Chemotaxonomy of Prototaxites and evidence for possible terrestrial adaptation

Silicified and carbonized axes of Prototaxites are chemically analyzed by means of X-ray and organic-extraction techniques. The isolation and identification of cutin and suberin derivatives, i.e., ω-hydroxymonocarboxylic acids, suggest that Prototaxites may have been a terrestrial plant or an aquatic plant showing chemical adaptation to periods of desiccation. Normal saturated acids showing no odd or even carbon-number predominance, phenyl and naphthyl aromatic acids, and normal and aromatic dicarboxylic acids isolated from fossil material, are considered inconsistent with an algal biochemistry. The normal saturated fatty acids isolated from Parka, Pachytheca, Spongiophyton, Protosalvinia, Orestovia and Taeniocrada are compared with Prototaxites. Parka, Pachytheca, Spongiophyton and Orestovia, parallel one another in their organic chemical constituents, while Protosalvinia, Taeniocrada and Prototaxites appear to have paralleled one another in their adaptation to a terrestrial habit.     

Chemotaxonomy of some Paleozoic vascular plants. Part I: Chemical compositions and preliminary cluster analyses

The chemical compositions of plant fossils having trimerophyte (Pertica,Psilophyton princeps, P. cf.jorbesii), rhyniophyte (Taeniocrada), and zosterophyll (Sawdonia) morphological characteristics are chemically analyzed and chemotaxonomically related to vascular ( ?Eohostimella, Renalia, Chahuria) and putative non-vascular plant fossils (Botryococcus, Parka, Pachytheca, Prototaxites,Nematothallus, Spongiophyton, Protosalvinia, Orestovia) whose taxonomic affinities are unknown or speculative. Separation of the material examined into clusters representing higher taxa (i.e., algal, nonalgal, trimerophyte, rhyniophyte, zosterophyll plant groupings) is effected by the weighting of chemical data during cluster analyses. The weighting of phenolic and monohydroxycarboxylic acid constituents is shown to cluster vascular plant material, while the criteria of carbon chainlength ranges and maxima separate vascular from non-vascular plant fossils. Multivariate analysis of the data, using chemical and geological factors, results in the clustering of four groups: (1)Botryococcus, Parka, Pachytheca, (2)Spongiophyton, Prototaxites, Nematothallus, Orestovia, (3)Eohostimella,Taeniocrada, Renalia, and (4)Psilophyton spp.,Pertica, Chaleuria. Sawdonia andProtosalvinia appear as data points showing no observable affinity with any of the above fossils.Protosalvinia, Renalia, andChaleuria are interpreted as being chemotaxonomically intermediate. These data are interpreted as indicating taxonomic affinities on a very broad scale ; possible evolutionary trends in specific chemical compounds, as they relate to vascular and non-vascular plant geochemistry, are discussed.     

Evidence of land plant affinity for the Devonian fossil Protosalvinia (Foerstia)

The Devonian plant fossil Protosalvinia (Foerstia) has been examined by solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PY-GC-MS). Results of these studies reveal that the chemical structure of Protosalvinia is remarkably similar to that of coalified wood. A well-defined phenolic carbon peak in the NMR spectra and the appearance of phenol and alkylated phenols in pyrolysis products are clearly indicative of lignin-like compounds. These data represent significant new information on the chemical nature of Protosalvinia and provide the first substantial organic geochemical evidence for land plant affinity. ▭ Protosalvinia, Foerstia, Upper Devonian, biostratigraphy, carbon-13 NMR, PY-GC-MS, lignin.     

Orestovia and the origin of vascular plants

The enigmatic Orestovia from the Lower Devonian of Siberia has a vascular cylinder of spiral and annular tracheids, external and internal cuticles in the cortex, and stomata. Abundant spores are occasionally preserved between the cortex cuticles. The 'reticulate structures' are thyriothecia of a hemisphaeriacean fungus. Spores of several types are found sticking to the cuticle. Orestovia can be conceived as a transitional form between the alga-like Protosalvinia and the sporangiate vascular plants. The origin of land plants is discussed.     

Palynofacies distribution in a lacustrine basin

The Miocene basin of La Cerdanya (Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain) consist of lacustrine diatomites and fan-deltaic (palustrine) lutites with lignites. A multidisciplinary analysis of palynofacies, organic geochemistry, taphofacies of plant macroremains and sedimentology was carried out in order to characterise taphonomically this basin. Palustrine facies contain highly diverse assemblages of palynomorphs and other palynological matter. The presence of relatively high amount of planar organic remains, mostly cuticles, in this palynofacies is indicative of deposition in the proximal parts of the basin. The organic content is low (1% TOC) except in the case of lignites, where it reaches up to 50%. Generally the Hydrogen Index (HI) values of the palustrine sediments are also relatively low (HI 70-189). Diatomite samples from the lake centre are characterised by high amount of the chlorococcalean alga Botryococcus and sapropelic organic matter and a HI above 500. In contrast, samples from the lake margins comprise Botryococcus, bisaccates and other anemophilous angiosperm pollen and have HI below 410. The TOC of lacustrine samples may reach levels of up to 45.5%. Palynofacies distribution shows a positive correlation with plant taphofacies only in the palustrine sediments but not in the lacustrine facies of the basin. Taphofacies of plant macroremains in the lacustrine sediments display a downslope polarity whereas palynofacies are distributed radially. A variety of transport mechanisms and different origins of palynological matter in comparison to plant macroremains account for this difference.     

Plant and animal cuticle remains from the Lower Devonian of southern Poland and their palaeoenvironmental significance

Filipiak, P. & Zatoń, M. 2010: Plant and animal cuticle remains from the Lower Devonian of southern Poland and their palaeoenvironmental significance. Lethaia, Vol. 44, pp. 397–409. Assemblages of plant and arthropod remains are reported from the Lower Devonian clastic deposits of the Upper Silesian and Ma?opolska blocks in southern Poland. Most of the plant and animal remains are palynologically dated as Pragian–Emsian/Eifelian. The plant material comprises higher plant cuticles with stomata classified as Drephanophycus and Sawdonia, and more enigmatic remains (nematophytes) classified as Nematothallus, Cosmochlaina and tubular banded tubes. They are associated with abundant and diverse miospores. Animal remains consist of eurypterid respiratory organs, the morphology of which may presumably point to their advance physiological properties, and cuticular remains of eurypterid and probably scorpion origin, as well as some remains of unknown affinity. The presence of such mixed assemblages in the Lower Devonian of Poland indicate marginal‐marine and/or alluvial environments spreading in the southern margin of the Old Red Continent. The dominance of land‐derived plant remains and simultaneous scarcity of marine acritarchs indicate that the environment was very weakly influenced by marine conditions. If nematophytes were really related to extant liverworts, as suggested by some workers, they, together with the other associated spore‐producing plants, may strongly indicate moist environmental conditions, which may have offered suitable habitats for temporary eurypterid migrations onto land. □Cuticles, eurypterids, Lower Devonian, nematophytes, Poland, spores.     

Chemical examinations of some non-vascular Paleozoic plants

The organic chemical constituents of compression fossils ofNematothallus,Spongiophyton, Orestovia andEohostimella are identified and compared with those isolated from living and fossil forms ofBotryococcus (a green alga) andTaeniocrada (a vascular plant fossil). The range and maxima in the carbon numbers observed in the normal, saturated acids isolated fromNematothallus, Orestovia, andSpongiophyton are similar to those of fossilBotryococcus, while those acids contained within compression fossils ofEohostimella are similar to the hydrocarbon composition ofTaeniocrada. Isoprenoid, branched hydrocarbons and steroids identified fromNematothallus, Orestovia, andSpongiophyton suggest these genera have algal affinities, while the presence of thick cuticles and in some cases cutin-like compounds appear to show adaptation to a terrestrial environment. Phenolic compounds retained within rock matrices associated withEohostimella are similar to those isolated fromTaeniocrada suggesting chemical, as well as morphological parallels with the land plant habit. These data are interpreted as indicating an early polyphyletic exploitation of the terrestrial habitat during the Paleozoic.     

Floral volatiles play a key role in specialized ant pollination

Chemical signals emitted by plants are crucial to understand the ecology and evolution of plant–animal interactions. Scent is an important component of floral phenotype and represents a decisive communication channel between plants and floral visitors. Floral volatiles promote attraction of mutualistic pollinators and, in some cases, serve to prevent flower visitation by antagonists such as ants. Despite ant visits to flowers have been suggested to be detrimental to plant fitness, in recent years there has been a growing recognition of the positive role of ants in pollination. Nevertheless, the question of whether floral volatiles mediate mutualisms between ants and ant-pollinated plants still remains largely unexplored. Here we review the documented cases of ant pollination and investigate the chemical composition of the floral scent in the ant-pollinated plant Cytinus hypocistis. By using chemical-electrophysiological analyses and field behavioural assays, we examine the importance of olfactory cues for ants, identify compounds that stimulate antennal responses, and evaluate whether these compounds elicit behavioural responses. Our findings reveal that floral scent plays a crucial role in this mutualistic ant–flower interaction, and that only ant species that provide pollination services and not others occurring in the habitat are efficiently attracted by floral volatiles. 4-oxoisophorone, (E)-cinnamaldehyde, and (E)-cinnamyl alcohol were the most abundant compounds in Cytinus flowers, and ant antennae responded to all of them. Four ant pollinator species were significantly attracted to volatiles emitted by Cytinus inflorescences as well as to synthetic mixtures and single antennal-active compounds. The small amount of available data so far suggest that there is broad interspecific variation in floral scent composition among ant-pollinated plants, which could reflect differential responses and olfactory preferences among different ant species. Many exciting discoveries will be made as we enter into further research on chemical communication between ants and plants.     

Parka decipiens and land plant spore evolution

The morphology and ultrastructure of the spores of the enigmatic Lower Devonian plant Parka decipiens are briefly described and previous interpretations of the plant are discussed. It is suggested that the alete spores of Parka could have been haploid or diploid. The possibility that some early plant spores were diploid may be viewed as supporting the interpolation theory for the origin of alternation of generations in land plants. The spores of Parka may lie (in morphological and developmental terms) somewhere between the oospores produced by algae and the triradiate haploid spores of the bryophytes.     

Non-pollen palynomorphs from the late Quaternary sediments of southwestern Madhya Pradesh (India) and their palaeoenvironmental implications

Non-pollen palynomorphs comprising algal remains, namely Botryococcus, Chara, Concentricystis, Pediastrum, Spirogyra and Zygnema as well as fungal spores such as ascospore types, Alternaria, Cookeina, Curvularia, Diplodia, Glomus, Helminthosporium, Nigrospora, Microthyriaceae and Tetraploa, well identified from the palynoslides prepared basically for the study of palaeovegetational succession and palaeoclimatic reconstructions, are discussed and illustrated from the late Quaternary sediments collected from southwestern Madhya Pradesh (India), which is regarded as one of the core monsoon zones of the Indian subcontinent. Botryococcus and zygospores of Zygnemataceae indicate warmer climate. Pediastrum–Botryococcus alternation may reflect colder–warmer climates. Botryococcus and Pediastrum may also suggest oscillations in atmospheric precipitation. They could be sensitive indicators of salinity, pH, temperature and depth changes in palaeolagoons influenced by sea-level oscillations and climate. Chara points to less oxygenated and hard water conditions. The record of fungal spores advocates the prevalence of a humid climate.     

The Ultrastructure of the Spores of the Devonian Plant Parka decipiens

The ultrastructure of the spores of Parka decipiens Flemingwas investigated by SEM and TEM. The spores are shown to havea structured wall consisting of two distinct layers, one ofwhich exhibits a lamellate organization. The deposition of thespore wall by a tapetum is suggested to account for these lamellae.Comparison is made between the spore ultrastructure of Parkaand that of algae and bryophytes. It is suggested that the sporewall of Parka bears some similarities with the lamellate exinefound in the Hepaticae. Parka decipiens, Devonian, fossil, spore wall, ultrastructure, lamellae, tapetum     

Extraction of hydrocarbons from freshwater green microalgae (Botryococcus sp.) biomass after phycoremediation of domestic wastewater

This study was undertaken to analyze the efficiency of Botryococcus sp. in the phycoremediation of domestic wastewater and to determine the variety of hydrocarbons derived from microalgal oil after phycoremediation. The study showed a significant (p < 0.05) reduction of pollutant loads of up to 93.9% chemical oxygen demand, 69.1% biochemical oxygen demand, 59.9% total nitrogen, 54.5% total organic carbon, and 36.8% phosphate. The average dry weight biomass produce was 0.1 g/L of wastewater. In addition, the dry weight biomass of Botryococcus sp. was found to contain 72.5% of crude oil. The composition analysis using Gas Chromatogram - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) found that phthalic acid, 2-ethylhexyltridecyl ester (C₂₉H₄₈O₄), contributed the highest percentage (71.6%) of the total hydrocarbon compounds to the extracted algae oil. The result of the study suggests that Botryococcus sp. can be used for effective phycoremediation, as well as to provide a sustainable hydrocarbon source as a value-added chemical for the bio-based plastic industry.     

Root Foraging Influences Plant Growth Responses to Earthworm Foraging

Interactions among the foraging behaviours of co-occurring animal species can impact population and community dynamics; the consequences of interactions between plant and animal foraging behaviours have received less attention. In North American forests, invasions by European earthworms have led to substantial changes in plant community composition. Changes in leaf litter have been identified as a critical indirect mechanism driving earthworm impacts on plants. However, there has been limited examination of the direct effects of earthworm burrowing on plant growth. Here we show a novel second pathway exists, whereby earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris L.) impact plant root foraging. In a mini-rhizotron experiment, roots occurred more frequently in burrows and soil cracks than in the soil matrix. The roots of Achillea millefolium L. preferentially occupied earthworm burrows, where nutrient availability was presumably higher than in cracks due to earthworm excreta. In contrast, the roots of Campanula rotundifolia L. were less likely to occur in burrows. This shift in root behaviour was associated with a 30% decline in the overall biomass of C. rotundifolia when earthworms were present. Our results indicate earthworm impacts on plant foraging can occur indirectly via physical and chemical changes to the soil and directly via root consumption or abrasion and thus may be one factor influencing plant growth and community change following earthworm invasion. More generally, this work demonstrates the potential for interactions to occur between the foraging behaviours of plants and soil animals and emphasizes the importance of integrating behavioural understanding in foraging studies involving plants.     

Non-destructive oil extraction from Botryococcus braunii (Chlorophyta)

Some of the key reasons for why the production of biofuels from microalgae have not yet succeeded as a source of sustainable transport fuel are the costs involved and the amount of energy needed to obtain the oils compared to the energy contained in the final fuel. The key energy costs are in the dewatering of biomass followed by extraction of the oil, disposal of biomass, and the energy content of the nutrient fertiliser needed for regrowing the algae. In this study, we bypass all of these barriers by using a different approach towards cutting energy and fertiliser costs in the production of biofuels from microalgae—rather than growing the algae in the presence of fertilisers such as N and P, followed by harvesting the whole algae cells, and the energetically costly drying of cells and extraction of the fuel from the cells, this process makes use of the natural tendency of the green alga, Botryococcus braunii to release oils from the cell into the extracellular matrix during and after growth. Here, we non-destructively and repeatedly harvest the external oil (hydrocarbons) from B. braunii CCAP 807/2. Extraction with several solvents showed that hexane was not compatible with B. braunii, but that heptane in contact with B. braunii for less than 20 min did not negatively affect this alga. As an alternative, solvent-free method, we tested physical methods of extracting the extracellular oil. Light and temperature did not affect the extraction of the external oil from Botryococcus, but gentle pressure (i.e. ‘blotting’) was an effective method for external oil recovery. Less than 1 h of blotting also did not affect the physiology of Botryococcus. Both the heptane extraction and the non-destructive ‘blotting’ methods had no significant effect on growth and photosynthesis (F _v/F _m, ETR_max) of B. braunii. Our results indicate that over a period of 6 days, we can repeatedly extract over 35 % (using heptane) and 1 % (using ‘blotting’) of the total oil, mainly in the form of external hydrocarbon in stationary phase cells without damage to the cells.     

ADDITIONS TO THE MIOCENE SUCKER CREEK FLORA OF OREGON AND IDAHO

Study of plant microfossils and additional macrofossils collected from sediments in the vicinity of Sucker Creek along the Oregon-Idaho boundary has provided additional data on the composition of this fossil flora. A total of seven taxa new to the flora have been recognized. These include colonies of Botryococcus; pollen of Podocarpus, Pachysandra, and the Onagraceae; and leaves of Cephalotaxus californica and Vaccinium sophoroides. The occurrence of Podocarpus in this mid-Miocene flora is particularly significant in view of the limited number of records of this genus in the Tertiary of North America. In addition to these new records, the presence of three additional taxa—Castanea, Nyssa, and Ilex—previously recognized on the basis of leaf remains, is further substantiated by the occurrence of fossil pollen in the sediments.     

Nucleotide sequences of 5s rRNAs from sponge Halichondria japonica and tunicate Halocynthia roretzi and their phylogenetic positions

The nucleotide sequences of 5S rRNAs from sponge Halichondria japonica and tunicate Halocynthia roretzi were determined by chemical and enzymatic gel methods. Their phylogenetic positions among metazoans were derived from the 5S rRNA sequences by a computer analysis based on the maximum parsimony principle. It was suggested that the sponge is closely related to several invertebrates and the tunicate has affinity to vertebrates rather than invertebrates.     

The Devonian land plant Protosalvinia

Gray, Jane&Boucot, ArthurJ. 197901 15: The Devonian land plant Protosalvinia. Lethaia . Vol. 12, pp. 57–63. Oslo. ISSN 0024–1164.
Protosalvinia (=Foerstia ) shows a number of morphological features which suggest that it was a land plant, possibly an emergent aquatic. Certain kinds of biochemical data, as presently interpreted, also support the morphological evidence. The weight of evidence supports neither a fucoid nor even an algal attribution for this enigmatic plant. Protosalvinia should be treated as the representative of a separate group of land plants, as previously advocated. Tracheid-like tubes with internal spiral thickenings appear on the basis of direct comparison to be morphologically identical to those of nematophytalean origin. They may have functioned in a capacity similar to the tracheids of vascular plants. The Nematophytales are non-marine plants of uncertain taxonomic position.     

Organic chemistry of Protosalvinia (Foerstia) from the Chattanooga and New Albany Shales

Vertical samplings of Protosalvinia, a thalloid Upper Devonian alga from the Chattanooga and New Albany Shales, are chemically analyzed and correlated with the organic chemical constituents isolated from associated shale matrices. Normal, saturated acids (n-C₈ to n-C₃₆n-paraffins (C₁₀ to C₃₆), showing an odd carbon-number preference, branched-chain alkanes, and vanadyl porphyrins isolated from Protosalvinia vary in their concentrations with depth of burial and with the dominant associated morphology of Protosalvinia, i.e., P. arnoldii, P. ravenna, P. furcata. Organic constituents of shales, in general, reflect those detected in thalli; relative concentrations, molecular diversity, carbon chain-lengths and maxima of compounds extracted from both shale and fossil material are similar. Pristane, phytane and porphyrins are probably derived from a chlorophyllous organism, while δ¹³C data corroborate a photosynthetic system operating in the primary biosynthesis of shale geochemistry. Crude-oil extracts of Protosalvinia-rich strata contain higher alkane and lower aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations than those of an average crude oil. Chemical variations among forms of Protosalvinia suggest biochemical differences in original plant composition rather than diagenetic transitions; field observations of morphological trends seen in vertical samplings may be used in crude extrapolations of the organic chemical compositions of shale strata.     

Comparative evaluation of inorganic and organic amendments for their flocculation efficiency of selected microalgae

Cost-efficient harvesting of microalgae is a major challenge due to their small size and often low concentration in the culture medium. The flocculation efficacy of different inorganic and organic amendments was evaluated on various microalgae genera—one strain each belonging to Chlamydomonas, Chlorococcum, two of Botryococcus, and of Chlorella. An improvised medium comprising of commercial grade urea, single super phosphate, and muriate of potash was used to grow the microalgae for flocculation experiments. High pH induced increased flocculation efficiency (72–76 %) in selected microalgal strains. Ferric chloride was found to be the most efficient for most of the microalgal strains, while maize starch and rice starch proved superior for Chlorella sp. MCC6 and Botryococcus sp. MCC32. Although the highest flocculation efficiency was obtained with inorganic flocculant, i.e., ferric chloride (87.3 %) with Botryococcus MCC31, this was comparable with rice starch (86.8 %) for Botryococcus MCC32. This study showed that widely available cheaper biopolymers such as rice starch, maize, and potato starch can be promising flocculants due to their better harvesting efficiency (>80 %) and low price, thereby contributing to economical production of biodiesel from algae.     

Environmental impact of a large-scale chemical elimination of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Reynoutria</Emphasis> spp. on the alluvium of the Morávka river – examination of vegetation changes in floodplain forests

An invasion of non-native plant species represents the most serious environmental problem threatening the biodiversity and changing the nature of the landscape. A chemical elimination is one of the methods used to fight neophytes. It was carried out in the study area of the Morávka River flowing beneath the Beskydy Mountains between 2007 and 2010. The elimination of Reynoutria spp. was implemented as a part of the ‘Preservation of alluvial forest habitats in the Morávka River basin’ project. The population of the invasive neophyte Reynoutria spp. was eliminated by using a combination of mechanical and chemical treatment. Roundup Biaktiv herbicide was used for the chemical elimination. We investigated the consequences of the areal chemical elimination of Reynoutria spp. on the herbaceous undergrowth of the forest of the alluvium of the Morávka River. A multivariate analysis was employed to examine responses of the spring herbaceous plant species and native and non-native summer plant species composition to the chemical treatment. The hypothesis that consequences of the chemical elimination are not reflected in the spring plant species composition, whereas the applications of the herbicide and their frequency is one of crucial factors for the variability of the summer plant species composition was confirmed. The chemical elimination affected plant species composition of the non-native plant species more significantly than the plant species composition of the native plant species. A higher frequency of herbicide application caused increased diversity of both native and non-native plant species, although more noticeably in the case of the latter ones.