Annals of Botany 2009 103(5):i; doi:10.1093/aob/mcp041
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ContentSnapshots
SXRF and metal homeostasis in plants (Botanical Briefing)
Synchrotron X-ray
fluorescence microspectroscopy is a technique that allows the
spatial distribution of multiple elements to be imaged simultaneously,
without sample damage or preparation.
Punshon et al. (pp. 665–672) describe its burgeoning use in the plant sciences, specifically
in metal homeostasis research, and the exciting prospects for
future applications.
Formation of clay pavements by eucalypts
Mallee eucalypts
and proteaceous heath are colonizing a Pleistocene sand dune
in Australia.
Pate and Verboom (pp. 673–685) provide evidence
of massive biogenic formation of columnar clay pavements in
the lateral root catchments of the eucalypts. The findings are
related to niche-building activities of the woody plants concerned,
as described more generally in the recently proposed ‘phytotarium
concept’.
Casparian bands of Iris roots
The multiseriate
exodermis of
Iris germanica roots has an unusual Casparian band
(termed a ‘continuous circumferential Casparian band’)
located in the tangential and anticlinal walls.
Meyer et al. (pp. 687–702) trace the shape of this band to divisions in the apical meristem.
Unique effects of culture conditions on exodermal maturation
and a new correlation of
Iris exodermis type with habitat are
described.
Phylogenetic distribution of autumn colours
Some species of trees
and shrubs change their leaf colour in autumn.
Archetti (pp. 703–713) describes the autumn colours of 2368 species and their phylogenetic
distribution. Autumn colours are present in less than 20% of
the species examined, but evolved independently many times.
These data can be used for a comparative analysis of hypotheses
relating to co-evolutionary interaction or the need for photoprotection.
(
Featured article in ContentSelect on p. iii.)
Floral scent in a wasp-pollination system
Floral scent may
play a key role as a selective attractant in plants that have
specialized pollination but produce exposed nectar. In a study
of two morphologically unspecialized
Eucomis species,
Shuttleworth and Johnson (pp. 715–725) find that the pompilid wasp pollinators are attracted exclusively
by floral scent rather than visual cues, and these plants achieve
specialization through a combination of cryptic colouring and
floral scent.
Domestication syndrome in cardamom
Kuriakose et al. (pp. 727–733) provide the first analyses of the domestication syndrome of
Elettaria cardamomum, an important spice. Domestication has
brought about significant changes in several productive traits
and a shift in effective pollinators from native solitary bees
to social bees. This shift seems to be due to an increase in
flower density and flowering duration rather than to co-evolution
of the flower and the pollinator.
Ha-L1L gene and auxin in epiphylly
The clone EMB-2 of
the interspecific hybrid
Helianthus annuus x H. tuberosus produces
epiphyllous leaves bearing embryos on the adaxial surface.
Chiappetta et al. (pp. 735–747) demonstrate that localized
Ha-L1L expression and IAA accumulation
in leaf epidermis domains represent early events of somatic
embryogenesis displayed by this clone. (
Featured article in ContentSelect on p. iii.)
Transient callose in moss sporogenesis
Schuette et al. (pp. 749–756) provide the first immunocytochemical report of callose involvement
in moss spore-wall development. Callose, present in the exine
during early aperture formation of the spore wall, is absent
during later stages of development. In addition, using phylogenomic
techniques, an orthologous callose synthase gene (implicated
in exine development of
Arabidopsis pollen) is identified in
moss.
Associations between leaf toughness and phenolics
Species investing
heavily in mechanical defence have been suggested to invest
less in chemical defence.
Read et al. (pp. 757–767) instead
find positive correlations between toughness and phenolics,
but only on infertile soils. This suggests that additive investment
in the two forms of defence is advantageous in nutrient-deficient
environments where carbohydrate may be in surplus.
Stomatal density and climate change
Plant species will
need to adapt to increased temperatures and altered precipitation
due to global climate change.
Fraser et al. (pp. 769–775) test the response of stomatal density in
Pseudoroegneria spicata (bluebunch wheatgrass) to climate manipulations in the field.
Although temperature did not affect stomatal density, it was
increased by reducing water supply, and increasing water supply
reduced leaf area.
Decreased genetic diversity after colonization
Land-use changes
and associated extinction–colonization dynamics can have
a large impact on population genetic diversity of plant species.
Jacquemyn et al. (pp. 777–783) show that a small effective
population size and genetic drift can lead to a rapid decline
of genetic diversity of offspring in founding populations of
the forest herb
Primula elatior shortly after colonization.
Considerable amounts of gene flow are thus required to sustain
high levels of genetic diversity. (
Featured article in ContentSelect on p. iii.)
Post-abscission seed development in Digitalis
The developmental
progress of
Digitalis purpurea seeds collected shortly before
maturity is not terminated by desiccation
ex planta.
Butler et al. (pp. 785–794) show that maturation can continue at a wide range of relative
humidities (RH) thereafter, leading to increased longevity;
subsequent rehydration at 95 % RH, or priming, improves longevity
further. However, individuals within the population differ in
responsiveness, changing the survival curve shape. (
Featured article in ContentSelect on p. iii.)
Optimal use of light by tree crowns
Posada et al. (pp. 795–805) show that individual leaves of adult trees use light with the
same photosynthetic efficiency regardless of leaf position within
the tree crown (e.g. sun/shade) or species' identity. Efficiency
is maintained constant through co-ordinated adjustment in leaf
angle and leaf physiology. This constant light use efficiency
allows simple scaling of photosynthesis from leaves to canopies.
Lateral root initiation in plants
Positioning of newly
initiated lateral-root primordia in plants is rather flexible.
Nevertheless,
Dubrovsky et al. (pp. 807–817) propose a
new parameter – the average number of primordia per parent
root portion comprising 100 elongated cortical cells –
that is rather constant for
Arabidopsis accessions and is age-independent.
This parameter allows for a more precise analysis of lateral-root
initiation under different growth conditions, treatments, genotypes
and in different plant species.
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