Parallelism in Endocarp Form Sheds Light on Fruit Syndrome Evolution in Viburnum

Abstract— All Viburnum species produce drupes with a hardened endocarp surrounding a single seed. Endocarp form varies greatly within Viburnum, and differences in shape have long been used to distinguish major subclades. Here we trace the evolution of Viburnum endocarp shape using morphometric analyses and phylogenies for 115 Viburnum species. Endocarp measurements were obtained from fruits sampled from herbarium specimens and from field collections, and shapes were analyzed using elliptical Fourier analysis. We infer that the first viburnums had flattened and grooved endocarps. Subsequently, there were multiple losses of grooving in conjunction with shifts to both highly flattened and nearly round endocarps. In several clades the parallel evolution of a derived endocarp shape was accompanied by changes in a suite of other fruit traits, yielding distinctive fruit syndromes likely related to bird dispersal. However, in other clades endocarp shapes similar to the ancestral form have been retained while other fruit traits (color, amount of flesh, nutritional content) have diverged. We quantify cases of parallel evolution in endocarp shape that cut across recognized fruit syndromes such as red, carbohydrate-rich fruits with flattened endocarps or blue, lipid-rich fruits with round endocarps. Our analyses now invite studies of function and the selective factors that have yielded the distinctive suites of fruit and seed traits that distinguish the major Viburnum lineages.

Sensitization to allergen components from natural rubber latex (Hevea brasiliensis) in a 15-year old girl undergoing multiple surgical procedures

This paper describes a case of anaphylaxis due to latex exposure during surgery. Allergic reactions to latex during surgery have been described in spinal bifida patients. The case presented in our manuscript is a 15-year old girl who experienced an anaphylactic reaction during her 12th surgery of giant hairy nevus on the thigh. She had a history of oral pruritus after ingestion of chestnut suggesting latex-fruit syndrome. Specific IgE was positive to latex and the allergen components Hev b 1, 3, 5 and 6.02. The diagnosis was latex-allergy due to sensitization obtained after multiple surgeries, possibly due to the contact of latex-containing gloves. Anaphylactic shock during surgery due to NRL allergy is being reported continuously. To prevent allergic reactions during surgery in patients who undergo multiple surgeries, not only in Spina Bifida (SB) patients, frequent analyses of specific IgE to NRL are essential as well as the documentation of the clinical history after ingestion of latex-fruit syndrome related foods. Measurement of specific IgE to allergen components from NRL might be useful in the diagnosis of NRL allergy and in the investigation of the route of NRL sensitization.