Association of cone thermogenesis and volatiles with pollinator specificity in Macrozamia cycads

Cone traits (volatile components and thermogenesis) of three cycad species in the genus Macrozamia were examined for differences related to their specific insect pollinators, the weevil, Tranes spp., or the thrips, Cycadothrips chadwicki. Linalool (>80% of emissions) dominated cone volatile components of M. machinii (Tranes-pollinated) and beta-myrcene was a minor component (

Pollination of Australian Macrozamia cycads (Zamiaceae): Effectiveness and behavior of specialist vectors in a dependent mutualism

Complementary field and laboratory tests confirmed and quantified the pollination abilities of Tranes sp. weevils and Cycadothrips chadwicki thrips, specialist insects of their respective cycad hosts, Macrozamia machinii and M. lucida. No agamospermous seeds were produced when both wind and insects were excluded from female cones; and the exclusion of wind-vectored pollen alone did not eliminate seed set, because insects were able to reach the cone. Based on enclosure pollination tests, each weevil pollinates an average 26.2 ovules per cone and each thrips 2.4 ovules per cone. These pollinators visited similar numbers of ovules per cone in fluorescent dye tests that traced insect movement through cones. Fluorescent dye granules deposited by Cycadothrips were concentrated around the micropyle of each visited ovule, the site of pollen droplet release, where pollen must be deposited to achieve pollination. In contrast, Tranes weevils left dye scattered on different areas of each visited ovule, indicating that chance plays a greater role in this system. Each weevil and 25 thrips delivered 6.2 and 5.2 pollen grains, respectively, on average, to each visited ovule per cone, based on examination of dissected pollen canals. In sum, the pollination potential of 25 Cycadothrips approximates that of one Tranes weevil.

苏铁研究与园林规划

首先回顾了以往苏铁研究，在此基础上，对苏铁的区系地理、苏铁中种皮形态、台湾苏铁的模式产地与海南苏铁的名实问题、从叶绿体DNA matK序列及应用Trn L(UAA)序列资料分析苏铁目系统发育关系等方面进行了深入的研究。 提出了我国西南及印度支那地区和澳大利亚及太平洋岛屿为现代苏铁两大分布中心，前者是苏铁科的演化中心，而后者是次生的分化中心。首次提出钉羊齿（Rhaphidopteris）可能是现代苏铁科近祖的观点。 首次系统研究了27种苏铁属植物中种皮的形态，据此把苏铁属种子分为苏铁型、台湾苏铁型、韦德苏铁型、拳叶苏铁型、斯曼苏铁型及粉种苏铁型等6个类型。对苏铁亚属中种皮纹饰的演化趋势以及其与种间亲缘关系进行了探讨。 对台湾苏铁（Cycas taiwaniana）的模式产地进行了深入的考证，认为其来自福建厦门一带的栽培植株，而非其他学者认为的广东汕头或台湾高雄。海南苏铁（C.hainanensis）应作为台湾苏铁的异名处理。 描述了苏铁科一新亚属奥苏铁亚属Subgen. Media，二新组台湾苏铁组Sect. Taiwanianae及韦德苏铁组Sect. Wadeanae。 分子研究表明托叶铁属（Stangeria）与波温铁属（Bowenia）并不构成一个单系类群;大泽米铁属（Macroz以mia）与非洲铁属（Encephalartos）关系最近，而与鳞叶铁属（Lepidozamia）稍远。 其次，在园林规划方面，对广东省江门市白水带风景区的森林植被进行深入的研究，在此基础上开展了白水带植物景观规划与植被改造规划。在跨越林学与园林两大学科方面做了开拓性的尝试，大气势、大手笔营造森林植物景观。以小班为单位进行规划，植被改造依据植物群落演替原理，模拟南亚热带季风常绿阔叶林，将种类贫乏、结构简单的人工林逐步改造为种类丰富、结构复杂的异龄复层混交林。首次以四季不同种类的花色变化的大范围森林景观来营造南亚热带平常并不明显的季相变化;而专类园的规划注意生态与景观的结合，从植物的生态学特性、群落学特性和景观要求出发进行配置，从而克服一般北京植物园注重品种收集，按分类系统或地理分布来布置而轻视植物生态习性与景观效果的通病。对现有的海金沙(Lygodium Japonicum)等层片或单优群落加以整理形成自然且景观优美的特色层片以及以江门的乡土植物与优秀外引植物营造独木成林、万雀迎宾、层峦叠嶂、孔雀开屏、仙鹤望天等景观的规划思想为国内首创;在国内首先提出规划建设热带雨林、冷色北京植物园、佛教北京植物园、国树国花园等专类园。 在白水带规划的同时，就江门市的人居环境进行了深入的调研。对国内城市生态环境建设普遍存在的一些倾向与问题进行了反思，在总结江门城市环境建设得失的基础上提出了营造可持续发展的人居环境七个方面的战略性意见。

苏铁叶绿体的超微结构和功能及对CO2浓度倍增的响应

本研究首次揭示了七种苏铁类植物叶绿体的超微结构。即苏铁科(Cycadaceae)的攀枝花苏铁(C. panzhihuaensis).苏铁(C. revoluta)、叉叶苏铁(C.micholitzii)、 刺叶苏铁(C.rumphii和多歧苏铁(C.multipinnata)，蕨铁科(Stangeriaceae)的蕨铁(Stangeria eriopus)和泽米科(Zamiaceae)的米德尔堡大苏铁(Encephalortos middelburgensis).根据它们叶绿体内膜结构的不同将其大体分为两种类型：1、阴生型叶绿体：多歧苏铁和刺叶苏铁为此类型，它们的叶绿体类囊体垛叠程度高，基粒垛较宽，单个基粒中类囊体的数量很多，有的甚至上百;2、阳生型叶绿体：攀枝花苏铁、米德尔堡大苏铁、苏铁、蕨铁和刺叶苏铁以及外类群的凤尾蕨(Pteris vittata)的叶绿体均有阳生型叶绿体的特征：类囊体膜垛叠程度低，基粒较小。根据它们叶绿体的结构特征，又将其分为两组： ( 1)攀枝花苏铁，米德尔堡大苏铁和叉叶苏铁叶绿体中均有类囊体膜膨大的现象： (2)苏铁和蕨铁在苏铁类中是比较原始的种类，它们的叶绿体与在系统进化上较苏铁类低等的凤尾蕨的叶绿体中都有几个基粒聚集成簇的现象，说明苏铁类在进化的同时一些较原始的性状仍保留了下来。这些苏铁都在温室相同的条件下生长了两年多，但它们的叶绿体结构仍然能够反应原产地生境特点，说明在长期进化中，叶绿体对环境的适应方式已在基因水平上稳定下来，苏铁类植物不同叶绿体结构的形成有其遗传基础。 多歧苏铁，攀枝花苏铁，叉叶苏铁的叶绿体膜垛叠程度依次降低，与此相应，它们的chla/b和F730/F684依次升高，反应了结构与功能的一致性。 选用具有阳生型叶绿体的攀枝花苏铁和有阴生型叶绿体的多歧苏铁用不同的C02浓度（350 umol mol-l和700umol mol-l）处理后观察其叶绿体结构的变化，结果发现C02浓度倍增对它们的叶绿体影响甚微，而作为对照的无论是C3植物小麦(Triticum italica)还是C4植物谷子(Setaria italica)在C02倍增的条件下叶绿体内均有大量淀粉粒积累，并有膜结构改变。这说明苏铁的叶绿体结构有保守性，这有可能是苏铁类能历经亿万年的沧桑而生存下来的结构基础之一。

Conservation and sustainable use of wild species as sources of new ornamentals

While only about 1-200 species are used intensively in commercial floriculture (e.g. carnations, chrysanthemums, gerbera, narcissus, orchids, tulips, lilies, roses, pansies and violas, saintpaulias, etc.) and 4-500 as house plants, several thousand species of herbs, shrubs and trees are traded commercially by nurseries and garden centres as ornamentals or amenity species. Most of these have been introduced from the wild with little selection or breeding. In Europe alone, 12 000 species are found in cultivation in general garden collections (i.e. excluding specialist collections and botanic gardens). In addition, specialist collections (often very large) of many other species and/or cultivars of groups such as orchids, bromeliads, cacti and succulents, primulas, rhododendrons, conifers and cycads are maintained in several centres such as botanic gardens and specialist nurseries, as are 'national collections' of cultivated species and cultivars in some countries. Specialist growers, both professional and amateur, also maintain collections of plants for cultivation, including, increasingly, native plants. The trade in ornamental and amenity horticulture cannot be fully estimated but runs into many billions of dollars annually and there is considerable potential for further development and the introduction of many new species into the trade. Despite this, most of the collections are ad hoc and no co-ordinated efforts have been made to ensure that adequate germplasm samples of these species are maintained for conservation purposes and few of them are represented at all adequately in seed banks. Few countries have paid much attention to germplasm needs of ornamentals and the Ornamental Plant Germplasm Center in conjunction with the USDA National Plant Germplasm System at The Ohio State University is an exception. Generally there is a serious gap in national and international germplasm strategies, which have tended to focus primarily on food plants and some forage and industrial crops. Adequate arrangements need to be put in place to ensure the long- and medium-term conservation of representative samples of the genetic diversity of ornamental species. The problems of achieving this will be discussed. In addition, a policy for the conservation of old cultivars or 'heritage' varieties of ornamentals needs to be formulated. The considerable potential for introduction of new ornamental species needs to be assessed. Consideration needs to be given to setting up a co-ordinating structure with overall responsibility for the conservation of germplasm of ornamental and amenity plants.

Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2013 Annual Checklist

This release of the Catalogue of Life contains contributions from 132 databases with information on 1,352,112 species, 114,069 infraspecific taxa and also includes 928,147 synonyms and 408,689 common names covering the following groups: Viruses • Viruses and Subviral agents from ICTV_MSL UPDATED! Bacteria and Archaea from BIOS Chromista • Chromistan fungi from Species Fungorum Protozoa • Major groups from ITIS Regional, • Ciliates from CilCat, • Polycystines from WoRMS Polycystina UPDATED!, • Protozoan fungi from Species Fungorum and Trichomycetes database • Slime moulds from Nomen.eumycetozoa.com Fungi • Various taxa in whole or in part from CABI Bioservices databases (Species Fungorum, Phyllachorales, Rhytismatales, Saccharomycetes and Zygomycetes databases) and from three other databases covering Xylariaceae, Glomeromycota, Trichomycetes, Dothideomycetes • Lichens from LIAS UPDATED! Plantae (Plants) • Mosses from MOST • Liverworts and hornworts from ELPT • Conifers from Conifer Database • Cycads and 6 flowering plant families from IOPI-GPC, and 99 families from WCSP • Plus individual flowering plants families from AnnonBase, Brassicaceae, ChenoBase, Droseraceae Database, EbenaBase, GCC UPDATED!, ILDIS UPDATED!, LecyPages, LHD, MELnet UPDATED!, RJB Geranium, Solanaceae Source, Umbellifers. Animalia (Animals) • Marine groups from URMO, ITIS Global, Hexacorals, ETI WBD (Euphausiacea), WoRMS: WoRMS Asteroidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Bochusacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Brachiopoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Brachypoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Brachyura UPDATED!, WoRMS Bryozoa UPDATED!, WoRMS Cestoda NEW!, WoRMS Chaetognatha UPDATED!, WoRMS Cumacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Echinoidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Gastrotricha NEW!, WoRMS Gnathostomulida NEW!, WoRMS Holothuroidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Hydrozoa UPDATED!, WoRMS Isopoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Leptostraca UPDATED!, WoRMS Monogenea NEW!, WoRMS Mystacocarida UPDATED!, WoRMS Myxozoa NEW!, WoRMS Nemertea UPDATED!, WoRMS Oligochaeta UPDATED!, WoRMS Ophiuroidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Phoronida UPDATED!, WoRMS Placozoa NEW!, WoRMS Polychaeta UPDATED!, WoRMS Polycystina UPDATED!, WoRMS Porifera UPDATED!, WoRMS Priapulida NEW!, WoRMS Proseriata and Kalyptorhynchia UPDATED!, WoRMS Remipedia UPDATED!, WoRMS Scaphopoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Tanaidacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Tantulocarida UPDATED!, WoRMS Thermosbaenacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Trematoda NEW!, WoRMS Xenoturbellida UPDATED! • Rotifers, mayflies, freshwater hairworms, planarians from FADA databases: FADA Rotifera UPDATED!, FADA Ephemeroptera NEW!, FADA Nematomorpha NEW! & FADA Turbellaria NEW! • Entoprocts, water bears from ITIS Global • Spiders, scorpions, ticks & mites from SpidCat via ITIS UPDATED!, SalticidDB , ITIS Global, TicksBase, SpmWeb BdelloideaBase UPDATED! & Mites GSDs: OlogamasidBase, PhytoseiidBase, RhodacaridBase & TenuipalpidBase • Diplopods, centipedes, pauropods and symphylans from SysMyr UPDATED! & ChiloBase • Dragonflies and damselflies from Odonata database • Stoneflies from PlecopteraSF UPDATED! • Cockroaches from BlattodeaSF UPDATED! • Praying mantids from MantodeaSF UPDATED! • Stick and leaf insects from PhasmidaSF UPDATED! • Grasshoppers, locusts, katydids and crickets from OrthopteraSF UPDATED! • Webspinners from EmbiopteraSF UPDATED! • Bark & parasitic lices from PsocodeaSF NEW! • Some groups of true bugs from ScaleNet, FLOW, COOL, Psyllist, AphidSF UPDATED! , MBB, 3i Cicadellinae, 3i Typhlocybinae, MOWD & CoreoideaSF NEW!• Twisted-wing parasites from Strepsiptera Database UPDATED! • Lacewings, antlions, owlflies, fishflies, dobsonflies & snakeflies from LDL Neuropterida • Some beetle groups from the Scarabs UPDATED!, TITAN, WTaxa & ITIS Global • Fleas from Parhost • Flies, mosquitoes, bots, midges and gnats from Systema Dipterorum, CCW & CIPA • Butterflies and moths from LepIndex UPDATED!, GloBIS (GART) UPDATED!, Tineidae NHM, World Gracillariidae • Bees & wasps from ITIS Bees, Taxapad Ichneumonoidea, UCD, ZOBODAT Vespoidea & HymIS Rhopalosomatidae NEW!• Molluscs from WoRMS Mollusca NEW!, FADA Bivalvia NEW!, MolluscaFW NEW! & AFD (Pulmonata) • Fishes from FishBase UPDATED! • Reptiles from TIGR Reptiles • Amphibians, birds and mammals from ITIS Global PLUS additional species of many groups from ITIS Regional, NZIB and CoL China NEW!

¿Las plantas pueden revertir su sexo?

The sex determination is an event of great relevance in the life cycle of those plants that reproduce sexually. In recent years we have obtained substantial advances in elucidating the mechanisms involved, and in particular the role of epigenetic factors, in plant sex determination. Taking into account the relevance of this topic especially for dioecious species threatened as Cycads studies have been underwent to determine the basis of epigenetics of sex and to test whether compounds such as the de-metilating agent 5-azacytidine may be involved in sexual expression. This paper reviews the main progress made within this context obtained in Z. furfuraceae as well as cases of reversal of sex in cycads and different plant species.

Pollination ecology of the Australian cycad Lepidozamia peroffskyana (Zamiaceae)

Experiments carried out to investigate the reproductive ecology of the Australian cycad Lepidozamia peroffskyana (Regal, Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Mosc. 1857, 1: 184) revealed that this species is pollinated exclusively by host-specific Tranes weevils (Pascoe 1875). The weevils carry out their life cycle within the tissues of the male cones but also visit the female cones in large numbers. Female cones from which insects ( but not wind) were excluded had a pollination rate that was essentially zero. In contrast, female cones from which wind ( but not insects) were excluded had a pollination rate comparable with naturally pollinated cones. Assessment of Tranes weevil pollen load indicated that they are effective pollen-carriers. No other potential insect pollinators were observed on cones of L. peroffskyana. Sampling of airborne loads of cycad pollen indicated that wind-dispersed grains were not consistently recorded beyond a 2-m radius surrounding pollen-shedding male cones. The airborne load of cycad pollen in the vicinity of pollination-receptive female cones was minimal, and the spatial distribution of the coning population indicated that receptive female cones did not usually occur close enough to pollen-shedding male cones for airborne transfer of pollen to explain observed natural rates of seed set. These multiple lines of evidence suggest that wind-once considered the only pollination vector for cycads and other gymnosperms-plays only a minimal role in the pollination of L. peroffskyana, if any at all. The global diversity of insects associated with cycads suggests that some lineages of pollinating beetles may have been associated with cycad cones since Mesozoic times.

The significance of chloroplast movement in leaves of tropical plants

The purpose of this research project was to contribute to the understanding of chloroplast movement in plants. Chloroplast movement in leaves from twenty tropical plant species ranging from cycads to monocots and varying in shade tolerance was examined by measuring changes in transmittance following 30 min. of exposure to white light at 1000 μmol m−2 s −1 in the wavelength range of 400–700 nm (photosynthetically active radiation, PAR). Leaf anatomical characteristics were also measured. Eighteen species increased significantly in transmittance (Δ T) at this level of illumination. ^ Chloroplast movement was significantly correlated with palisade cell width suggesting that cell dimensions are a significant constraint on chloroplast movement in the species examined. In addition, Δ T values were strongly correlated with values of an index of shade tolerance. ^ To further examine the relationship between palisade width and chloroplast movement, additional studies were conducted with a tropical aroid vine, Scindapsus aureus Schott. Scindapsus plants were grown under three different light treatments: 63% (control), 9.0% and 2.7% of full sunlight. Under these growing conditions plants produced markedly different palisade cell widths. Palisade cell width was again found to be correlated with transmittance changes. In addition, the observed increases in transmittance following exposure to the above illumination condition were correlated with absorbance of PAR. Fluorescence studies demonstrated that chloroplast movement helps protect Scindapsus aureus from the effects of photoinhibition when it is exposed to light at a higher intensity relative to the intensity of its normal environment. Ratios of variable fluorescence (Fv) to maximal fluorescence (Fm ) were higher in plants exposed to high light when chloroplasts moved than in plants where chloroplasts did not. ^ To further explore the role of chloroplast movement, studies were conducted to determine if transmittance changes could be induced in ten xerophytes at (1000 μmol m−2 s−1), as well as two stronger light intensities (1800 μmol m−2 s−1 and 2200 μmol m−2 s −1). Transmittance changes in the ten xerophytes were dependent upon the illumination intensity; nine out of the ten xerophytes changed in transmittance at 1800 μmol m−2 s−1. For the other two intensity levels, only three out of the ten xerophytes tested exhibited transmittance changes, and for two species, a negative Δ T value was obtained at 1000 μmol m−2 s−1 . No relationship was found between cell dimensions and chloroplast movement, although all species had large enough chlorenchyma cells to allow such movements. ^ The results of the study clearly show that in non-xerophytes, palisade cell anatomy is a strong constraint on chloroplast movement. This relationship may be the basis for the relationship between chloroplast movement and shade tolerance. Although absorbance changes are relatively small, chloroplast movement was clearly shown to reduce photoinhibition. ^