Cryptic clades, fruit wall morphology and biology of Andira (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae)

Andira comprises 29 species distributed throughout tropical America, with two subspecies in Africa. Its fruits are unusual for a papilionoid legume because they are drupes. The majority of species have fruits dispersed by bats, but eight species have larger fruits dispersed by-rodents. Some fruits of both dispersal types are secondarily dispersed by water. Cladistic analysis of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) restriction site characters discovered four well-supported clades of Andira species. None of these 'cryptic' clades had been recognized by previous workers, because they are not apparently marked by any known morphological innovations. This prompted a search for new characters that might support these groupings. An anatomical study of fruit walls of 25 Andira species revealed the presence of three principal endocarp types, dominated by (1) parenchyma, (2) fibres, or (3) stone cells. These features arc best coded as a single unordered multistate character. When incorporated into a simultaneous cladistic analysis of previously gathered molecular and morphological data, states of this endocarp character are shown to be apomorphies for two of the well-supported clades evident in the cpDNA restriction site data. The most likely plesiomorphic state for the endocarp is parenchyma-dominated. Thicker, stronger endocarps of fibres and stone cells may have evolved in response to the need to protect the seed from predators.     

Characterization and antioxidant activity of Ginkgo biloba exocarp polysaccharides

Ginkgo biloba exocarp polysaccharide (GBEP) was obtained by hot water extraction, the crude polysaccharide was deproteinized by Sevag method and fractionized by a DEAE Sepharose fast flow anion-exchange column. Five fragments were obtained, including neutral polysaccharide (GBEP-N) and four acidic polysaccharides (GBEP-A1, GBEP-A2, GBEP-A3 and GBEP-A4). GBEP-N and GBEP-A3 were further purified by Superdex 200 gel column chromatography. The resulted two fractions GBEP-NN, and GBEP-AA were characterized by FT-IR, and HPGFC (high pressure gel filtration chromatography). Monosaccharide composition was determined by RP-HPLC method of precolumn derivatization with 1-phenyl-3-5-pyrazolone. GBEP-NN was mainly composed of rhamnose, arabinose, mannose, glucose and galactose, while GBEP-AA was mainly made up of mannose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, galactosamine, glucose, galactose, xylose, arabinose, and fucose. The crude GBEP exhibited certain antioxidant activity. At the concentration of 5 mg/mL, the hydroxyl radical scavenging effect of GBEP was 90.52%, greater than 77.37% for the positive control ascorbic acid.     

Staining Tomato Fruit Cuticle and Exocarp Tissues

Immature fruit of tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum (Celebrity), was examined to observe the cuticle, its interface with the epidermis, and the general histology of the outer exocarp. Paraffin sections were stained first with Bismarck brown Y. Structures already stained in various hues of brown were stained again with either azure B, aluminum hematoxylin and alcian blue 8GX, or the periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) reaction. Bismarck brown-azure B displayed the cuticle in strong contrast with subjacent tissue; however, nuclei were not easily identified at low magnification. Bismarck brown-hematoxylinalcian blue produced a sharply contrasted combination of yellow cuticle, bright blue cell walls and purple nuclei. Nuclei stained purple with hematoxylin were easily identified at × 100. Bismarck brown-PAS stained the cuticle golden brown and subjacent tissues magenta red. Surprisingly, epidermal cells stained specifically and intensely with PAS while pretreatment with an aldehyde blockade and omission of periodic acid prevented staining of all other tissues.     

The systematic significance of morphological and anatomical variation in fruits of Crotalaria and related genera of tribe Crotalarieae (Fabaceae)

The phylogenetic and taxonomic significance of morphological and anatomical trends in fruits of tribe Crotalarieae has been evaluated, with emphasis on the genus Crotalaria and its seemingly distinctive, inflated and balloon‐shaped pods. In addition to the normal explosive dehiscence as a means of dispersal, several genera (including Crotalaria) show independent evolution of modifications apparently adapted for dispersal by wind, water and gravity. Transverse sections were made of mature pods of 142 species from the 12 currently recognized genera of Crotalarieae. The taxa differ in the orientation of the fibres (related to dehiscence or non‐dehiscence), the overall thickness of the fruit wall, the relative proportions of the pericarp layers, the degree of lignification and the presence or absence of trichomes. Three basic pericarp types can be distinguished: type I, with one, two or three zones of various numbers of cell layers of fibres (almost all genera); type II, with a single cell layer of fibres (only in Rothia, Robynsiophyton, Lebeckia and Lotononis sections Listia and Leobordea); and type III, with one zone of several cell layers of gelatinous fibres and multicellular trichomes associated with the endocarp (only in some species of Calobota and Wiborgiella). Considerable variation was encountered in the tribe, but Crotalaria appears to be rather uniform, with type I predominating. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 165 , 84–106.     

Phenolic compounds (hydroxycinnamic acids,flavan-3-ols,flavonols) profile in fruit of Italian peach varieties

Interest in phenolic compounds of fruit is growing due to their positive effects on reducing the risk of cardiovascular and carcinogen diseases. The role of the flesh colour, of the tissue (exocarp or mesocarp) and of the cultivar on the content of phenolic compounds (hydroxycinnamic acids, flavan-3-ols, flavonols) was evaluated in peach, Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, with a HPLC-DAD analysis, on 10 varieties deriving from the Italian breeding programmes, never previously characterized by this approach. The flavan-3-ols (catechin, epicatechin and procyanidin B1) were the most abundant class of phenolic compounds in peach cultivars analysed. Among hydroxycinnamic acids, neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids were also identified and measured in the peach cultivars analysed. Quercetin-3-O-rutinoside was the only flavonol found in the exocarp of all the cultivars evaluated, but in the mesocarp of only some cultivars. Content of phenolic compounds was confirmed to be strongly dependent on the cultivar and, in general, the content was significantly higher in exocarp than in mesocarp. An overall significant difference in phenolic compounds as associated with flesh colour was not observed.