Why Does an Obligate Autogamous Orchid Produce Insect Attractants in Nectar? – A Case Study on Epipactis Albensis (Orchidaceae)

Background The flowers of some species of orchids produce nectar as a reward for pollination, the process of transferring pollen from flower to flower. Epipactis albensis is an obligatory autogamous species, does not require the presence of insects for pollination, nevertheless, it has not lost the ability to produce nectar, the chemical composition of which we examined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method for identification of potential insect attractants. Results During five years of field research, we did not observe any true pollinating insects visiting the flowers of this species, only accidental insects as ants and aphids. As a result of our studies we find that this self-pollinating orchid produces in nectar inter alia aliphatic saturated and unsaturated aldehydes such as i.e. nonanal (pelargonal) and 2-pentenal as well as aromatic ones (i.e. syringaldehyde, hyacinthin). The nectar is low in alkenes, which may explain the absence of pollinating insects. Moreover, vanillin and eugenol derivatives, well-known as important scent compounds were also identified, but the list of chemical compounds is much poorer compared with a closely related species, insect-pollinating E. helleborine. Conclusion Autogamy is a reproductive mechanism employed by many flowering plants, including the orchid genus Epipactis, as adaptation to grow in habitats where pollinating insects are rare observed due to the lack of nectar-producing plants they feed on. The production of numerous chemical attractants by self-pollinated E. albensis confirms the evolutionary secondary process, i.e. transition from ancestral insect-pollinating species to obligatory autogamous.

The development rhythm of the flower-bud in some Papilionaceae species. III. Macrosporogenesis, microsporogenesis and early gametogenesis in several species of the Vicieae tribe

Each of the examined species of the tribe <em>Vicieae</em> (<em>Vicia</em> faba, V. sativa, V, villosa, Lathyrus silvester, L. <em>pratensis</em> and Pisum <em>sativum</em>) has its peculiar characteristic development rhythm of the bud. A similarity has been demonstrated between the development rhythms of flower buds of <em>Vicia</em> faba and <em>Pisum sativum</em>. It was found that mature flowers of autogamous species had long calyces, whereas those of the allogamous species were short as compared with the petals of the corolla.

Epistatic effects on grain yield of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]

Studies addressing the estimation of genetic parameters in soybean have not emphasized the epistatic effects. The purpose of this study was to estimate the significance of these effects on soybean grain yield, based on the Modified Triple Test Cross design. Thirty-two inbred lines derived from a cross between two contrasting lines were used, which were crossed with two testers (L1 and L2). The experiments were carried out at two locations, in 10 x 10 triple lattice designs with 9 replications, containing 32 lines (Pi ), 64 crosses (32 Pi x L1 and 32 Pi x L2 ) and controls. The variation between ( ͞L1i + ͞L2i - ͞Pi ) revealed the presence of epistasis, as well as an interaction of epistasis x environment. Since the predominant component of epistasis in autogamous species is additive x additive (i type), we suggest postponing the selection for grain yield to later generations of inbreeding in order to exploit the beneficial effects of additive x additive epistasis.

Epipactis albensis (Orchidaceae): a new species in the flora of Romania

A small population of Epipactis albensis Nováková & Rydlo, a species previously unknown in the flora of Romania, was found in Gorge Turda (Cheile Turzii, county Cluj) in 2011. The occurrence is currently the easternmost known population of this strictly autogamous species originally described from the Czech Republic, and recently known only from five other Central-European countries. Morphological features, habitat preference, soil reaction, currently known distribution and biological characteristics of the plant are presented.

Genetic diversity for seed protein composition in Medicago truncatula

Fifty lines of Medicago truncatula, derived from ecotypes or cultivars of diverse geographical origin, were grown under uniform conditions, and variation in seed protein composition and quantity was investigated. One-dimensional electrophoretic profiles revealed 46 major seed polypeptides, of which 26 were polymorphic within the collection. The vicilin/convicilin (7S) and the legumin (11S) type proteins were identified by immunoblotting using antibodies raised against the homologous pea proteins. The polymorphism for the major seed protein classes allowed the clustering of the genotypes into four groups. There was no evidence of clustering according to geographical origin of the lines. However, all lines not belonging to either M. truncatula ssp. truncatula or ssp. longispina were clustered in a single group, demonstrating the value of seed protein profiles in delimiting species boundaries. The Jemalong line group was differentiated early in the dendrogram, and thus represents an ancient clade in the seed diversity of M. truncatula. Within-accession variation was investigated for one-dimensional seed profiles, with additional lines obtained from the same ecotypes. As expected for an autogamous species, within-accession variation was low. Seed protein content was highly variable among the 50 lines examined. Lines contrasting for qualitative traits and seed protein content were identified to allow for the genetic determination of these characters.

Crossing rate and distance in upland rice

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an autogamous species that shows natural crossing rates of up to 3%, where the variations are influenced by genotypes and environments. The present work aimed to evaluate the rates and distances of natural crossing between the upland rice cultivars Guarani and IAC 201. The study was done in the counties of Carpina and Recife, in the State of Pernambuco during the agricultural years of 2001 and 2002, respectively. The Guarani cultivar presents leaf pilosity conditioned by the dominant alleles HLHL and this character was used as a morphologic tracer. On the other hand, the IAC 201 cultivar does not show pilosity because it carries the recessive alleles (hlhl). The experiments were composed of four blocks, constituting of ten circunscribed rows of the cultivar under study, spaced 50 cm between themselves, and in the center of each block the Guarani cultivar was planted. The natural crossing rate and distance were evaluated in the plants resulting from the seeds of the IAC 201 cultivar from natural crossing, expressing pilosity in the leaves. After the evaluation of the plants arising from the first two rows of the experiment carried out in Carpina and the first three rows of the experiment done in Recife, it was concluded that in the first row (0.5 m) there were plants resulting from natural crossing. At this distance, the average crossing rate in Carpina was 0.30% while that in Recife was 0.35%.

A molecular–morphological approach solves taxonomic controversy in arctic Draba (Brassicaceae)

We used a combined molecular and morphological approach to solve a long-term controversy in the taxonomically complex genus Draba L. (Brassicaceae): the delimitation of Draba lactea Adams versus Draba fladnizensis Wulfen. We also tested hypotheses on the origin of D. lactea, which has been reported as hexaploid and possibly derived from the diploids D. fladnizensis, Draba nivalis Liljeblad, and (or) Draba subcapitata Simmons. In an initial analysis of large population samples of three of these autogamous species, intrapopulational isozyme variation was low or absent (mean genotypic diversity, D, was 0.10), the diploids were almost invariably homozygous, and D. lactea was highly fixed-heterozygous. In the main analysis, we examined 35–47 populations of the four tentative species from the arctic archipelago of Svalbard for variation in isozymes, random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), and 36 morphological characters. Multivariate analyses of the RAPD data revealed four very distinct groups of multilocus phenotypes. These groups also differed in several morphological characters and corresponded to the four tentative species. The species were less differentiated at isozyme loci, in particular the diploids D. fladnizensis and D. subcapitata, but D. lactea was clearly distinguished from D. fladnizensis based on all three data sets. Contrary to most earlier suggestions, the hexaploid D. lactea was genetically more similar to D. subcapitata than to D. nivalis, but our analyses of the material from Svalbard did not give conclusive evidence on the origin of this widespread arctic hexaploid.Key words: arctic, Draba, isozymes, morphology, polyploidy, RAPDs.