Annals of Botany 2009 103(1):i; doi:10.1093/aob/mcn249
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ContentSnapshots
Iron movement within the plant (Invited Review)
The identification
of the yellow stripe-like (YSL) transporter family has paved
the way to decipher the mechanisms of long-distance transport
of iron.
Curie et al. (pp. 1–11) review the data available
on the YSL family of transporters and find that it argues in
favour of YSL's role in the long-distance transport of metals
through and between vascular tissues to eventually support gametogenesis
and embryo development.
Metal-binding characteristics of yellow lichen pigments
Lichens produce
a high diversity of yellow and orange pigments.
Hauck et al. (pp. 13–22) suggest that this diversity is related to the dissociation and
metal-binding characteristics of the pigments, which are thought
to control the preference for substrata with different pH and
different availability of mineral nutrients.
Exogenous ethylene inhibits sprout growth in onion bulbs
Sprout leaves in
onion bulbs do not visibly grow during dormancy.
Bufler (pp. 23–28) reports that the continuous presence of exogenous ethylene inhibits
the elongation of sprout leaves once sprouting is initiated.
Moreover, breaking of dormancy by the inhibitor of ethylene
action 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) indicates a regulatory role
of endogenous ethylene in onion bulb dormancy.
Maize salt-stress-responsive microRNAs
By screening microRNA
(miRNA) arrays,
Ding et al. (pp. 29–38) show that salt-responsive
miRNAs in roots of
Zea mays are involved in the regulation of
metabolic, morphological and physiological adaptations of maize
seedlings at the post-transcriptional level. The miRNA genotype-specific
expression model might partly explain the distinct salt sensitivities
between maize lines.
Brood-site pollination by flower bugs in Macaranga
True bugs have rarely
been considered to play a major role in pollination, but
Ishida et al. (pp. 39–44) find that a flower bug pollinates a dioecious tree,
Macaranga tanarius (Euphorbiaceae). The plant provides the pollinator,
which belongs to the predacious group, with nectar and a breeding
site. The pollination system might represent a unique example
of evolution from being a predatory flower visitor to being
the main pollinator.
Phylogeny of seed dormancy in Convolvulaceae
Convolvulaceae is
the only family in the evolutionary advanced asterid clade known
to produce seeds with physical dormancy.
Jayasuriya et al. (pp. 45–63) propose an evolutionary pathway for seed dormancy, and their
model takes into account seed morpho-anatomical, germination
and storage characteristics.
Reproductive strategies in Alcantarea ‘inselberg’ species
The coastal inselberg
species
A. glaziouana and
A. regina differ from the high-altitude
species
A. imperialis and
A. geniculata in their tendency to
propagate asexually via vegetative clonal growth.
Barbará et al. (pp. 65–77) also show that both reproductive strategies and breeding systems
vary greatly between populations and species of
Alcantarea.
Myrica rivas-martinezii and M. faya share the same gene pool
Using microsatellites,
González-Pérez et al. (pp. 79–86) provide
genetic evidence that
Myrica faya and the endemic from the Canary
Islands,
M. rivas-martinezii, show no genetic differentiation,
and they are probably the same taxa. Considering that
M. rivas-martinezii is classified as at risk of extinction, the current management
actions for the conservation of this species should be focused
in a different way.
Acclimation of nitrogen uptake capacity to elevated CO2
Nitrogen is a major
factor affecting yield gain of crops under elevated atmospheric
carbon dioxide concentrations, [CO
2].
Shimono and Bunce (pp. 87–94) find that N uptake capacity in rice is down-regulated under
a long-term exposure to elevated [CO
2] and its response to elevated
[CO
2] varies greatly with growth stage.
Heteroblastic development and optimal partitioning in Acacia
Acacia implexa is heteroblastic, developing distinct juvenile, transitional
and adult leaves. The capacity to display different leaf forms
may be associated with an increased ability to function across
environments.
Forster and Bonser (pp. 95–105) grow seedlings
under contrasting nutrient, light and water environments, and
demonstrate that juvenile leaves are retained for longer and
increase the ability of plants to function under low irradiance.
Parasitic plant impacts on a native and an introduced species
Prider et al. (pp. 107–115) show that the stem-twining hemiparasitic plant
Cassytha pubescens has a greater negative effect on the photosynthesis, biomass
accumulation and survival of an introduced host,
Cytisus scoparius,
than on a co-occurring native host. This parasite–host
association has the potential to be exploited in the control
of the invasive species.
Functional traits for assessing fodder provision in grasslands
In species-rich
grasslands,
Ansquer et al. (pp. 117–126) show that leaf
dry matter content can be used to assess the date at which maximum
yield occurs and the shape of the growth curve. The flexibility
for defoliation management depends on the growth curve. Plant
nutrient availability is more reliable for predicting herbage
growth.
Evolutionary reversal from C4 to C3 photosynthesis (Short Communication)
C
4 photosynthesis
has evolved multiple times from the ancestral C
3 pathway, but
the occurrence of evolutionary reversals is debated.
Ibrahim et al. (pp. 127–136) address this problem by investigating the grass genus
Alloteropsis,
unique among plants in containing a species with C
3 and C
4 variants.
Their molecular phylogeny is the first to suggest a recent evolutionary
reversion from C
4 to C
3 photosynthesis.
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