Effect of tree age on needle morphology and anatomy of Pinus uliginosa and Pinus silvestris – species-specific character separation during ontogenesis

Differences in morphological and anatomical characters of needles between seedlings, saplings and adult trees of the endangered Pinus uliginosa from the Węgliniec Nature Reserve in SW Poland were examined biometrically and statistically assessed using the Student's t-test, Tukey–Kramer test, step-wise discrimination and agglomeration on Euclidean distances according to Ward's method. Pinus sylvestris adults and seedlings were used as comparative material. The results show that needles of all three P. uliginosa generations differ significantly from each other. In seedling needles, several anatomical characters were similar to those of P. sylvestris growing in the vicinity of the reserve. However, P. uliginosa had a lower number of resin canals, lower frequency of fibre-like sclerenchyma cells and higher frequency of thin-walled sclerenchyma cells with large lumens in the spaces between vascular bundles. Needle characters of saplings and adult trees of both species were distinctly more different than it was the case in the seedling stage.     

PINUS WOLFEI,A NEW PETRIFIED CONE FROM THE EOCENE OF WASHINGTON

A silicified cone from the Late Eocene of Washington is described as a new fossil species of Pinus. The cone was probably 9–10 cm long and 3–5 cm at its widest diam in the living condition and is peculiar in having abundant resin canals in the secondary xylem of the axis arranged in three concentric rings near the cone base. The bract of the fossil is also unusual in having resin canals of distinctly unequal sizes and a vascular strand that is adaxially concave. In the absence of external features of the scale tips, these anatomical conditions along with the construction of the outer cortex of the axis of thick-walled cells suggest closest affinity of the new species with the subsections Contortae, Oocarpae, and Sylvestres of the section Pinus, subgenus Pinus.     

Pinus MUTOI (Pinaceae), a new species of permineralized seed cone from the upper Cretaceous of Hokkaido,Japan

Pinus mutoi is described as a new species on the basis of a permineralized seed cone from the Upper Cretaceous of Hokkaido, Japan. The cone is at least 20 cm long and up to 6 cm in diameter, consisting of a cone axis and numerous cone-scale complexes that are arranged helically around the axis. Two winged seeds are borne on the adaxial surface of each ovuliferous scale. Each complex receives a single trace from the vascular cylinder of the cone axis. In the scale base, all the resin canals occur abaxially to the vascular strand. The spatulate bract of the fossil is unique to the specimen among the cones of both living and fossil Pinus. The central umbo, broad sclerotic cortex of cone axis, and absence of serotinous features of the fossil cone suggest affinity with the subsection Sylvestres of the section Pinus, subgenus Pinus. This is the first record of permineralized preserved Pinus cone from the Cretaceous of Eastern Eurasia.     

Pinus uncinata Ramond taxonomy based on needle characters

 11 needle characters of Pinus uncinata Ramond from the Spanish Pyrenees, P. mugo Turra from the Tatra Mountains, and P. sylvestris L. from N.E. Poland were analysed. It was shown that P. uncinata is much more closely related to P. mugo than to P. sylvestris. Nevertheless P. uncinata remains distinct from both in a number of the characters examined. The species differs from P. mugo especially in the length of the needles and in the distance between the vascular bundles. It differs from P. sylvestris in such characters as the number of resin canals, thickness of epidermis cells and the distance between the vascular bundles. Width of epidermis cells was similar in all taxa studied. Received May 31, 2000 Accepted February 13, 2001     

Phytophthora captiosa sp. nov. and P. fallax sp. nov. causing crown dieback of Eucalyptus in New Zealand

A locally severe crown disease of exotic plantation Eucalyptus trees has been recorded periodically in New Zealand since 1986. Symptoms include leaf spots, petiole infection and twig and small branch lesions. Outbreaks of disease are episodic and individual trees may show marked variation in crown symptoms ranging from unaffected to total defoliation. Two previously unknown species of Phytophthora are associated with the disease. These are described and formally designated here as P. captiosa, from Eucalyptus botryoides and E. saligna; and P. fallax, from E. delegatensis, E. fastigata, E. nitens and E. regnans. Both P. captiosa and P. fallax have non-papillate, non-caducous sporangia and both are self-fertile. Phylogenetic analysis on the basis of ITS rDNA sequence data indicates they are closely related to each other but evolutionarily distant from the majority of described Phytophthora taxa. They share a common ancestor with another assemblage of Phytophthora lineages that includes P. insolita, P. macrochlamydospora and P. richardiae. Sporulation of P. captiosa and P. fallax has not been observed in the field. The mode of infection and spread of these non-caducous Phytophthora species in the eucalypt tree canopy remains unknown. This issue, and the possible geographic origins of these two Phytophthora species are discussed.     

菰适应湿地环境的解剖和屏障结构特征研究

菰(Zizania latifolia)是一种多年生挺水植物,为了探讨该植物根、茎和叶的解剖结构、组织化学及其质外体屏障的通透性生理。该文利用光学显微镜和荧光显微镜,对菰的根、茎、叶进行了解剖学和组织化学研究。结果表明:(1)菰不定根解剖结构由外而内分别为表皮、外皮层、单层细胞的厚壁机械组织层、皮层、内皮层和维管柱;茎结构由外而内分别为角质层、表皮、周缘厚壁机械组织层、皮层、具维管束的厚壁组织层和髓腔。叶鞘具有表皮和具维管束皮层,叶片具有表皮,叶肉和维管束。(2)不定根具有位于内侧的内皮层及其邻近栓质化细胞和外侧的外皮层组成的屏障结构;茎具内侧厚壁机械组织层,外侧的角质层和周缘厚壁机械组织层组成的屏障结构,屏障结构的细胞壁具凯氏带、木栓质和木质素沉积的组织化学特点,叶表面具有角质层。(3)菰通气组织包括根中通气组织,茎、叶皮层的通气组织和髓腔。(4)菰的屏障结构和解剖结构是其适应湿地环境的重要特征,但其茎周缘厚壁层和厚壁组织层较薄。由此推测,菰适应湿地环境,但在旱生环境中分布有一定的局限性。     

PERMINERALIZED PINACEOUS LEAVES FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS OF HOKKAIDO

Three fragments of fascicles of a possible five-needle pine are described from the Upper Cretaceous Yezo Group (Santonian/Senonian) of Hokkaido. Specimens from the Omakizawa, Oyubari, Yubari City, the Koyanozawa, Ikushumbetsu, Mikasa City, and the Sankebetsugawa, Haboro are preserved in calcium carbonate nodules containing abundant ammonites. Leaves borne in apparent fascicles of five measure 0.7–0.8 mm in radial and 0.8–1.0 mm in tangential diam and are represented by short fragments of isolated needles. Thick-walled epidermal cells on these amphistomatic leaves resemble the underlying uniform hypodermis. Two external resin canals are situated near the lateral corners toward the adaxial surface. Only slightly plicate mesophyll cells in a layer one to two cells thick border on an elliptical endodermis with thickened outer cell walls. Two to three layers of transfusion tissue surround the double vascular strand. Two vascular bundles are separated by one cell layer of sclerenchyma fibers. Small patches of abaxial and adaxial sclerenchyma fibers have also been observed. Leaves most closely resemble those of Pinus leiophylla Schl. et Cham. Subgenus Pinus, Section Pinea, Subsection Leiophyllae and P. montezumae Lamb. Subgenus Pinus, Section Pinus, Subsection Ponderosae and are described as a new species P. hokkaidoensis sp. nov. Stockey and Ueda. Close anatomical comparisons are made with this leaf and previously described permineralized Upper Cretaceous pine needles from Hokkaido and eastern North America.     

Variation in the nrDNA ITS of Pinus Subsection Cembroides: Implications for Molecular Systematic Studies of Pine Species Complexes

The pinyon pines (Pinus subsection Cembroides), distributed in semiarid regions of the western United States and Mexico, include a mixture of relictual and more recently evolved taxa. To investigate relationships among the pinyons, we screened and partially sequenced 3000-bp clones of the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region for 16 taxa from subsect. Cembroides and nine representatives from four other subsections of subgenus Strobus. Restriction digests of clones reveal within-individual heterogeneity, suggesting that concerted evolution is operating slowly on the ITS in pine species. Two ITS clones were identified as pseudogenes. Tandem subrepeats in the ITS1 form stem loops comparable to those in other genera of Pinaceae and may be promoting recombination between rDNA repeats, resulting in ITS1 chimeras. Within the pinyon clade, phylogenetic structure is present, but different clones from the same (or different) individuals of a species are polyphyletic, indicating that coalescence of ITS copies within individual genomes predates evolutionary divergence in the group. At the level of subsection and above, the ITS region corresponds well with morphological and cpDNA evidence. Except for P. nelsonii, the pinyons are monophyletic, with both subsect. Cembroides and P. nelsonii forming a clade with the foxtail and bristlecone pines (subsect. Balfourianae) of western North America.     

Contrasting patterns of genetic diversity in two tropical pines: Pinus kesiya (Royle ex Gordon) and P. merkusii (Jungh et De Vriese)

We studied allozyme and chloroplast (cp) DNA variation in natural populations of Pinus kesiya and P. merkusii from Thailand and Vietnam. The results showed striking differences between the two species in the amount and distribution of allozyme variation. P. kesiya harboured considerable allozyme variation and showed weak interpopulational differentiation. In contrast, P. merkmii had very low intrapopulational variability but a high level of interpopulational differentiation. The average Nei's genetic distance separating the two species was exceptionally high (0.701) taking into account their close taxonomic placement in the same subsection Sylvestres. The constructed phylogenetic trees revealed very early divergence of P. kesiya and P. merkusii. The present analysis of cpDNA variation also confirmed the dissimilar character of these two species and was compatible with other evidence indicating the outstanding position of P. merkusii as compared to other Asian members of the subsection Sylvestres. Analysis of cpDNA variation in sympatric populations of P. kesiya and P. merkusii revealed that they are pure representatives of the species in question. This result indicates that despite an overlapping distribution P. kesiya and P. merkusii do not hybridise in nature. We suggest that the distinctive character of P. merkusii is a result of an early separation from other Eurasian pines. Despite spatial proximity, P. kesiya and P. merkusii are kept apart by strong reproductive barriers. The low genetic variability of P. merkusii may be explained by previous bottlenecks, reduced gene flow among populations, and an inbreeding due to small population size and asynchronous flowering.     

荷叶铁线蕨孢子体解剖结构和组织化学特征研究

荷叶铁线蕨为岩生珍稀蕨类植物,分布在中国重庆市万州、涪陵等极少地区.为揭示荷叶铁线蕨生长特性,采集栽培在种质资源圃中的荷叶铁线蕨根样、根状茎、在阳光下生长和在阴暗环境下生长的叶片,固定于甲醛-酒精-乙酸溶液中,用双面刀片进行徒手切片,分别用三种0.1％苏丹红、0.1％硫酸氢黄连素-苯胺兰、0.05％甲苯胺蓝染色剂染色,...     

Molecular cytogenetic study of three common Mediterranean limpets, Patella caerulea, P. rustica and P. ulyssiponensis (Archaeogastropoda, Mollusca)

The present paper shows the results of chromosome banding and rDNA-FISH study performed on several specimens of different populations of Patella caerulea, Patella rustica and Patella ulyssiponensis. The taxonomic attribution of specimens was ascertained by the molecular phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. P. caerulea and P. rustica had 2n = 18 chromosomes with first seven of biarmed pairs and the remaining two uniarmed pairs. P. ulyssiponensis had 2n = 16 with all biarmed chromosomes. Ag-NOR loci were on the short arms of the first metacentric pair in the three studied limpets, whereas they showed a different pattern of heterochromatin distribution and composition. A chromosome mosaicism was observed in several P. caerulea specimens, which exhibited an unpaired metacentric element and loss of a telocentric pair. The obtained results suggest that in the genus Patella specific diversification was accompanied by variations in heterochromatin distribution and composition and reduction of chromosome number by Robertsonian centric fusion.     

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MORPHOLOGY OF LEPTOCHILUS AND PARALEPTOCHILUS

Nayar , B. K. (Natl. Bat. Gard., Lucknow, India.) Contributions to the morphology of Leptochilus and Paraleptochilus. Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(4): 301–308. lllus. 1963.—Morphology of L. axillaris and P. decurrens is described; L. axillaris is epiphytic, possessing a wide creeping, soft, parenchymatous rhizome, covered sparsely by peltate paleae, while P. decurrens is rupicaulous, with a short, brittle rhizome having slender sclerenchyma strands and densely covered by basally attached paleae. The vascular cylinder of the rhizome is dictyostelic and composed of a large number of closely placed, thick, vascular bundles with characteristic, thickened, endodermal cells in L. axillaris; it is dictyostelic and composed of a few, slender, distantly placed vascular strands in P. decurrens. Leaf traces are multiple strands which in P. decurrens originate in alternate succession from either side of the dorsal median vascular bundle of the rhizome, but in L. axillaris, from the lateral vascular bundles of the rhizome. The branch traces are paired strands which are lateral in the former and medianly placed in the latter. Scattered sclerenchyma strands occur in the stipe of P. decurrens. Paraphyses are absent in P. decurrens, but filamentous paraphyses occur in L. axillaris. The spores are bilateral and smooth-walled in both, and the prothalli are of the branched, ribbonlike type developing as in Colysis. Prothalli are naked in L. axillaris, but bear sparse mammillate marginal hairs in P. decurrens.     

Simultaneous phosphate solubilization potential and antifungal activity of new fluorescent pseudomonad strains, Pseudomonasaeruginosa, P. plecoglossicida and P. mosselii

Of 80 fluorescent pseudomonad strains screened for phosphate solubilization, three strains (BFPB9, FP12 and FP13) showed the ability to solubilize tri-calcium phosphate (Ca₃(PO₄)₂). During mineral phosphate solubilization, decrease of pH in the culture medium due to the production of organic acids by the strains was observed. These phosphate solubilizing strains produced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and protease as well as exhibited a broad-spectrum antifungal activity against phytopathogenic fungi. When tested in PCR using the gene-specific primers, strain BFPB9 showed the presence of hcnBC genes that encode hydrogen cyanide. On the basis of phenotypic traits, 16S rRNA sequence homology and subsequent phylogenetic analysis, strains BFPB9, FP12 and FP13 were designated as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, P. plecoglossicida and P. mosselii, respectively. Present investigation reports the phosphate solubilization potential and biocontrol ability of new strains that belong to P. plecoglossicida and P. mosselii. Because of the innate potential of phosphate solubilization, production of siderophore, IAA, protease, cellulase and HCN strains reported in this study can be used as biofertilizers as well as biocontrol agents.     

Species-specific PCR discrimination of species of the calanoid copepod Pseudocalanus, P. acuspes and P. elongatus, in the Baltic and North Seas

Two species of the calanoid copepod Pseudocalanus, P. acuspes and P. elongatus, have been reported from the Baltic and North Seas. Morphometric analysis based on Frost (Can J Zool 67:525–551, 1989) did not identify the species in samples collected during the German GLOBEC program; the majority of measurements fell outside reported ranges for Baltic and North Sea specimens. A multiplexed species-specific PCR (SS-PCR) protocol was designed from a ~700 bp sequence of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI), with primers designed to amplify regions of different sizes for the two species to allow detection by gel electrophoresis. The accuracy and reliability of the multiplexed SS-PCR reaction was confirmed by sequencing the mtCOI region. Preliminary SS-PCR analysis of geographic distributions of the two species indicated that P. acuspes occurred exclusively at sampling sites in the Baltic Sea, whereas P. elongatus was found in the southern North Sea and at one site in the Baltic. The SS-PCR protocol can be used for routine identification of the two species for studies of population, community and ecosystem dynamics.     

Fossil records of subsection Pinus (genus Pinus,Pinaceae) from the Cenozoic in Japan

Extant pines of subsection Pinus (section Pinus, genus Pinus, Pinaceae) are predominantly distributed in Eastern Asia. However, the extent of diversification in the section has yet to be fully clarified. We reviewed fossil records of subsection Pinus from Japan and collected permineralized materials, in which anatomical details are preserved for better understanding of the diversification. Our results suggest that this subsection appeared in Japan no earlier than the Middle Eocene, with extant species (i.e., Pinus densiflora and Pinus thunbergii) appearing around the beginning of the Pleistocene. Pinus fujiii (Early Miocene to Early Pleistocene) is inferred to have a close affinity to P. thunbergii based on the medial arrangement of its leaf resin canals. Additionally, P. fujiii has a similar cone morphology to those of extant species living in China, bridging the morphological gap between P. thunbergii and Chinese relatives of P. thunbergii as inferred by molecular phylogenetic analyses. Our results also suggest that taxonomic revisions of Pinus miocenica and Pinus oligolepis are required among the Japanese fossil species reported to date.     

Composite bundles,the host/parasite interface in the holoparasitic angiosperms Langsdorffia and Balanophora (Balanophoraceae)

Composite bundles are not simply a type of vascular bundles, but an integrated host/parasite interface. We investigated their structure in tubers of Langsdorffia and Balanophora. Composite bundles in both genera have similar components: 1) a central mass of host vascular tissues among which are located large parasite transfer cells; 2) a sheath of parasite parenchyma surrounding the central host vascular tissues; 3) specialized conducting tissues in the sheath; and 4) apical meristems composed of both host and parasite meristematic cells. Sheath parenchyma is recognizable from parasite tuber matrix by having thinner cell walls, and, especially in Langsdorffia, by the presence of collapsed matrix cells between the bundle sheath and tuber matrix. Sheath-conducting tissues consist of densely cytoplasmic transfer cells and small sieve tube members; in Langsdorffia, tracheary elements are also present. These sheath bundles connect with vascular bundles of the tuber matrix. Direct host/parasite contact only occurs by means of parasite transfer cells in the composite bundles. There is no xylem-xylem contact at the host/parasite interface. Abundance of parasite transfer cells suggests that they play an important role in nutrient absorption and translocation.     

中甸灯台报春与鹅黄灯台报春的系统演化

中甸灯台报春和鹅黄灯台报春在形态上较为相似,通常被认为是亲缘关系较近的物种。该研究选取核基因ITS序列和叶绿体trn L-F为分子标记,利用贝叶斯的方法构建系统树,在用两种分子标记构建的系统树中,两种报春均以0.81的支持率聚成一个分支,明确了两种报春的姐妹种关系。首先,通过选取两个物种的五个形态学性状,进行主成分分析,聚类结果中两种报春各自的个体分别聚在两块区域,表明两种报春的形态学性状产生了明显的分化,且中甸灯台报春的花部各性状值明显大于鹅黄灯台报春,表明花部综合征和繁育系统间的相关联系。然后,通过用8对SSR分子标记对两种报春进行STRUCTURE聚类分析,结果检测K的最适值为2,此时中甸灯台报春和鹅黄灯台报春的个体各自以不同颜色聚成界限清晰的两块区域,揭示了两种报春在分子水平上也产生了显著而稳定的分化,通过Ima2软件,依据叶绿体联合序列,计算了两种报春的分化时间大约是在更新世,推测这两个姐妹种的物种分化受更新世气候动荡和一些地质历史事件的影响。最后,运用maxent软件分析两个物种的生态位差异,结果表明最干季节降水量、年均降水量和季节性降水量对中甸灯台报春的分布有重要影响,最冷季节平均温度、最干月降水量、年均降水量和季节性降水量对鹅黄灯台报春的分布有重要影响,两个物种间的生态位产生了分化。由此推测,这种生态位的差异是物种分化的结果,同时也是物种间系统演化的重要驱动力。     

Coprinellus radicellus, a new species with northern distribution

A new coprophilous species, Coprinellus radicellus, is presented and described on the basis of morphological characters and a species phylogeny inferred from ITS1–5.8S–ITS2 and beta-tubulin gene sequences. The species is characterized by lageniform pileo- and caulocystidia, 8- to 11-μm long ellipsoid basidiospores with a central germ-pore, globose cheilocystidia, an often rooting stipe, the lack of pleurocystidia and velar elements. These characters distinguish C. radicellus from all other described species in subsection Setulosi. It comes closest to C. brevisetulosus (Arnolds) Redhead, Vilgalys & Moncalvo and C. pellucidus (P. Karst.) Redhead, Vilgalys & Moncalvo both morphologically and phylogenetically, but is distinct from both. Another five representatives of morphologically recognizable groups of subsection Setulosi were included in the phylogenetic analyses and found were distinct from C. radicellus, both morphologically and phylogenetically. To date, this new species is known only from Scandinavia, which is surprising in view of the uniform geographical distributions of most setulose Coprinellus species. A key to coprophilous taxa of Coprinellus with pileo- and caulocystidia is presented. Three new combinations are proposed.     

Pupilla pratensis (Gastropoda: Pupillidae) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and its distinction from P. muscorum and P. alpicola based on multidimensional analysis of shell measurements

Pupilla pratensis (Clessin, 1871) was recently confirmed as a distinct species based on morphological, ecological and molecular evidence. The main purpose of this study is to publish the first reliable data on the occurrence of P. pratensis in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The second goal is to analyse conchometry of P. pratensis, P. muscorum (L., 1758), and P. alpicola (Charpentier, 1837) to find out whether it is possible to reliably distinguish these species solely based on shell measurements. For multidimensional analysis of shell measurement variation we used principal components analysis (PCA). We documented six populations of P. pratensis in the Czech Republic and one in SW Slovakia. The revision of voucher material showed that all previously reported records of P. alpicola from the Czech Republic belonged in fact to P. pratensis. This requires the exclusion of P. alpicola from the list of Czech molluscs. Based on multidimensional analysis of shell measurements it was possible to distinguish P. pratensis from P. muscorum with no overlapping specimens. Pupilla alpicola was almost completely different from P. muscorum with only few overlapping specimens, contrary to P. pratensis which was mostly impossible to distinguish from P. alpicola based on analysed shell measurements. Shell width was the best single shell measurement for distinguishing P. pratensis and P. muscorum. Shell measurements of two Swedish populations of P. pratensis did not differ from shell variation of Czech and Slovak populations. However, Scandinavian populations displayed some differences from central European populations in apertural barriers which are discussed in detail. Czech and Slovak populations of P. pratensis occurred in calcium-rich fen meadows which perfectly matches with site characteristics reported from Scandinavia. We assume that the observed morphometric differences between P. pratensis and P. muscorum can be useful for distinguishing the species also outside the Czech territory and for palaeoecological studies where only empty shells are available. Since these species occupy ecologically different habitats their reliable identification in fossil material can improve the reconstructions of past environments.     

Quinua and Relatives (Chenopodium sect.Chenopodium subsect.Celluloid)

Traditionally viewed as an Andean grain crop,Chenopodium quinoa Willd. includes domesticated populations that are not Andean, and Andean populations that are not domesticated. Comparative analysis of leaf morphology and allozyme frequencies have demonstrated that Andean populations, both domesticated(quinua) and free-living(ajara), represent an exceptionally homogeneous unit that is well differentiated from allied domesticates of coastal Chile(quingua) and freeliving populations of the Argentine lowlands(C. hircinum). This pattern of relationships indicates that Andean populations represent a monophyletic crop/weed system that has possibly developed through cyclic differentiation (natural vs. human selection) and introgressive hybridization. Relative levels of variation suggest that this complex originated in the southern Andes, possibly from wild types allied withC. hircinum, with subsequent dispersal north to Colombia and south to the Chilean coast. Coastal populations were apparently isolated from post-dispersal differentiation and homogenization that occurred in the Andes. Other data point toward a center of origin in the northern Andes with secondary centers of genetic diversity subsequently developing in the southern Andes and the plains of Argentina. Comparative linkage of South American taxa, all tetraploid, with North American tetraploids of the subsection will eventually clarify this problem. While the possibility of a direct phyletic connection betweenC. quinoa and the Mexican domesticate(C. berlandieri subsp. nuttalliae,) cannot be excluded, available evidence indicates that the latter represents an autonomous lineage that is associated with the basal tetraploid, C. b. subsp.berlandieri, through var.sinuatum, whereas South American taxa show possible affinities to either var. zschackei or var.berlandieri. An extinct domesticate of eastern North America,C. b. subsp.jonesianum, represents either another instance of independent domestication, possibly from subsp. b. var.zschackei, or a northeastern outlier of subsp.nuttalliae.