Annals of Botany 2008 102(4):NP; doi:10.1093/aob/mcn175
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Mitochondrial male sterility gene inhibits nuclear chalcone synthase in radish
The mitochondrial
orf138 is well known as the causal gene for cytoplasmic male
serility in Brassicaceae, but the function has not been clarified.
Yang et al. (pp. 483–489) investigate the expression patterns
of the nuclear genes in flavonoid biosynthesis, finding that
chalcone synthase is strongly inhibited by
orf138 in male-sterile
anthers.
Species' delimitation and chromosomal evolution of Christensonella
Koehler et al. (pp. 491–507) revise species' limits within the taxonomically complex genus
Christensonella in a phylogenetic context and provide new data
on chromosome numbers and heterochromatin distribution patterns
within this genus. Ten species are recognized and diagnostic
morphological characters are presented for each recognized species.
miRNAs regulate response of maize root cells to submergence stress
Thirty-nine submergence-responsive
miRNAs are identified by
Zhang et al. (pp. 509–519) in
maize roots. The predicted targets for these miRNAs are involved
in carbohydrate metabolism, and elimination of reactive oxygen
species and acetaldehyde. These responsive miRNAs are involved
in the regulation of metabolic, physiological and morphological
adaptations of maize roots at the post-transcriptional level.
Complexity of a centromeric satellite in Beta species
A major
Beta vulgaris centromeric satellite reveals complexity resulting from internal
duplications and the interspersion with a non-homologous repeat.
Using comparative fluorescent
in situ hybridization on metaphase
chromosomes of
Beta species,
Menzel et al. (pp. 521–530) demonstrate the restriction of the complex satellite to a subset
of chromosomes as well as a species-specific degree of amplification.
Autonomous selfing provides reproductive assurance in an alpine ginger
The alpine ginger
Roscoea schneideriana has striking orchid-like flowers with
a long floral tube, apparently adapted for pollination by specialized
long-tongued insects.
Zhang and Li (pp. 531–538) find
that visits by effective pollinators are extremely rare, but
that the hooked stigmas of the flowers curl towards the anther
and can contact with pollen grains at the early stage of anthesis.
This suggests that autonomous selfing has been selected for,
and provides reproductive assurance with very low costs.
Floral structure in a poorly known family of flowering plants
Bachelier and Endress (pp. 539–550) study the floral structure of the poorly known family Kirkiaceae
and support its position close to Anacardiaceae and Burseraceae
(Sapindales), as suggested by molecular phylogenetic studies.
The centre of the floral apex forms a convex protrusion above
the syncarpous ovary in representatives of all three families
but not in other Sapindales. This is probably a synapomorphy
for the three families.
Apoplastic superoxide in root growth inhibition by salt and osmotic stress
It has been suggested
that O
2•– produced in the elongation zone of roots
is required for their growth.
Bustos et al. (pp. 551–559) explore whether stress-induced growth inhibition in root tips
correlates with changes in apoplastic O
2•– levels.
They report that similar growth reductions induced by salt and
osmotic stress occur with low or high O
2•– levels,
respectively.
Simulating environmental influence on wheat development rates
Accurately simulating
wheat phenology across broad environmental conditions requires
quantification of vernalization and photoperiod requirements
and cardinal temperatures.
McMaster et al. (pp. 561–569) report that flowering time was most accurately simulated by
the interaction of vernalization and photoperiod factors, and
that phenology was equally and most accurately simulated with
optimum temperatures of 25, 30 and 50 °C (the latter being
equivalent to not having an optimum temperature).
Rhizome connections increase tolerance of clones to erosion
The mechanisms for
plants to withstand erosion remain largely unknown. In a field
manipulation study,
Yu et al. (pp. 571–577) find that
rhizome connections alleviate negative effects of erosion on
Psammochloa villosa and increase its ability to tolerate erosion.
It is suggested that the erosion-stressed ramets receive water
and/or photosynthates translocated from the connected ramets
not subject to erosion.
Late wheat-leaf diseases and nitrogen yield
In wheat crops
affected by late foliar diseases,
Bancal et al. (pp. 579–590) show variations in N yield are highly correlated to post-anthesis
N uptake, more than to N remobilization. Leaf area duration
accurately predicts N fluxes depending on diseases. Differentiating
between the role of N uptake and N remobilization holds the
promise of better modelling of variations in N yield.
Cyclone tolerance in New World Arecaceae
Coccothrinax ekmanii is native to the Dominican Republic.
Griffith et al. (pp. 591–598) examine palms of widespread provenance at a common site that
have been affected differentially by recent cyclones and find
that resistance to high wind is correlated with geographic origin.
Despite potentially large height-to-diameter ratios, palms from
the Caribbean are much more wind resistant than palms of other
provenances.
Intrapopulation genome size dynamics in Festuca pallens
Although species
are well known to differ in genome size, information on the
variation and dynamics of genome size in wild populations and
on the early phase of genome-size divergence between taxa is
currently lacking.
marda et al. (pp. 599–607) analyse
the dynamics, heritability and phenotype effect of genome size
in a wild population of
Festuca pallens.
Effects of salinity on Phillyrea latifolia and Pistacia lentiscus
Tattini and Traversi (pp. 609–622) analyse the effects of changes in Ca
2+ concentration
in two Mediterranean evergreens, which either restrict the transport
of Na
+ and Cl
– or use these potentially toxic ions to
counter salt-induced osmotic stress. The positive effects of
high Ca
2+ on the performance of the plants are species specific,
mostly due to Ca
2+-induced improvement of solute regulation,
and are detectable during a period of relief from salinity.
The generality of leaf size/number trade-off
Yang et al. (pp. 623–629) find that the trade-off between leaf size and number is consistently
conserved in plant twigs of temperate woody species. In particular,
about 99 % of the variation in leaf mass across species can
be explained by proportional variation in mass-based leafing
intensity. This suggests that leaf size may result from natural
selection acting on leafing intensity but not from its own adaptive
significance.
Light-related loci controlling seed germination in Arabidopsis
Phytochromes that
sense red–far-red are the sole photoreceptors involved
in the termination of dormancy and the induction of germination
by light. Using recombinant inbred lines,
Laserna et al. (pp. 631–642) find that one group of responsive genetic loci act in a wide
range of environmental scenarios, whereas a smaller group of
independent loci are relevant only under a narrower set of conditions
when effects of chilling and after-ripening treatments act to
reduce the influence of the first group.
Floral and inflorescence morphology in Beta vulgaris
Some morphological
characters in the Chenopodiaceae–Amaranthaceae complex
can be interpreted ambiguously, which raises homology questions.
Flores Olvera et al. (pp. 643–651) use
B. vulgaris as
a reference species and provide evidence for considering that
the ovary position varies according to the floral developmental
stage; at the beginning it is essentially superior, becoming
secondarily semi-inferior.
Silica defends grasses mechanically
Silica defends
grass leaves against herbivores by making them less digestible,
but how?
Hunt et al. (pp. 653–656) test the idea that
silica bodies protect the delicate photosynthetic cells from
being crushed by investigating how much chlorophyll remains
in leaves after they are ground up, or eaten and digested by
locusts. High-silica leaves retain more chlorophyll, showing
that silica bodies protect cells mechanically.
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