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AOBPreview originally published online on April 15, 2008
Annals of Botany 2008 101(9):1341-1348; doi:10.1093/aob/mcn052
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Anatomy, Ultrastructure and Chemical Composition of Food Bodies of Hovenia dulcis (Rhamnaceae)

Rafael Andrade Buono1, Alaíde Braga de Oliveira2 and Elder Antonio Sousa Paiva1,*

1 Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901 – Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
2 Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901 – Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

* For correspondence. E-mail epaiva{at}icb.ufmg.br

Received: 6 February 2008    Returned for revision: 26 February 2008    Accepted: 10 March 2008    Published electronically: 15 April 2008

Background and Aims: Food bodies (FBs) are structures that promote mutualism between plants and ants, which help protect them against herbivores. The present study aims to describe the anatomical organization, ultrastructure and chemical composition of the FBs in Hovenia dulcis, which represent the first structures of this type described in Rhamnaceae.

Methods: Leaves in various stages of development were collected and fixed for examination under light, transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Samples of FBs were subjected to chemical analysis using thin-layer chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance of 1H and 13C.

Key Results: The FBs vary from globose to conical and are restricted to the abaxial leaf surface, having a mixed origin, including epidermis and parenchyma. The FB epidermis is uniseriate, slightly pilose and has a thin cuticle. The epidermal cells are vacuolated and pigments or food reserves are absent. The parenchyma cells of immature FBs have dense cytoplasm showing mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and plastids. Mature FB cells store oils, which are free in the cytosol and occupy a large portion of the cell lumen. In these cells the plastids accumulate starch.

Conclusions: The lipids present in FBs are glycerin esters characteristic of plant energy reserves. Ants were observed collecting these FBs, which allows us to infer that these structures mediate plant–ant interactions and can help protect the young plants against herbivores, as these structures are prevalent at this developmental stage.

Key words: Ant–plant interactions, cell ultrastructure, food body, Hovenia dulcis, lipid, myrmecophily, Rhamnaceae


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