许多胚胎发育的描述性研究.(3)近二十几年,随着国际上这一学科的发展,进入植物生殖生物学的发展时期.在这一时期中,以被子植物为对象开展了多方面的研究.第一,在结构与功能关系方面,研究小孢子发生过程中细胞质改组,雄配子体发育中营养核与生殖细胞的关系;雄性生殖单位与雌性生殖单位的结构,细胞质遗传的细胞学机理;生殖系统中的细胞骨架和传递细胞的结构与分布;胚珠中细胞衰退与其物质的迁移.第二,生理活动方面,研究钙在受精过程中的作用,ATP酶在胚珠物质运输中的参与,受精过程中与识别作用相关的柱头表膜和精细胞质膜蛋白的分离与组分的分析.第三,与育种相关的胚胎学研究,包括雄性不育性、无融合生殖及远缘杂交等.在以裸子植物为对象的研究中,首先是对许多我国特有的属种的胚胎发育作出详细的描述,以及为讨论系统位置提供胚胎学佐证.这方面的研究是独具特色的.其次,在受精作用和精细胞的光镜和电镜的研究也获得了突出的成果.