Sexual reproduction of Abies amabilis

1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (21) ◽  
pp. 2653-2667 ◽  
Author(s):  
John N. Owens ◽  
Marje Molder
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Tubes ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Early Embryo ◽  
Wind Pollination ◽  
Abies Amabilis ◽  
Seed Cone ◽  
Mother Cells ◽  
Pollen Cone ◽  
Functional Megaspore ◽  
Short Time

Pollen-cone and seed-cone buds which differentiated in the summer and fall of the year before pollination resumed development in early April after about 5 months of dormancy. The sporogenous cells present in the dormant pollen-cone bud divided and formed pollen mother cells which began meiosis by mid-April. Meiosis was completed by late April and mature five-celled pollen was formed by the 3rd week of May. Wind pollination occurred in late May.Each ovule developed a curved funnel-shaped integument tip with a shallowly notched flange-like lip to which pollen readily adhered. No pollination drop was observed. Pollen remained attached to the integument tip but did not germinate for about 1 month, during which time the nucellus grew out nearly to the micropyle and the lip of the integument folded slightly inward bringing the pollen close to the nucellar tip. Pollen tubes then developed rapidly and penetrated the nucellus during the 1st week of July.Each ovule contained a single large megaspore mother cell in the dormant seed-cone bud. Megaspore mother cells underwent meiosis in early May and the single functional megaspore began free nuclear division in mid-May. Female gametophyte development was similar to other members of the Pinaceae and was completed by the end of June. Archegonia varied from two to three and each had two tiers of neck cells.Fertilization occurred in mid-July and early embryo development was rapid. Both simple and cleavage polyembryony occurred and 16-celled proembryos formed. By late July, usually only one club-shaped embryo remained in each ovule. Distinct meristems and cotyledons developed in the embryos in early August and embryos were mature by late August. Ovuliferous scales, usually with two seeds attached, began to be shed in late September. All ovuliferous scales were shed by November.Poor seed production in Abies amabilis (Dougl.) Forbes results partly from the low cone-bearing capacity of the trees, the infrequent occurrence of abundant pollen and seed cones at the high elevation sites, and the high incidence of insect damage to seeds and cones. In addition, A. amabilis and other species of Abies have an unspecialized pollination mechanism, a long period of pollen dormancy after pollination, and a very short time after germination when pollen tubes must develop and penetrate the long nucellar tip. In A. amabilis the archegonia abort very quickly if they are not fertilized. This period when fertilization can effectively occur is very short and remarkably synchronized within a cone and a tree. These, plus the low number of archegonia, may be reasons for the low percentage of viable seed in A. amabilis.

Bud development in mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana). II. Cone-bud differentiation and predormancy development

1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
John N. Owens
Keyword(s):  
Shoot Elongation ◽  
Bud Development ◽  
Seed Cone ◽  
Cone Apex ◽  
Tsuga Mertensiana ◽  
Lateral Branches ◽  
Mother Cells ◽  
Pollen Cone ◽  
Bud Initiation ◽  
Vegetative Bud

Seed cones of Tsuga mertensiana (Bong) Carr. occur terminally on distal lateral branches and form from the differentiation of a terminal, previously vegetative apex, into a seed-cone apex. Pollen cones commonly occur on lateral branches and form from the differentiation of an undetermined axillary apex about 6 weeks after axillary bud initiation. Pollen cones also occasionally occur terminally. All cone buds began differentiation in late July after bud-scale initiation was complete and at about the end of lateral shoot elongation. Seed-cone buds initiated bracts and ovuliferous scales, but not ovules, before they became dormant at the end of October. Pollen-cone buds initiated all microsporophylls by early September. Microsporangia containing microspore mother cells differentiated before pollen-cone buds became dormant in mid-October. The time of cone-bud differentiation is related to vegetative bud and shoot development. The time and method of cone-bud differentiation is discussed in relation to T. heterophylla and other conifers having similar bud development.

Bud development in Sitka spruce. II. Cone differentiation and early development

1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 766-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
John N. Owens ◽  
Marje Molder
Keyword(s):  
Phenolic Compounds ◽  
Early Development ◽  
Shoot Elongation ◽  
Picea Sitchensis ◽  
Lateral Shoot ◽  
Bud Development ◽  
Seed Cone ◽  
Mitotic Frequency ◽  
Mother Cells ◽  
Pollen Cone

Pollen-cone and seed-cone buds of Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr. are found as either terminal or axillary buds. Pollen cones are most likely to develop from small axillary apices on vigorous distal shoots or small terminal apices on less vigorous, proximal shoots. Seed cones are most likely to develop from large, distal axillary apices on vigorous shoots or smaller terminal apices on less vigorous shoots. All apices became mitotically active late in March, passed through a 3.5-month period of bud-scale initiation, and in mid-July became differentiated as vegetative, pollen-cone, or seed-cone apices. Potentially pollen-cone apices were smaller, had a lower mitotic frequency during bud-scale initiation, and produced fewer bud scales than apices which developed into seed-cone or vegetative buds. During bud-scale initiation all apices had a few strands of cells containing phenolic compounds in the developing pith. At the time of bud differentiation, the pith of vegetative apices accumulated more phenolic compounds and non-phenolic ergastic materials, whereas the pith of reproductive apices did not. This was followed by a marked increase in mitotic frequency in reproductive apices, resulting in changes in apical size and shape. Leaf, bract, and microsporophyll initiation began about the end of July. All microsporophylls were initiated by the end of August. Sporogenous cells developed, but meiosis did not occur before the pollen cones became dormant at the end of October. Two-thirds of the bracts were initiated by the end of August. The remaining bracts were initiated more slowly until dormancy. Ovuliferous scales were initiated for 3 months beginning in September, and megaspore mother cells appeared but did not undergo meiosis before seed cones became dormant at the end of November. There was no difference in the time of vegetative, pollen-cone, and seed-cone bud differentiation, which occurred at the end of lateral shoot elongation.

Pollination, female gametophyte, and embryo and seed development in yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis)

1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
John N. Owens ◽  
Marje Molder
Keyword(s):  
Seed Development ◽  
Female Gametophyte ◽  
Pollen Tubes ◽  
Variable Number ◽  
Male Gametes ◽  
Seed Cone ◽  
Complex Forms ◽  
The One ◽  
Mother Cells ◽  
Female Gametophyte Development

After dormancy, both pollen- and seed-cone buds resume development early in April at higher elevations on Vancouver Island. Pollen, formed the previous fall, is shed at the one-celled stage during the last half of April. Pollination occurs during a 2-week period. Pollen frequently germinates and elongates in the pollination drop within the micropyle before reaching the nucellus. Pollen tubes penetrate most of the nucellus during May and early June, then pollen-tube growth slows or stops until mid-July when the pollen tubes quickly extend to the surface of the neck cells and two large, equal-sized male gametes form. Meiosis of the megaspore mother cells occurs during April and early May. Female gametophyte development, similar to that in other members of the Cupressaceae, occurs from late May until late July. An archegonial complex forms with an average of nine archegonia. Fertilization occurs at the end of July and proembryo development begins immediately. A file of four free nuclei forms. Considerable variation exists in subsequent nuclear divisions and cell-wall formation. This may result from the long, narrow archegonia and highly variable number of archegonia. A four-tiered proembryo forms and cleavage polyembryony occurs. The embryos reach the multicellular or the massive stage with secondary suspensors by October when the cones, containing ovules which were pollinated in April, become dormant. Embryo and seed development resume the next April, 1 year after pollination, and development is usually complete in July or August. Embryo development occurs more rapidly near sea level but is complete by fall of the year after pollination at all elevations studied. Most seed is shed early in the fall, but some seed may not be shed until January. The distinction is made between immature 1-year-old and mature 2-year-old seeds and cones. Cones contained an average of 7.2 seeds, of which only 29% were filled.

Bud development in western hemlock. II. Initiation and early development of pollen cones and seed cones

1974 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
John N. Owens ◽  
Marje Molder
Keyword(s):  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
Day Length ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Reproductive State ◽  
Bud Development ◽  
Seed Cone ◽  
Cone Apex ◽  
Lateral Branches ◽  
Mother Cells ◽  
Pollen Cone

Seed cones in Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. are found at the tips of distal lateral branches and form as a result of the transition of a previously vegetative apex. Pollen cones may be formed similarly and are then found at the tips of less-vigorous proximal branches but more commonly they develop from newly initiated axillary buds on short proximal shoots. In all cases, apices undergo transition to the reproductive state after a period of bud-scale initiation. Some apices initiate many bud scales, then either initiate leaves or undergo transition to a seed-cone apex in July. Other apices initiate fewer bud scales, then late in June undergo transition to a pollen-cone apex. Transition to a reproductive apex is marked by an increase in mitotic activity and apical size and loss of the vegetative pattern of zonation. Zonation reappears during the slower period of late bract and microsporophyll initiation but is not as prominent as it was in vegetative apices. In seed-cone buds, all bracts, ovuliferous scales, and megaspore mother cells are formed before dormancy. In pollen-cone buds all microsporophylls and microsporangia are initiated before dormancy and pollen mother cells begin meiosis and remain in the diffuse diplotene stage during dormancy. Pollen- and seed-cone buds become dormant in December. The time of cone initiation and sexuality of cones may be influenced by day length. The pattern of reproduction in western hemlock is compared in some respects with that of other conifers.

Vegetative bud development and cone differentiation in Abies amabilis

1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
pp. 992-1008 ◽  
Author(s):  
John N. Owens ◽  
Marje Molder
Keyword(s):  
Shoot Elongation ◽  
Leaf Primordia ◽  
Bud Burst ◽  
Lateral Shoot ◽  
Vegetative Buds ◽  
Seed Cone ◽  
Mitotic Frequency ◽  
Mother Cells ◽  
Pollen Cone ◽  
Vegetative Bud

In the trees studied, vegetative buds began development in early April, bud burst occurred in early June and shoot elongation was completed by late July. Vegetative buds initiated bud scales from mid-April until mid-July and then initiated leaf primordia until the vegetative buds became dormant in November. All axillary buds were initiated in mid-May and their bud scales were initiated until early July. During bud-scale initiation, distal vegetative lateral apices were more conical but had a mitotic frequency similar to other lateral apices. Near the end of bud-scale initiation, vegetative apices accumulated more phenolic and ergastic compounds in future pith cells than did potential seed-cone or pollen-cone apices. Bud differentiation occurred in mid-July at the end of lateral shoot elongation. During bud differentiation the mitotic frequency of pollen-cone and seed-cone apices increased much more than that of distal vegetative apices. This resulted in a marked increase in apical size and a change in apical shape and zonation that made reproductive apices easily distinguishable from vegetative apices. Bracts began to be initiated in mid-July, and ovuliferous scales, in mid-August. Both continued to be initiated until seed-cone buds became dormant in November. A single megaspore mother cell formed in each ovule before dormancy. Microsporophylls were initiated from mid-July until early September. Microsporangia began to differentiate in September and contained microspore mother cells when pollen cones became dormant in mid-October. Meiosis did not begin before dormancy. A few potential vegetative and many potential seed-cone and potential pollen-cone apices became latent during bud-scale initiation. Some potential seed-cone apices became vegetative buds. Consequently, the number of cone buds formed was determined primarily by the proportion of apices that developed fully and the pathway along which they developed.

Bud development in Picea glauca. II. Cone differentiation and early development

1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (21) ◽  
pp. 2746-2760 ◽  
Author(s):  
John N. Owens ◽  
Marje Molder
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Shoot Elongation ◽  
Accurate Method ◽  
Optimal Time ◽  
Seed Cone ◽  
Mitotic Frequency ◽  
Mother Cells ◽  
Pollen Cone ◽  
Vegetative Bud ◽  
Made In

Pollen-cone and seed-cone buds of Picea glauca (Moench) Voss occurred as either terminal or axillary buds. All apices initiated bud scales from late April until mid-July and then differentiated into vegetative, pollen-cone, or seed-cone apices. Potentially pollen-cone apices were usually smaller, had a lower mitotic frequency, and initiated fewer bud scales than potentially vegetative or seed-cone apices. In late July a marked increase in mitotic frequency occurred in differentiating reproductive apices resulting in changes in apical size, shape, and zonation. Leaf, bract, and microsporophyll initiation began at the end of July. All microsporophylls were initiated by early October when pollen-cone buds became dormant. Sporogenous cells had differentiated but meiosis had not begun. Bract initiation began in early August and ovuliferous scale initiation began in late August. Initiation of both stopped in mid-October when seed-cone buds became dormant. Megaspore mother cells were present in dormant seed-cone buds but had not begun meiosis.There was no difference in the time of vegetative, pollen-cone, or seed-cone bud differentiation at the four locations from which collections were made in 1975 and 1976. Differentiation coincided with the end of lateral shoot elongation which was during the last half of July. These results agree with another report from one location in Ontario. Temperature sums also could be an accurate method of determining the time of cone-bud differentiation if calculations were based on the end of vegetative bud dormancy rather than on more arbitrary starting dates. The methods may be applicable to other members of the Pinaceae to determine the optimal time for cone induction treatments.

Bud development in Larix occidentalis. II. Cone differentiation and early development

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (14) ◽  
pp. 1557-1572 ◽  
Author(s):  
John N. Owens ◽  
Marje Molder
Keyword(s):  
Shoot Elongation ◽  
Larix Occidentalis ◽  
Short Shoot ◽  
Bud Development ◽  
Seed Cone ◽  
Long Shoots ◽  
Short Shoots ◽  
Old Trees ◽  
Mother Cells ◽  
Pollen Cone

The time and method of cone-bud differentiation and the phenology of cone-bud development were studied in 10- to 20-year-old trees growing outside their natural range and three 50-year-old trees growing within their natural range.Both pollen-cone and seed-cone buds of western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) normally differentiated on short shoots that were at least 1 year old. Pollen-cone buds were commonly on proximal nonvigorous, often pendant vegetative long shoots in lower regions of the crown, whereas seed-cone buds were usually found on distal short shoots on vigorous but less pendant vegetative long shoots in upper regions of the crown.All potential cone buds were indistinguishable from potential vegetative short shoot buds during bud-scale initiation. In early June, when vegetative short shoots had begun to initiate leaves, cone-bud apices entered a period of differentiation during which time the mitotic frequency of the apices greatly increased followed by a marked increase in apical size. During differentiation, pollen-cone apices did not initiate any basal foliar organs and a short stalk resulted at the base of the cone, whereas seed-cone apices initiated a few basal foliar primordia before bract initiation began. Microsporophyll initiation began during the last half of June and initiation occurred rapidly until the end of July. Micros porangial development occurred from August to late October when fully developed pollen-cone buds became dormant. Pollen mother cells began meiosis before dormancy and overwintered at the diffuse stage. Bract initiation began about the end of June, was rapid until mid-August, then continued more slowly until seed-cone buds became dormant in late October. Ovuliferous scales were initiated acropetally from mid-August until dormancy. Cone-bud differentiation occurred at about the end of the period of vegetative lateral long shoot elongation at all locations.

scholarly journals Mating System in a Native Norway Spruce (Picea abies [L.] KARST.) Stand-Relatedness and Effective Pollen Population Size Show an Association with the Germination Percentage of Single Tree Progenies

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 266
Author(s):  
Oliver Caré ◽  
Oliver Gailing ◽  
Markus Müller ◽  
Konstantin V. Krutovsky ◽  
Ludger Leinemann
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Norway Spruce ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Germination Percentage ◽  
Early Embryo ◽  
Genetic Composition ◽  
Embryo Abortion ◽  
Family Structures ◽  
Single Tree

Norway spruce differs little in neutral genetic markers among populations and provenances often reported, but in terms of putative adaptive traits and their candidate genes, some clear differences have been observed. This has previously been shown for crown morphotypes. Stands with mostly narrow crown shapes are adapted to high elevation conditions, but these stands are scattered, and the forest area is often occupied by planted stands with predominantly broad crowned morphotypes. This raises questions on whether this differentiation can remain despite gene flow, and on the level of gene flow between natural and planted stands growing in close neighbourhood. The locally adapted stands are a valuable seed source, the progeny of which is expected to have high genetic quality and germination ability. The presented case study is useful for spruce plantation by demonstrating evaluation of these expectations. Immigrant pollen and seeds from planted trees could be maladaptive and may alter the genetic composition of the progeny. This motivated us to study single tree progenies in a locally adapted stand with narrow crowned trees in a partial mast year at nuclear genomic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Spruce is a typical open-pollinated conifer tree species with very low selfing rates, which were also observed in our study (s = 0.3–2.1%) and could be explained by efficient cross-pollination and postzygotic early embryo abortion, common in conifers. The estimated high amount of immigrant pollen found in the pooled seed lot (70.2–91.5%) is likely to influence the genetic composition of the seedlings. Notably, for individual mother trees located in the centre of the stand, up to 50% of the pollen was characterised as local. Seeds from these trees are therefore considered to retain most of the adaptive variance of the stand. Germination percentage varied greatly between half-sib families (3.6–61.9%) and was negatively correlated with relatedness and positively with effective pollen population size of the respective families. As pollen mostly originated from outside the stand and no family structures in the stand itself were found, germination differences can likely be explained by diversity differences in the individual pollen cloud.

XVII.—Embryogenesis and Larval Organs of the Giant Land Snail Achatina fulica Bowdich

1962 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-260
Author(s):  
Krishna Chandra Ghose
Keyword(s):  
Digestive Gland ◽  
Posterior Part ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Mantle Cavity ◽  
Early Embryo ◽  
The Body ◽  
Hind Gut ◽  
Contraction And Relaxation ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Digestive Glands

SynopsisOrganogenesis is completed by 15 days. A modified veliger stage is present. Torsion begins at about the sixth day. The foot rudiment is first to appear. The stomodæum appears as a new structure. The salivary glands develop from the stomodæum by evaginations. The œsophagus is stomodæal, while the crop and the primitive stomach are archenteric in origin. The digestive gland develops as two outgrowths of the primitive stomach. The hind gut is formed by the cells proliferated from the closed posterior end of the archenteron. It opens into the primitive stomach in a 2·5 mm. embryo, and the anus appears very late. The proctodæum is absent. The primordium of the pericardium with the heart, definitive kidney and gonad is mesodermal. The ureter is ectodermal and arises from the mantle cavity by evagination and subsequently communicates with the kidney. Lung and mantle are ectodermal and arise by separate invaginations. The lung fuses with the mantle and loses its separate existence from about a 4 mm. embryo. The nervous system is early to appear and the sense organs, except the statocysts are late in origin. They are ectodermal. The larval organs are: velum, podocyst, larval kidney, nuchal cells and larval digestive gland. The prototroch is the rudiment of the velum. It appears in a very early embryo from the posteroventral part and marks off the anterior border of the stomodæum. The cells of the prototroch become hyaline, vacuolate and develop cilia in a 2·25 mm. embryo, and it is transformed into velum. The velum helps in driving albumen into the larval and adult digestive glands and is resorbed in the body-wall epithelium. The rudiment of the foot first appears after the completion of gastrulation, and the podocyst is differentiated from it later. It steadily increases in size, assumes a hood-like shape, exhibits contraction and relaxation movements and begins to reduce when the embryo attains 3·25 mm. size. It is completely resorbed in the foot. The larval kidneys are mesodermal in origin, appear, in a 920 μ embryo. They begin to degenerate after the formation of the functional definitive kidney and disappear in a late larva. The kidneys are U-shaped, the cells of the closed anterior and bear pseudopodia, which are almost totally replaced by cilia afterwards. The kidney opens to the exterior posteriorly. The cells become vacuolated and excretory granules accumulate in the vacuoles. The nuchal cells first appear in a 2·5 mm. embryo and are excretory. They increase both in number and size with the growth of the embryo and persist throughout the larval period. The endoderm cells of the major portion of the archenteron except a small posterior part, enlarge in size, develop vacuoles and form a larval digestive organ for the purpose of digestion of albumen. Even after the formation of the adult digestive gland, the larval digestive gland functions for a short time, then degenerates and disappears at the end of the larval life.

The pollination mechanism and development after bud burst of cones of Larix laricina

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 1179-1187 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Powell ◽  
Kathleen J. Tosh
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Seed Size ◽  
Larix Laricina ◽  
Bud Burst ◽  
Scale Growth ◽  
Pollination Mechanism ◽  
Seed Cone ◽  
Cone Development ◽  
Micropylar Canal ◽  
Pollen Cone

Pollen-cone and seed-cone development, from bud burst to maturity, was investigated on Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch in three young plantations. The pollination mechanism was emphasized. Pollen cones grew rapidly to shed pollen, shrivelled, and remained on the trees for a year or more. Pollen was directed to the ovular regions by the bracts of the seed cones. Pollen adhered among papillae on the larger of two integument extensions. Degeneration of the centre of the papillate integument tip caused a collapse that drew pollen in as the papillate rim grew inward. This ingrowth was joined by that of the smaller integument extension, resulting in a sealed tubular structure that enclosed a dry micropylar canal. Pollen was held by the ingrown plug of degenerated tissue as the nucellus tip expanded into the base of the canal. As this occurred, the ovules, with or without pollination, grew to ultimate seed size, and the initially small ovuliferous scales overgrew the bracts. First bract, then ovuliferous-scale growth was associated with a double-sigmoid form of cone elongation. In mature cones the bracts decreased and the ovuliferous scales (except near the tip) increased in size acropetally. Key words: bract, integument, ovuliferous scale, pollen cone, seed cone, tamarack or eastern larch.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document