The 'Original Article' inAnnals of Botany

I have become aware that uncertainty exists in some quartersover what is or is not acceptable for submission as an originalresearch paper to this and similar journals. It appears thatthe essential characteristics of such articles are not alwaysfully appreciated, suggesting pressure to lower the basic standardsthat prescribe the peer-reviewed research paper. This editorialmakes it clear that theAnnals of Botanystrongly resists suchpressures. It views the successful peer-reviewed paper as theprincipal hallmark of success for individual scientists andthe ‘gold standard’ that defines tangible progressin science. I will not try to delineate all the features expectedof a satisfactory research paper but, instead, point to theparamount necessity of their being original works. Readers mustbe able to take it on trust that the contents of published papershave not been stolen from others or published in substantivemeasure elsewhere by the author. Protecting that trust is oneof the Journal's foremost concerns and it is no coincidencethat the opening sentence of our ‘Instructions to Authors’begins with the phrase ‘Contributions must be original'.Some other journals also adopt similar wording and authors shouldtake note of this most basic requirement. It underpins the credibilityand good standing of the standard peer-reviewed research paper.There is some risk of ambiguity concerning what is meant by‘original’ when an author writes on a similar subjectin both a refereed journal and in a non-refereed format suchas a chapter in a book. While this practice is entirely legitimate,the reader has the right to a scholarly reworking of ideas,substance and content in both cases. The reader is also entitledto expect appropriate cross-referencing between the two formsof communication and for the research paper to be recognizedas the primary source. Such cross-referencing is but a partof the larger requirement of being open about sources of knowledgeand about the influences that bear on the research being described.Scientific publishing of peer-reviewed science is serious workand theAnnals of Botanyendeavours to maintain the highest possiblestanding for its ‘Original Articles’. It takes promptpublic action whenever basic precepts essential to maintainingthis high standing are discovered to have been ignored by anyof its contributors.Copyright 1999 Annals of Botany Company     

Total and Component Carbon Fluxes of a Scots Pine Ecosystem from Chamber Measurements and Eddy Covariance

Annals of Botany 99: 345–353, 2007 The authors regret that the     

EDITORIAL

The Annals of Botany, one of the oldest botanical journals incontinuous publication, publishes eclectic and innovative papers,both on-line and in print, in almost every sphere of plant biology.Its policy has been and remains to improve and develop all aspectsof the Journal’s provision for the benefit of authorsand readers alike. In doing so, it aims to meet fully theirdemands for a high level of originality in scientific content,top quality reproduction and prompt publication with wide accessibility.Annals of Botany faces these     

Allometric Relationships in Field-grown Soybean

Allometric relationships in plants uncover size-correlated variationsin form and development and characterize the relative growthof a part of a plant in comparison with a whole. Stable allometricrelationships in ontogeny can be used as components of cropmodels and to estimate plant parameters that are difficult tomeasure. Our objective was to discover whether stable allometricrelations exist in ontogeny of field-grown soybeans (GlycinemaxL.). We used field data on vegetative stages, plant height,stem weight, and leaf weight of 16 soybean cultivars measuredon farms and on the experiment station of Mississippi StateUniversity during 1993–1995 growing seasons. The numberof observed crops for each cultivar ranged from one to 14. Stemheights displayed linear log-log dependencies on the vegetativestage, before and after the breakpoint stage, which typicallywas between the ‘fourth node’ and ‘sixth node’vegetative stages. Slopes of the log-log dependencies afterthe breakpoint stage were similar in all cultivars. Stem masshad log-log linear dependencies on stem height. Slopes of thesedependencies differed among cultivars grown under the same conditions,and among crops of the same cultivar grown under different conditions.Water stress could be a modifier of these relationships. Theproportion of leaf weights in the total weight of leaves andstems decreased linearly as the vegetative development progressed.Since allometric relations are stable for a specific crop, theycan be used to forecast vegetative development as soon as theyare established.Copyright 1998 Annals of Botany Soybean,Glycine maxL., allometry, vegetative development.     

Developmental Genetics and Morphological Evolution of Flowering Plants, Especially Bladderworts (Utricularia): Fuzzy Arberian Morphology Complements Classical Morphology

This review compares new developmental models on flowering andother vascular plants with evolutionary hypotheses formulatedby Agnes Arber (1879–1960) and like-minded botanists.Special emphasis is laid on philosophical basics such as perspectivism,pluralism about evolutionary modelling, continuum way of thinking,and fuzzy logic. Arber's perspective is best labelled as F uzzyA rberian M orphology (FAM Approach). Its proponents (‘FAMmers’)treat structural categories (e.g. ‘roots’, ‘shoots’,‘stems’, ‘leaves’, ‘stipules’)in vascular plants as concepts with fuzzy borderlines allowingintermediates (including transitional forms, developmental mosaics).The FAM Approach complements Cla ssical Plant M orphology (ClaMApproach), which is the traditional approach in botany. ClaMproponents (‘ClaMmers’) postulate that the structuralcategories of vascular plants are regarded as concepts withclear-cut borderlines and without intermediates. However, duringthe evolution of vascular plants, the root-shoot distinctionand the stem-leaf distinction have become blurred several timesdue to developmental changes, resulting in organs with uniquecombinations of features. This happened, for example, in thebladderworts (Utricularia, Lentibulariaceae). When focusingon the ‘leaf’, the FAM Approach is identical toArber's ‘partial-shoot theory of the leaf’ and Sinha's‘leaf shoot continuum model’. A compound leaf canrepeat the developmental pathway of the whole shoot, at leastto some degree. For example, compound leaves of Chisocheton(Meliaceae)with indeterminate apical growth and three-dimensional branchingmay be seen as developmental mosaics sharing some growth processeswith whole shoots! We focus here on the FAM Approach becausethis perspective is especially promising for developmental geneticistsstudying flowering and other vascular plants. Copyright 2001Annals of Botany Company Review, body plan, developmental mosaics, leaf development, history of botany, homeosis, homeotic genes, Lentibulariaceae, morphological evolution, process morphology, stipules, Utricularia, flowering plants     

Mycorrhizal Response of Two Tomato Genotypes Relates to their Ability to Acquire and Utilize Phosphorus

The purpose of this study was to determine how a plant's responseto colonization by mycorrhizal fungi relates to its abilityto acquire and utilize phosphorus for growth and reproduction.Two tomato genotypes previously found to be either responsive(‘LA1709’) or unresponsive (‘large cherry’)to mycorrhizal colonization during early vegetative growth wereexamined in detail. Plants were grown at four levels of addedphosphate or with mycorrhizal inoculum. Vegetative and reproductivegrowth, phosphorus uptake and root length density were measuredduring the course of plant development. Mycorrhizal symbiosissignificantly increased above-ground dry mass, root length,phosphorus content and yield under low phosphorus conditionsin ‘LA1709’, while it had less effect on these characteristicsin ‘large cherry’. When uninfected, however, ‘LA1709’grew and reproduced poorly unless high amounts of phosphoruswere added to the soil, while ‘large cherry’ grewwell under very low phosphorus conditions. This was because‘large cherry’ had significantly higher root lengthdensities than ‘LA1709’, enabling plants from thisgenotype to explore more soil volume and acquire greater amountsof phosphorus when grown without mycorrhizal fungi in low phosphorussoil. ‘Large cherry’ also had higher phosphorususe efficiency and allocated a greater proportion of phosphorusto reproduction when uninfected than ‘LA1709’. Itappears traits that affect a plant's ability to acquire andutilize phosphorus efficiently for growth and reproduction canalso affect its response to mycorrhizal colonization in tomato.Copyright1998 Annals of Botany Company. Tomato,Lycopersicon esculentum,mycorrhiza,Glomus etunicatum,phosphorus, reproduction, lifespan.     

Primary and Secondary Induction Requirements for Flowering of Contrasting European Varieties of Lolium perenne

The flowering requirements of six European varieties of Loliumperenne L. were studied in controlled environments. In experimentson primary induction, flowering was recorded after transferto long days (LD) in a greenhouse at 12–24°C. In experimentson secondary induction, primary induction was first accomplishedat 6°C/10 h daylength for 12 weeks. When evaluated by the50% heading criterion, the requirement for duration of primaryinduction at 6°C/8 h daylength was <3 weeks in Mediterranean,5–6 weeks in Central European and 7–8 weeks in Scandinavianvarieties. While ‘Veyo’ (Italy) flowered profuselyregardless of temperature or daylength during primary induction,critical temperatures for primary induction in SD and LD were15 and 11°C in ‘Baca’ (Czech Republic) and 11and 7°C in ‘Falster’ (Denmark). The criticalphotoperiod for secondary induction at 15°C ranged from12 h in ‘Veyo’ and 14 h in ‘Baca’ to16.5 h in ‘Falster’ and 17.5 in ‘Kleppe’(Norway). The critical number of LD cycles varied correspondingly.While the Central and North European varieties required fewerLD cycles for 50% heading at 18 than at 12°C, ‘Veyo’showed the opposite response. It is concluded that the requirementsfor both primary and secondary induction of Lolium perenne increasewith increasing latitude of origin of the germplasm. In oneexperiment, 39–87% of the inflorescences came from tillersthat were not visible on transfer from primary to secondaryinduction, thus it is also concluded that there is no juvenilestage in tillers of Lolium perenne. Copyright 2000 Annals ofBotany Company Daylength, flowering, juvenility, perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), primary induction, secondary induction, temperature, varieties, vernalization     

Floral Initiation and Inflorescence Architecture: A Comparative View

Annals of Botany 100: 659–676, 2007 The     

Impedance Spectroscopy in Frost Hardiness Evaluation of Rhododendron Leaves

Impedance spectroscopy was used in studying frost hardinessof leaves of two diploid rhododendron cultivars, RhododendronL. ‘PJM’ and R. ‘Cunningham's White’,and their tetraploid derivatives, R. ‘Northern Starburst’(NSB) and CW4. After the growing season and initial hardeningin a greenhouse, plants were subjected to an acclimation regimein a phytotron: 3 consecutive weeks at +5, +1 and -2°C each.Hardiness was studied with controlled freezing tests beforeeach decrease in temperature and at the end of the experiment,based on data of extracellular resistance r_eand relaxation time of the frost-exposed leaves. The correlation of the two estimateswas 0.92. Generally, the diploid clones had better frost hardinessthan the tetraploid clones. At the end of the experiment, frosthardiness of the diploid ‘PJM’ was -28.7°C andthat of the tetraploid NSB -20.6°C. Leaves of the diploid‘Cunningham's White’ and of the tetraploid CW4 hardenedto -32.0°C and -20.9°C, respectively. Frost hardinessestimated by impedance spectroscopy correlated well with earlierresults based on visual scoring (r = 0.81–0.86) and electrolyteleakage tests (r = 0.84–0.90), but results from impedancespectroscopy indicated weaker hardiness than the other tests.The difference between the results from impedance spectroscopyand the other tests was smaller and more coherent within the‘Cunningham's White’ clones than within ‘PJM’and NSB. Changes in extracellular and intracellular resistanceof non-frozen leaves during the acclimation correlated withthe changes in frost hardiness of ‘Cunningham's White’clones, but not with those of ‘PJM’ and NSB, whichbelong to another subspecies.Copyright 2000 Annals of BotanyCompany Cold resistance, evergreen, frost hardiness, impedance spectroscopy, polyploid, Rhododendron, tetraploid     

Stem Photosynthesis not Pressurized Ventilation is Responsible for Light-enhanced Oxygen Supply to Submerged Roots of Alder (Alnus glutinosa)

Annals of Botany 96: 591–612, 2005 Unfortunately, the legend     

Influence of Flooding on Net CO2Assimilation, Growth and Stem Anatomy of Annona Species

A series of experiments was conducted to assess net CO₂assimilationand growth responses to waterlogging of grafted and seedlingtrees in the genus Annona. Seedlings of A. glabra, A. muricataandA. squamosa L., and scions of ‘Gefner’ atemoya(A. squamosaxA. cherimola Mill.), ‘49-11’ (‘Gefner’atemoyaxA. reticulata L.), ‘4-5’ (‘Priestley’atemoyaxA. reticulata), A. reticulata grafted onto either A.glabra, A. reticulata orA. squamosa rootstocks were floodedfor up to 60 d. Soil anaerobiosis occurred on the third dayof flooding. Seedlings ofA. glabra and A. muricata, and thescions ‘49-11’, ‘Gefner’ atemoya, andA. reticulata grafted onto A. glabra rootstock were consideredflood tolerant based on their ability to survive and grow inflooded conditions. Scions of the normally flood-sensitive A.reticulata, ‘Gefner’ atemoya, and ‘49-11’tolerated root waterlogging when grafted onto the flood-tolerantspecies, A. glabra. In contrast, flooding of A. squamosa seedlingsand rootstocks, and A. reticulata rootstocks greatly reducedgrowth and net CO₂assimilation rates, and resulted in 20–80%tree mortality. Stem anatomical responses to long-term flooding(12 continuous months) were assessed in seedlings of A. glabraand A. muricata, and trees of ‘49-11’ grafted ontoA. glabra. Flooded trees developed hypertrophied stem lenticels,particularly in A. glabra, and enlarged xylem cells resultingin thicker stems with reduced xylem density. Flooding did notincrease air spaces in pre-existing xylem near the pith or inxylem tissue that was formed during flooding. Thus, flood tolerancedid not involve aerenchyma formation in the stem. Copyright1999 Annals of Botany Company Flood tolerance, net CO₂assimilation, photosynthesis, stem anatomy, shoot growth, anaerobiosis, Annonaceae.     

Growth of Lettuce, Onion and Red Beet. 2. Growth Modelling

Data from a field experiment carried out on growth of lettuce,onion, and red beet were used: (a) to fit logistic, Gompertz,expolinear and ‘Scaife and Jones’ (Journal of AgriculturalScience, Cambridge86 : 83–91, 1976) functions using time,day-degrees and effective day-degrees; and (b) to test a mechanistically-basedmodel that combines the effects of potentially limiting variables,such as temperature and light, and allows for plant zone areain light interception (Aikman and Benjamin,Annals of Botany73 : 185–194, 1994). The use of day-degrees and effective day-degrees instead oftime, in general, improved the fit and gave a better estimateof growth parameters. The best fit was obtained by the Gompertzfunction for lettuce, and by the expolinear function for redbeet and for onion. The expolinear function seemed the mostreliable function in estimating the early relative growth ratewhich is the crucial value in all the mechanistic models. Thezone area model showed very good simulations for lettuce andred beet, but it requires a modification for canopy senescencein onion. Lettuce; Lactuca sativa L. var.crispa ; onion; Allium cepa L.; red beet; Beta vulgaris L. var.conditiva ; growth modelling; logistic; expolinear; Gompertz; zone area; time; day-degrees; effective day-degrees     

Short Delay in Timing of Emergence Determines Establishment Success in Pinus sylvestris across Microhabitats

Annals of Botany 98: 1233–1240, 2006 Unfortunately the final sentence in the Results section     

The Importance of Light Intensity for Pollen Tube Growth and Embryo Survival in Wheat x Maize Crosses

The success of Triticum aestivumxZea mays crosses, used to producewheat doubled haploids, is influenced by light intensity. Toexamine the basis for this response, pollen tube growth, embryosurvival and indicators of photosynthetic rate were measuredin two wheat cultivars (‘Karamu’ and ‘Kotuku’)crossed with maize at two irradiance levels (250 or 750 µmolm^-2s^-1, PAR). Pollen tube growth was significantly affectedby light intensity in ‘Karamu’ plants but not in‘Kotuku’ plants, despite both cultivars being pollinatedby the same maize source. The percentage of pollen tubes reachingthe cavity between the ovarian wall and integuments, or in themicropyle of ‘Karamu’ plants at high light intensity(65%) was nearly three-times greater than that at low lightintensity (22%). Thus, either low light intensity can affectthe maternal wheat plant in a way that inhibits pollen tubegrowth and/or high light intensity may promote pollen tube growthin ‘Karamu’ plants. Significant differences in ratesof electron transport in plants grown at the two light intensitiesindicated that the rate of photosynthesis may also have an effecton pollen tube growth. These results have importance for improvingthe efficiency of wheat x maize crosses and other wide cerealcrosses. Copyright 2001 Annals of Botany Company Intergeneric hybridization, light intensity, pollen tube growth, embryo survival, Triticum aestivum, wheat,Zea mays , maize     

Self-assembling Plants and Integration across Ecological Scales

Annals of Botany 99: 1023–1034, 2007 There were errors in the colour reproduction of Figs 7     

Hyperforin Accumulates in the Translucent Glands of Hypericum perforatum

Annals of Botany 99: 1097–1100, 2007 Unfortunately in Fig. 1D     

CORRECTIONS, VOLUME 29

Part 1, under the frontispiece portrait of Dr. N. B. Eales,the words ‘President 1948–1951’ should havebeen added. Page 103, line 49, for ‘Newton Collection’ read‘Norman Collection (Canon Norman)’. 185, line 37, for ‘capillaris’ read ‘capillacca’. 188, Table 1, for ‘bemoralis’. read ‘nemoralis’. 188, Table 2, for ‘Cochlicella acuta (Müll)? ventrosa(Fér.)’ read ‘Cochlicella ventrosa (Fér.)’. 191, line 24, for ‘araheo-’ read ‘archeo-’.     

Does Late-acting Self-incompatibility (LSI) Show Family Clustering? Two More Species of Bignoniaceae with LSI:Dolichandra cynanchoides and Tabebuia nodosa

By means of hand pollination experiments and fluorescence microscopythe breeding systems and pollen tube growth were studied inDolichandra cynanchoides and Tabebuia nodosa, two bignoniaceousspecies of the Chaco woodland of NE Argentina. Both speciesabscised all selfed pistils within 4–8 d although selfpollen tubes grew successfully to the ovary and penetrated manyovules. Both species therefore show ‘late-acting self-incompatibility’(LSI) or ‘ovarian sterility’ (OS) type control ofselfing. LSI-OS has been reported in 17 species of the Bignoniaceae,and is also clustered in families such as the Bombacaceae-Sterculiaceae,Fabaceae and Myrtaceae. The implications of such family clusteringare discussed, with regard to current hypotheses for the actionof LSI-OS phenomena. Copyright 1999 Annals of Botany Company Bignoniaceae, Dolichandra cynanchoides, Tabebuia nodosa, Chaco, late-acting self-incompatibility, ovarian sterility.     

Genome-wide Analysis of Transcript Abundance and Translation in Arabidopsis Seedlings Subjected to Oxygen Deprivation

Annals of Botany 96: 647–660, 2005 Unfortunately, there were errors in Figure 5 of this article.The     

ERRATA

WARBURG, M. R., 1965. On the water economy of some Australianland snails. Proc. malac. Soc. Lond. 36, 297–305. Page 298: second line from bottom, should read ‘within± 1 µg for Themapupa’. Page 300: Fig. 2 legend, should read ‘Evaporative waterloss from Sinumelon remissum (a), Pleuroxia sp. (b) and Themapupaadelaidae (c)’. Page 300: section 4 heading, should read ‘Continuous curvesfor water loss’. Page 301: second line, for ‘Fig. 9’ read ‘Fig.3’. Page 301: Table 1, last line, for ‘0.120024’ read‘0.12024’. Present address: Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona,Israel.