Patterns and Significance of Floral Development in Whytockia (Gesneriaceae)

Abstract: The floral development of Whytockia W. W. Smith has been studied in order to explore the developmental basis for the arrangement and differentiation patterns of floral organs, and the evolutionary relationship between Whytockia and allies in floral development. The descending imbricate aestivations in both calyx and corolla have remarkably different ontogenetic patterns between calyx and corolla which are derivative with respect to the development of the valvate aestivations in the four-stamened Rhynchoglossum. Both corolla lobes and stamens are initiated simultaneously from the same ring meristem. However, the five stamens remarkably precede the initiation of the five corolla lobes. Also, the adaxial stamen is suppressed after initiation to become a staminode, concomitant with retardation of its adjacent organs during development. This situation, together with the non-acropetal order among whorls of floral organs in Whytockia, is possibly related to a late expression and a remarkably different expression pattern of cycloidea- like genes as compared to Antirrhinum. Furthermore, the axile placentation in the bilocular ovary of Whytockia is formed by an involute closure of carpels rather than derived from a secondary fusion of two intrusive parietal placentae.     

Single nucleotide polymorphisms of Gcyc1 (Cycloidea) in Conandron ramondioides (Gesneriaceae) from Southeast China

Conandron ramondioides with actinomorphic flower in Gesneriaceae is an endemic species distributed in Taiwan, Southeast of China and Japan. Populations are usually small and isolated in typically fragmented habitat. Based on SNPs of Gcyc1 (Cycloidea), a TCP gene known in patterning the floral dorsoventral asymmetry, we have explored the molecular evolution and genetic differentiation of Gcyc1 at population level, and the population history of C. ramondioides populations distributed in SE China. Eighteen SNPs are detected in 774-bp of the gene, of which eleven are non-synonymous. However, morphological observation of flowers shows that there is no visible differentiation in shape and size across the dorsoventral axis within each whorl. None of the eighteen SNPs is by all shared the eleven populations. Population differentiation is significant. These results reveal that evolution of Gcyc1 at population level is well in accord with the neutral theory. Our study indicates that the SNPs of developmental genes are also useful molecular markers for exploring the genetic differentiation and population history in non-model organisms.     

Expression pattern of CYC-like genes relating to a dorsalized actinomorphic flower in Tengia (Gesneriaceae)

Tengia has been called a "natural peloria" in the family Gesneriaceae because it exhibits an almost perfect actinomorphic flower from whorl one to whorl three. It would be especially interesting to know whether or how CYC-like gene activities are related to this type of perfect actinomorphic flower. To address this, we have isolated four CYC-like TCP genes and carried out an investigation on their expression patterns in Tengia. TsCYC1C and TsCYC1D have similar expression patterns with strong signals being detected in all five petals and stamens, whereas TsCYC2A and TsCYC2B are only transiently expressed in the very early floral meristem. Our results suggest that the expansion of the expressions of TsCYC1C and TsCYC1D from the dorsal to the ventral petals is likely responsible for the evolutionary formation of the fully dorsalized actinomorphic corolla, that is, an expanded functional domain of CYC-like gene dorsal identity in Tengia corolla. However, the expressions of TsCYC1C and TsCYC1D are not correlated with stamen abortion; therefore, TsCYC genes do not functionally repress the stamen development in Tengia flowers. This is probably due to changed cis-activities that result in the cell cycle-related genes uncoupling from the TsCYC regulatory pathway in Tengia.     

中国广西石灰岩地区苦苣苔科一新种——鹿寨唇柱苣苔

描述了中国广西石灰岩地区苦苣苔科(Gesneriaceae)1新种--鹿寨唇柱苣苔(Chirita luzhaiensis Yah Lin,Y.S.Huang & W.B.Xu).该种与桂林唇柱苣苔(Chirita gueilinensis W.T.Wang)相似,但叶面被长柔毛和短柔毛,花药无毛,花丝近基部膝状弯曲,退化雄蕊3枚,无毛,花期12月至次年1月可与后者区别.目前,鹿寨唇柱苣苔仅见于广西鹿寨县中渡镇的两个石灰岩山洞中.     

贵州金盏苣苔属(苦苣苔科)一新种——万山金盏苣苔

报道了贵州金盏苣苔属Isometrum一新种,即万山金盏苣苔I.wanshanenseS.Z.He。该种以花序梗、花梗被褐色长柔毛至近无毛,花冠细筒状,紫色,喉部不缢缩,上唇稍长于下唇,雄蕊及雌蕊均无毛而与柔毛金盏苣苔I.villosumK.Y.Pan相近缘,但叶具柄,柄长0.4–1.4cm,叶片较小,倒披针形,长1.5–4×0.5–1.6cm,聚伞花序具1–4朵花,花萼裂片外面近无毛或近顶端疏被褐色长柔毛,花柱与子房近等长而不同。     

The pollination ecology of Paraboea rufescens (Gesneriaceae): a buzz-pollinated tropical herb with mirror-image flowers

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Gesneriaceae is a pantropical plant family with over 3000 species. A great variety of pollination mechanisms have been reported for the neotropical members of the family, but the details of buzz-pollination and enantiostyly for the family have not been described. We investigated the floral biology and pollination ecology of Paraboea rufescens in Xishuangbanna, south-west China, considering three aspects: (1) the type of enantiostyly exhibited; (2) whether the species is self-compatible; and (3) whether pollinator behaviour could enhance the precision of pollen transfer between flowers of contrasting stylar orientation. METHODS: Flowering phenology was monitored once a month during vegetative growth, and once a week during flowering both in the field and under cultivation. Pollination manipulations and pollinator observation in the field were conducted. KEY RESULTS: Anthesis occurred early during the morning, and flowers remained open for 1-5 d, depending on weather conditions. Controlled pollinations revealed that P. rufescens is self-compatible, and exhibited inbreeding depression in seed set. Plants were pollinator limited in natural populations. The similar stylar deflection among flowers within a plant limits autonomous self-pollination as well as pollination between flowers. Two species of bumble bees (Bombus spp.), Amegila malaccensis and Nomia sp. effectively pollinated P. rufescens. These pollinators visited flowers in search of pollen with almost the same frequency. None of the pollinators appeared to discriminate between left- or right-handed flowers. CONCLUSIONS: Paraboea rufescens exhibits monomorphic enantiostylous flowers and a buzz-pollination syndrome. Floral morphology in P. rufescens and pollinator foraging behaviour seems likely to reduce self-pollination and pollinations between flowers of the same stylar deflection.     

广西苦苣苔科植物区系和生态特点研究

滇黔桂及其邻近地区是我国苦苣苔科植物的分布和特有中心 ,广西正处于这个中心的位置上 ,种类十分丰富 ,共计有 38属、 16 6种 (含种下等级 ,下同 ) ,属和种的分布区类型不太复杂 ,特有现象极为突出 ,其中仅产广西的特有属有 5个 ,特有种达 81个。广西苦苣苔科植物区系与相邻的贵州、云南两省属的相似性系数较高 ,分别为 75 76 %和 71 4 2 % ,但与相邻省份苦苣苔科植物种的相似性系数却较低 ,从 35 4 8%至 6 4 9%不等。苦苣苔科植物在广西全境分布较广泛 ,但各地种类分布很不均衡。广西苦苣苔科植物的天然分布对基质有较严格的专一性 ,种群植株数量一般较少 ,同一种类不同的居群间形态变异较大。     

广西苦苣苔科一新属——文采苣苔属

描述了在广西发现的苦苣苔科一新属和一新种,即文采苣苔属Wentsaiboea D. Fang & D. H. Qin及文采苣苔W. renifolia D. Fang & D. H. Qin, 并提供墨线图。文采苣苔属的柱头外形略似长檐苣苔属Dolicholoma D. Fang & W. T. Wang, 不同在于前者叶肾形,基部心形,具掌状脉,花冠斜钟状,裂片圆形,雄蕊和退化雄蕊着生于冠筒近基部。新属在体态上还接近小花苣苔属Chiritopsis W. T. Wang, 但前者叶具掌状脉,冠筒钟状,远轴侧膨胀,柱头马蹄形;在后者叶具羽状脉,冠筒筒状,不膨胀,柱头下唇倒梯形至线形。     

台闽苣苔(苦苣苔科)花部器官的形态发生

在扫描电镜下对台闽苣苔 (T. oldhamii (Hemsl.) Solereder)进行了花部器官形态发生的观察,为探索该类群的个体发育、类群间的系统发育关系和进化趋势提供依据.研究发现该属植物萼片、花冠和雄蕊发生式样均为五数花类型,它们各自来源于花原基上分化出来的萼片原基、花冠原基和雄蕊原基;花冠与雄蕊的两侧对称性与花冠上唇生长稍快和退化雄蕊原基发育迟滞相关;萼片原基的发生和发育的顺序是不一致的:萼片原基发生的式样为近轴中原基-远轴2原基-2侧原基,发育式样则为近轴中萼片-2侧萼片-远轴2萼片,花蕾时为镊合状排列.花冠裂片原基的发生和发育式样是一致的,即远轴中裂原基(下唇中裂片)-远轴2侧裂原基(下唇2侧裂片)-近轴2裂原基(上唇2裂片).花蕾期卷迭式为覆瓦状排列,从外向内:下唇中裂片-下唇2侧裂片-上唇2裂片或下唇2侧裂片-上唇2裂片-下唇中裂片.雄蕊原基与花冠裂片原基互生,前方雄蕊原基在发生上稍迟于后方雄蕊原基,后者与退化雄蕊原基几乎同时发生,但较小,并与近轴心皮(或柱头上唇)对生.将该属与玄参科(Scrophulariaceae)的地黄属( Rehmannia )、苦苣苔科(Gesneriaceae)的异叶苣苔属( Whytockia)和尖舌苣苔属(Rhynchoglossum )的花部器官比较发现,这四个属在这方面呈现出多样性和交叉.过去一直按子房室数和胎座类型划分玄参科(子房2室、中轴胎座)和苦苣苔科(子房1室、侧膜胎座)这一做法受到了质疑.