Skip Navigation



AOBPreview published online on September 27, 2004
Annals of Botany, doi:10.1093/aob/mch199
© 2004 by Annals of Botany Company
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
94/5/741    most recent
mch199v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by RONSE DE CRAENE, L. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by RONSE DE CRAENE, L. P.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by RONSE DE CRAENE, L. P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Received April 7, 2004
Revised June 9, 2004
Accepted August 4, 2004

Article

Floral Development of Berberidopsis corallina: a Crucial Link in the Evolution of Flowers in the Core Eudicots

LOUIS P. RONSE DE CRAENE 1*

1 Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: l.ronsedecraene{at}rbge.org.uk.


  Abstract

• Background and Aims On the basis of molecular evidence Berberidopsidaceae have been linked with Aextoxicaceae in an order Berberidopsidales at the base of the core Eudicots. The floral development of Berberidopsis is central to the understanding of the evolution of floral configurations at the transition of the basal Eudicots to the core Eudicots. It lies at the transition of trimerous or dimerous, simplified apetalous forms into pentamerous, petaliferous flowers.

• Methods The floral ontogeny of Berberidopsis was studied with a scanning electron microscope.

• Key Results Flowers are grouped in terminal racemes with variable development. The relationship between the number of tepals, stamens and carpels is more or less fixed and floral initiation follows a strict 2/5 phyllotaxis. Two bracteoles, 12 tepals, eight stamens and three carpels are initiated in a regular sequence. The number of stamens can be increased by a doubling of stamen positions.

• Conclusions The floral ontogeny of Berberidopsis provides support for the shift in floral bauplan from the basal Eudicots to the core Eudicots as a transition of a spiral flower with a 2/5 phyllotaxis to pentamerous flowers with two perianth whorls, two stamen whorls and a single carpel whorl. The differentiation of sepals and petals from bracteotepals is discussed and a comparison is made with other Eudicots with a similar configuration and development. Depending on the resolution of the relationships among the basalmost core Eudicots it is suggested that Berberidopsis either represents a critical stage in the evolution of pentamerous flowers of major clades of Eudicots, or has a floral prototype that may be at the base of evolution of flowers of other core Eudicots. The distribution of a floral Bauplan in other clades of Eudicots similar to Berberidopsidales is discussed.

Keywords: Aextoxicon, Berberidopsidales, Berberidopsis, core Eudicots, Streptothamnus, bracteotepals, floral development, petals, phylogeny, phyllotaxis, scanning electron microscope.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Bot.Home page
L. Wanntorp and L. P. R. De Craene
Perianth evolution in the sandalwood order Santalales
Am. J. Botany, July 1, 2009; 96(7): 1361 - 1371.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant CellHome page
N. Prunet, P. Morel, A.-M. Thierry, Y. Eshed, J. L. Bowman, I. Negrutiu, and C. Trehin
REBELOTE, SQUINT, and ULTRAPETALA1 Function Redundantly in the Temporal Regulation of Floral Meristem Termination in Arabidopsis thaliana
PLANT CELL, April 1, 2008; 20(4): 901 - 919.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
L. P. Ronse De Craene
Are Petals Sterile Stamens or Bracts? The Origin and Evolution of Petals in the Core Eudicots
Ann. Bot., September 1, 2007; 100(3): 621 - 630.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant CellHome page
G. de Martino, I. Pan, E. Emmanuel, A. Levy, and V. F. Irish
Functional Analyses of Two Tomato APETALA3 Genes Demonstrate Diversification in Their Roles in Regulating Floral Development
PLANT CELL, August 1, 2006; 18(8): 1833 - 1845.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.