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Feng YY, Du H, Huang KY, Ran JH, Wang XQ. Reciprocal expression of MADS-box genes and DNA methylation reconfiguration initiate bisexual cones in spruce. Commun Biol 2024; 7:114. [PMID: 38242964 PMCID: PMC10799047 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-05786-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The naturally occurring bisexual cone of gymnosperms has long been considered a possible intermediate stage in the origin of flowers, but the mechanisms governing bisexual cone formation remain largely elusive. Here, we employed transcriptomic and DNA methylomic analyses, together with hormone measurement, to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying bisexual cone development in the conifer Picea crassifolia. Our study reveals a "bisexual" expression profile in bisexual cones, especially in expression patterns of B-class, C-class and LEAFY genes, supporting the out of male model. GGM7 could be essential for initiating bisexual cones. DNA methylation reconfiguration in bisexual cones affects the expression of key genes in cone development, including PcDAL12, PcDAL10, PcNEEDLY, and PcHDG5. Auxin likely plays an important role in the development of female structures of bisexual cones. This study unveils the potential mechanisms responsible for bisexual cone formation in conifers and may shed light on the evolution of bisexuality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan-Yuan Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Hong Du
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Kai-Yuan Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Jin-Hua Ran
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
| | - Xiao-Quan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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Ramírez-Castro CG, Piñeyro-Nelson A, Sandoval-Zapotitla E, Arias S, Rosas-Reinhold I. Comparative analysis of floral transition and floral organ formation in two contrasting species: Disocactus speciosus and D. eichlamii (Cactaceae). PLANT REPRODUCTION 2024:10.1007/s00497-023-00494-3. [PMID: 38193922 DOI: 10.1007/s00497-023-00494-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE Contrasting morphologies in Disocactus are the result of differential development of the vegetative and floral tissue where intercalary growth is involved, resulting in a complex structure, the floral axis. Species from the Cactaceae bear adaptations related with their growth in environments under hydric stress. These adaptations have translated into the reduction and modification of various structures such as leaves, stems, lateral branches, roots and the structuring of flowers in a so-called flower-shoot. While cacti flowers and fruits have a consistent structure with showy hermaphrodite or unisexual flowers that produce a fruit called cactidium, the developmental dynamics of vegetative and reproductive tissues comprising the reproductive unit have only been inferred through the analysis of pre-anthetic buds. Here we present a comparative analysis of two developmental series covering the early stages of flower formation and organ differentiation in Disocactus speciosus and Disocactus eichlamii, which have contrasting floral morphologies. We observe that within the areole, a shoot apical meristem commences to grow upward, producing lateral leaves with a spiral arrangement, rapidly transitioning to a floral meristem. The floral meristem produces tepal primordia and a staminal ring meristem from which numerous or few stamens develop in a centrifugal manner in D. speciosus and D. eichlamii, respectively. Also, the inferior ovary derives from the floral meristem flattening and an upward growth of the surrounding tissue of the underlying stem, producing the pericarpel. This structure is novel to cacti and lacks a clear anatomical delimitation with the carpel wall. Here, we present a first study that documents the early processes taking place during initial meristem determination related to pericarpel development and early floral organ formation in cacti until the establishment of mature floral organs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian Genaro Ramírez-Castro
- Instituto de Biología, Jardín Botánico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P.04510, Mexico City, Mexico
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Unidad de Posgrado, Edificio D, 1° Piso, Circuito de Posgrados, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, C.P. 04510, Mexico
| | - Alma Piñeyro-Nelson
- Departamento de Producción Agrícola y Animal, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco, C.P.04510, Mexico City, Mexico
- Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad (C3), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P.04960, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Estela Sandoval-Zapotitla
- Instituto de Biología, Jardín Botánico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P.04510, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Salvador Arias
- Instituto de Biología, Jardín Botánico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P.04510, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Isaura Rosas-Reinhold
- Instituto de Biología, Jardín Botánico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P.04510, Mexico City, Mexico.
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Unidad de Posgrado, Edificio D, 1° Piso, Circuito de Posgrados, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Mexico City, C.P. 04510, Mexico.
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, 12 Waverly Pl, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
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Stevenson PR, Acosta-Rojas DC, Cárdenas S, Francisco Henao-Díaz L. Variation in fruit and seed dimensions is better explained by dispersal system than by leaf size in a tropical rainforest. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2023; 110:e16211. [PMID: 37459470 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Variation in fruit and seed traits could originate from selection pressures exerted by frugivores or other ecological factors (adaptive hypotheses) and developmental constraints (by-product hypotheses) or chance. METHODS We evaluated fruit and leaf traits for nearly 850 plant species from a rainforest in Tinigua Park, Colombia. Through a series of linear regressions controlling for the phylogenetic signal of the traits (minimum N = 542), we tested (1) whether the allometry between seed width and length depends on seed dispersal system (Mazer and Wheelwright's adaptive hypothesis of allometry for species dispersed in the guts of animals = endozoochory) and (2) whether fruit length is associated with leaf length (i.e., Herrera's by-product hypothesis derived from the assumption that both organs develop from homologous structures). RESULTS We found a strong negative allometric association between seed width and length for seeds of endozoochorous species, as expected; but also, for anemochorous species. We found a positive relationship between fruit and leaf length, but this relationship was not evident for zoochorous species. Fruit size was highly correlated with seed size. CONCLUSIONS The allometry between seed length and width varied among dispersal systems, supporting that fruit and seed morphology has been modified by interactions with frugivores and by the possibility to rotate for some wind dispersed species. We found some support for the hypothesis on developmental constraints because fruit and leaf size were positively correlated, but the predictive power of the relationship was low (10-15%).
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo R Stevenson
- Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas La Macarena, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Diana C Acosta-Rojas
- Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas La Macarena, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, Goethe Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Sasha Cárdenas
- Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas La Macarena, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - L Francisco Henao-Díaz
- Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas La Macarena, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Floral symmetry: the geometry of plant reproduction. Emerg Top Life Sci 2022; 6:259-269. [PMID: 35994008 PMCID: PMC9472818 DOI: 10.1042/etls20210270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The flower is an astonishing innovation that arose during plant evolution allowing flowering plants — also known as angiosperms — to dominate life on earth in a relatively short period of geological time. Flowers are formed from secondary meristems by co-ordinated differentiation of flower organs, such as sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. The position, number and morphology of these flower organs impose a geometrical pattern — or symmetry type — within the flower which is a trait tightly connected to successful reproduction. During evolution, flower symmetry switched from the ancestral poly-symmetric (radial symmetry) to the mono-symmetric (bilateral symmetry) type multiple times, including numerous reversals, with these events linked to co-evolution with pollinators and reproductive strategies. In this review, we introduce the diversity of flower symmetry, trace its evolution in angiosperms, and highlight the conserved genetic basis underpinning symmetry control in flowers. Finally, we discuss the importance of building upon the concept of flower symmetry by looking at the mechanisms orchestrating symmetry within individual flower organs and summarise the current scenario on symmetry patterning of the female reproductive organ, the gynoecium, the ultimate flower structure presiding over fertilisation and seed production.
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