Surgical studies on growth and xylem differentiation in the cotyledonary shoots of flax

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 476-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. S. Raju ◽  
W. N. Marchuk ◽  
Patricia L. Polowick

Growth and xylem differentiation in cotyledonary shoots were studied by partially isolating one shoot surgically in nondecapitated and decapitated flax plants (Linum usitatissimum var. noralta). Three types of cuts were made. The first type separated the shoot from the hypocotyl and the second from the epicotyl. The third type of cut was made at the node separating the two shoots, which, however, remained independently connected with the hypocotyl and epicotyl. In nondecapitated plants, the lateral shoots were inhibited. They had at their bases primary xylem strands, some of which were connected with the hypocotylary stele; the strands contained predominantly tracheids. In decapitated plants, the separated shoot grew vigorously when it was connected with both hypocotyl and epicotyl or hypocotyl alone. Such shoots contained at their bases abundant secondary xylem strands which were connected with the hypocotylary stele; the strands included predominantly vessels. The shoot that was isolated from the hypocotyl but connected with the epicotyl was inhibited even though it had abundant secondary xylem strands at its base. Results of this study suggest that growth of the cotyledonary shoot is dependent on the prior development of adequate xylem connections with the hypocotylary stele.

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-94
Author(s):  
Kavitha C.H ◽  
Meenu Krishnan ◽  
Murugan K

Ferns are one of the oldest vascular plants in existence and they are the second most diverse group of vascular plants followed to angiosperms. To unravel fern success has focused on the eco-physiological power and stress tolerance of their sporophyte and the gametophyte generations. In this context, those insightsencompass plant water relations, as well as the tolerance to and recovery from drought or desiccation stresses in the fern life cycle are reviewed. Lack of secondary xylem in ferns is compensated by selection for efficient primary xylem composed of large, closely arranged tracheids with permeable pit membranes.Protection from drought-induced hydraulic failure appears to arise from a combination of pit membrane traits and the arrangement of vascular bundles. Features such as tracheid-based xylem and variously sized megaphylls are shared between ferns and more derived lineages, and offer an opportunity to compare convergent and divergent hydraulic strategies critical to the success of xylem-bearing plants. Similarly the synthesis and accumulation of sugar, proline and stress proteins along with the production of pool of polyphenols add strength to desiccation stress. Thus, it can possible to suggest that selection acted on the physiology in a synchronous manner that is consistent with selection for drought tolerance in the epiphytic niche, and the increasingly diverse habitats of the mid to late Cenozoic.


IAWA Journal ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederic Lens ◽  
Steven Jansen ◽  
Elmar Robbrecht ◽  
Erik Smets

The Vanguerieae is a tribe consisting of about 500 species ordered in 27 genera. Although this tribe is mainly represented in Africa and Madagascar, Vanguerieae also occur in tropical Asia, Australia, and the isles of the Pacific Ocean. This study gives a detailed wood anatomical description of 34 species of 15 genera based on LM and SEM observations. The secondary xylem is homogeneous throughout the tribe and fits well into the Ixoroideae s.l. on the basis of fibre-tracheids and diffuse to diffuse-in-aggregates axial parenchyma. The Vanguerieae include numerous geofrutices that are characterised by massive woody branched or unbranched underground parts and slightly ramified unbranched aboveground twigs. The underground structures of geofrutices are not homologous; a central pith is found in three species (Fadogia schmitzii, Pygmaeothamnus zeyheri and Tapiphyllum cinerascens var. laetum), while Fadogiella stigmatoloba shows central primary xylem which is characteristic of roots. Comparison of underground versus aboveground wood shows anatomical differences in vessel diameter and in the quantity of parenchyma and fibres.


1998 ◽  
Vol 95 (16) ◽  
pp. 9693-9698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Allona ◽  
Michelle Quinn ◽  
Elizabeth Shoop ◽  
Kristi Swope ◽  
Sheila St. Cyr ◽  
...  

Secondary xylem (wood) formation is likely to involve some genes expressed rarely or not at all in herbaceous plants. Moreover, environmental and developmental stimuli influence secondary xylem differentiation, producing morphological and chemical changes in wood. To increase our understanding of xylem formation, and to provide material for comparative analysis of gymnosperm and angiosperm sequences, ESTs were obtained from immature xylem of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). A total of 1,097 single-pass sequences were obtained from 5′ ends of cDNAs made from gravistimulated tissue from bent trees. Cluster analysis detected 107 groups of similar sequences, ranging in size from 2 to 20 sequences. A total of 361 sequences fell into these groups, whereas 736 sequences were unique. About 55% of the pine EST sequences show similarity to previously described sequences in public databases. About 10% of the recognized genes encode factors involved in cell wall formation. Sequences similar to cell wall proteins, most known lignin biosynthetic enzymes, and several enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism were found. A number of putative regulatory proteins also are represented. Expression patterns of several of these genes were studied in various tissues and organs of pine. Sequencing novel genes expressed during xylem formation will provide a powerful means of identifying mechanisms controlling this important differentiation pathway.


2010 ◽  
Vol 150 ◽  
pp. 506-507
Author(s):  
Takeo Fujii ◽  
Kanna Sato ◽  
Nobuyuki Nishikubo ◽  
Noriko Matsui ◽  
Takayuki Furuichi ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 247-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof J. Rakowski ◽  
Tomasz J. Wodzicki

Proteolytic activity was studied in the differentiating xylem and phloem of Scots pine (<i>Pinus sylvestris</i> L.) to determine the specificity of xylem and phloem differentiation. The activity of autolytic proteases was demonstrated in the differentiating xylem during spring, summer and autumn and it was not detectable during winter. It was initiated with the onset of cambial activity in spring and unchanged during subsequent stages of xylem differentiation. The same proteolytic activity was not detectable in the extract of fresh phloem tissue. It could be detected in phloem after removal of the inhibitor found in the extract. The same pH optimum was determined for proteases extracted from xylem and phloem. However, their identity remains uncertain because of different electrophoretic mobility. On the other hand the presence of protease inhibitor in phloem tissue can be an important factor im determining the specificity of xylem an phloem differentiation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna Bartolini ◽  
Raffaella Viti ◽  
Lucia Andreini

AbstractThe aim of this investigation was to assess whether imposed summer shading treatments in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) can affect the main phenological phases related to the floral morphogenesis (floral differentiation, xylogenesis), flower bud growth and quality in terms of bud capacity to set fruit. Experimental trials were carried out on fully-grown trees of ‘San Castrese’ and ‘Stark Early Orange’ cultivars characterized by different biological and agronomical traits to which shadings were imposed in July and August. Histological analysis was carried out from summer onwards in order to determine the evolution of floral bud differentiation, and the acropetal progression of primary xylem differentiation along the flower bud axis. Periodical recordings to evaluate the bud drop, blooming time, flowering and fruit set rates were performed also. These shade treatments determined a temporary shutdown of floral differentiation, slowed xylem progression up to the resumption of flower bud growth and a reduced entity of flowering and fruit set. These events were particularly marked in ‘San Castrese’ cultivar, which is well known for its adaptability to different climatic conditions. These findings suggest that adequate light penetration within the canopy during the summer season could be the determining factor when defining the qualitative traits of flower buds and their regular growth, and ultimately to obtain good and constant crops.


2008 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 498-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney Arthur Savidge

Trees were on Earth 394 million years ago (394 Ma) as spore-producing Archaeopteris progymnosperms having largediameter trunks of secondary xylem (morphotype Callixyon) produced by vascular cambium. Plants of smaller stature with primary xylem cores were present in Late Silurian (416 Ma), but they lacked cambium and it remains unclear how and when the first trees evolved. Progymnosperms faded and gymnosperms arose during Middle Carboniferous, and conifers, ginkgos, cycads, tree ferns and cordaites were well established by the Carboniferous–Permian transition (299 Ma). Woods of the earliest conifers were different from those of today, and not until Late Triassic (220 Ma) did any begin producing secondary xylem similar to modern woods, the xylem phenotypes of Cupressaceae and Araucariaceae emerging much earlier than those of Pinaceae and flowering plants. Conifers have persisted and done relatively well despite major extinction events, severe climate change, insectivory, herbivory and microbial activity, all of which were in effect before as well as during the appearance of trees on Earth. Approximately 600 conifer species continue to exist, and the survivors presumably possess the physiological fitness needed to adapt to an ever-changing biosphere. However, this is speculative because their physiology remains less than well understood. Forestry interventions such as planting one species to the exclusion of others have the potential to exacerbate as well as sustain the ongoing existence of our remaining conifers. Key words: bordered pit, cambium, cell biology, cellulose, evolution, lignin, paleobotany, protoplasmic autolysis, secondary growth, wood formation, xylogenesis


1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 1040-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip R. Larson ◽  
David G. Fisher

The vasculature of elongating lateral branches was examined to determine how vessels produced in the branch unite with those produced in the main stem axis to form a continuous transport system. In a previous study it was found that differentiation of both primary and secondary xylem in a lateral bud or branch is independent of that in the main axis; i.e., xylem does not differentiate into the bud or branch from the main axis. When serial sections of the nodal region are followed downward, the bud vascular cylinder merges with that of the main axis and the adaxially situated bud traces (those nearest the stem) enter the bud gap margin first. The primary vessels of these bud traces differentiate in an oblique downward path along the margins of the bud gap, and they form radial files of primary vessels that lie adjacent to primary xylem of leaf traces in the stem. Traces situated more abaxially in the bud (those farther from the stem) contribute to other radial files of primary vessels, each of which lies progressively closer to the bud gap. Secondary xylem is initiated in the stem before it is in the branch. Consequently, the last-formed metaxylem vessels of the bud traces are continuous with secondary vessels of the stem. These latter vessels lie in the stem secondary xylem immediately external to primary xylem from the bud. Secondary xylem in the branch is initiated when foliage leaves and internodes mature. Secondary vessels formed in the branch traces are continuous with secondary vessels in the stem; these vessels are embedded in a matrix of fibers. Because cambial activity is more vigorous in the stem than in the branch, two vessels that are radially adjacent in the branch may be widely separated by fibers in the stem. The central trace of the axillant leaf enters the gap immediately below the last branch traces; at this level in the stem the leaf trace vasculature is entirely primary. The stem secondary xylem that overlies the leaf trace is continuous with that in the axillary branch.


1968 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. I. McIntyre

When the epicotyl of the flax seedling is decapitated one of the two shoots produced at the cotyledonary node tends to inhibit and may completely suppress the growth of the other. By growing the seedlings in sand culture with a controlled mineral nutrient supply it was shown that (a) the inhibiting influence of the dominant shoot was inversely related to the nitrogen level; (b) the inhibited shoot could be released from inhibition by increasing the nitrogen supply; (c) the removal of the dominant shoot was followed within 12 h by an increase in the total nitrogen content of the inhibited shoot; (d) a similar control of inhibition could be obtained by varying the phosphorus supply. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that this form of correlative inhibition is due primarily to competition between the shoots for a limited mineral nutrient supply.When one of the cotyledons was either covered or removed its axillary bud was inhibited by the shoot in the axil of the untreated cotyledon. The degree of inhibition was inversely related to the nitrogen supply. It is suggested as a working hypothesis that the cotyledons provide a factor(s) which promotes the growth of their axillary buds and thus determines their ability to compete for mineral nutrients.


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