Article
Plant Sciences
Seungjun Shin, Chayanee Chairattanawat, Yasuyo Yamaoka, Qianying Yang, Youngsook Lee, Jae-Ung Hwang
Summary: In this study, the ABCA10 transporter in Arabidopsis was characterized and found to play an essential role in early seed development. ABCA10 is involved in lipid metabolism by transporting substrates to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and mutation or overexpression of ABCA10 causes defects in seed development or excessive accumulation of seed lipids.
Article
Plant Sciences
Else Marie Friis, Peter R. Crane, Kaj Raunsgaard Pedersen
Summary: A new microsporangiate cone, Renbernia zhoui, has been discovered in the Potomac Group in Virginia, USA. It exhibits distinct characteristics compared to similar species found previously.
REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Yung-I. Lee, Edward C. Yeung
Summary: This review provides a developmental and functional perspective on the integuments and seed coat of orchid seeds. The seed coat is primarily formed by the outer integument, while the inner integument may remain undeveloped or contribute to the embryo's protection through the synthesis and accumulation of nutrients. The outermost layer of the seed coat, called the testa, is lignified, while the subepidermal layer(s), known as tegmen, have thin walls.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yanqi Luo, Tatjana Paunesku, Olga Antipova, Yuzi Liu, Nestor J. Zaluzec, Zichao Di, Gayle Woloschak, Si Chen
Summary: Scanning X-ray fluorescence (XRF) tomography is a powerful tool for evaluating elemental distribution and inter- and intra-cellular interactions in a three-dimensional space. This study develops a reliable and efficient workflow that expands the experimental window for nanoscale tomographic analysis and bridges 3D analysis at micrometer and nanoscales on the same specimen.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rebekah A. Stein, Nathan D. Sheldon, Selena Y. Smith
Summary: The study tested the impact of various climate factors on plant carbon isotope discrimination and found that climate variables are not the main driver of carbon isotope discrimination. It was discovered that the discrimination is intrinsic to each taxon and can quantitatively link phylogenetic relationships and adaptation to climate.
Article
Plant Sciences
Selena Y. Smith, Dashrath K. Kapgate, Shannon Robinson, Rashmi Srivastava, John C. Benedict, Steven R. Manchester
Summary: This study analyzed three different types of fossil fruits and seeds of Zingiberales from the Deccan Intertrappean beds of central India, revealing that two of them belong to the Zingiberaceae family, enriching our understanding of the early diversification and biogeographic spread of Zingiberales.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLANT SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Kelly K. S. Matsunaga, Selena Y. Smith
Summary: Fossils are crucial for understanding evolutionary history by providing direct evidence of past diversity and distributions. This study on palm fruits demonstrates the accuracy of placing fossils at tribal and subtribal levels with a morphological data set, enhancing our knowledge of fruit structure and evolutionary history in Arecaceae.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Rebekah A. Stein, Nathan D. Sheldon, Selena Y. Smith
Summary: This study explores the relationship between stable carbon isotope values in soil organic matter and climate parameters in modern ecosystems, proposing a potential new paleoprecipitation proxy that can be applied from the Devonian period to the Miocene period. It provides a promising method for extending paleoprecipitation reconstruction in geological records and is calibrated for wetter environments.
PALEOCEANOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
G. Torres-Silva, L. N. F. Correia, A. D. Koehler, D. S. Batista, D. Faria, S. Resende, S. R. Strickler, J. Fouracre, E. Romanel, C. D. Specht, W. C. Otoni
Summary: Areolar activation is the most popular in vitro propagation method for cacti, linked to the expression of the SERK gene. This study characterized the first Cactaceae SERK sequence and revealed increased shoot production through areolar activation in Melocactus glaucescens.
PLANT CELL TISSUE AND ORGAN CULTURE
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Rebekah A. Stein, Nathan D. Sheldon, Selena Y. Smith
Summary: Carbon isotope ecology can be used as a measure of plant water stress, which is influenced by atmospheric-oceanic controls, particularly those related to the Pacific. The study found oscillatory patterns in the carbon isotope discrimination values of Thuja plicata, indicating prolonged stress, while other species did not show clear patterns. These findings provide insight into the impact of Pacific teleconnections on coastal ecosystems and the potential for multiannual climate anomalies.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Rosemary A. E. Glos, Shayla Salzman, Michael Calonje, Andrew P. Vovides, Mario Coiro, Maria Alejandra Gandolfo, Chelsea D. Specht
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive comparison of leaflet anatomy in Zamia species, describing anatomical diversity and exploring diagnostic characters for resolved clades. The results show widespread incongruence between phylogenetic relationships and anatomical traits, and no significant correlations between anatomy and ecology.
Article
Ecology
Adriana Hernandez, Jacob B. Landis, Chelsea D. Specht
Summary: This study investigated the highly polymorphic nature of a California endemic lily using an integrative framework. The results suggest that the phenotypic variation within the species is not caused by genetic differentiation between phenotypes, but rather by a complex process of sequential genetic and phenotypic variation within a population complex. The different populations of the species remain interconnected but have differentiated from each other during a range expansion. This study contributes to our understanding of the relationship between genotype and phenotype in polymorphic taxa.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Keana K. Tang, Selena Y. Smith, Brian A. Atkinson
Summary: Cunoniaceae are important elements of rainforests in the Southern Hemisphere, and many of them have a Gondwanan distribution since the Paleocene. Fossils of Ceratopetalum fruits from Campanian deposits in Washington, USA provide evidence for a dramatic geographical range extension of Ceratopetalum and Cunoniaceae as a whole. These fossils represent the first unequivocal evidence of crown Cunoniaceae from the Cretaceous of North America, indicating a more complicated biogeographical history for this important Gondwanan family.
Article
Plant Sciences
Lars H. Kruse, Austin T. Weigle, Mohammad Irfan, Jesus Martinez-Gomez, Jason D. Chobirko, Jason E. Schaffer, Alexandra A. Bennett, Chelsea D. Specht, Joseph M. Jez, Diwakar Shukla, Gaurav D. Moghe
Summary: Large enzyme families catalyze metabolic diversification by using diverse chemical scaffolds, but it is not clear how these families achieve functional diversity. In this study, using BAHD acyltransferases as a model, the researchers compiled published activities and used orthologous groups to predict the utilization and origins of BAHD enzymes in plants. The results not only describe how BAHD enzymes contributed to the evolution of multiple chemical phenotypes in the plant world, but also propose an approach for improved functional annotation of plant enzyme families using biocuration.
Article
Plant Sciences
Qianxia Yu, Tong Zhao, Haichan Zhao, Chelsea D. Specht, Xueyi Tian, Jingping Liao
Summary: Studies on floral symmetry often neglect asymmetric flowers and their position and function within the inflorescence structure. In this study, the inflorescence structure and floral morphology of normal and aberrant flowers from Canna plants were analyzed and compared. The results showed that aberrant flowers formed abnormal partial florescences and exhibited variations in symmetry, orientation, and stamen petaloidy. The observations strongly support the hypothesis that irregular petaloidy of the stamens is correlated with an asymmetric morphogenetic field within the inflorescence.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Carrie M. Tribble, Michael R. May, Abigail Jackson-Gain, Rosana Zenil-Ferguson, Chelsea D. Specht, Carl J. Rothfels
Summary: Testing adaptive hypotheses about the evolution of continuous traits in association with developmentally structured discrete traits, while considering other hidden evolutionary forces, is a challenge in evolutionary biology. This study expands existing phylogenetic comparative methods and finds that plants with different underground storage organs (USOs) do not differ in their climatic niche, except for root morphology, where modified roots are associated with lower temperature seasonality. These findings question the generalization of ecological patterns across geophytic taxa, as different USO types may reflect adaptations to different climatic conditions.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Adriana I. Hernandez, Chelsea D. Specht
Summary: As the global climate crisis continues, understanding how populations of wild non-model organisms respond and adapt to climate change is crucial. This study compared two lineages of Calochortus venustus and identified genes associated with climatic adaptation. Despite gene flow, ecological specialization at the molecular level was found, including genes related to plant adaptation to California's Mediterranean climate. Parallel adaptation to northern climates was detected, indicating repeated allelic variation across climatic gradients.
Article
Plant Sciences
James W. Satterlee, Lukas J. Evans, Brianne R. Conlon, Phillip Conklin, Jesus Martinez-Gomez, Jeffery R. Yen, Hao Wu, Anne W. Sylvester, Chelsea D. Specht, Jie Cheng, Robyn Johnston, Enrico Coen, Michael J. Scanlon
Summary: Grass leaves develop from a ring of initial cells and comprise a sheath and a blade separated by a hinge-like auricle and the ligule. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analyses reveal a distinct cell type at the margins of maize leaf primordia, which shares transcriptional signatures with proliferating ligule cells. Wuschel-like homeobox3 (WOX3) transcription factors regulate the function of the rim domain, affecting leaf width and ligule outgrowth.
Article
Plant Sciences
Thiago Andre, Chodon Sass, Roxana Yockteng, Tania Wendt, Clarisse Palma-Silva, Chelsea D. Specht
Summary: The genetic structure of ground-herb species complex in Central South America's seasonally dry forests is influenced by contrasting environments of the Cerrado and southern Amazonia. The study reveals distinct populations from Amazonia and the Cerrado, with intraspecific evolution closely linked to environmental gradients. The strong phylogeographical structure is supported by haplotype-based phylogenetic trees, providing spatiotemporal evidence of genetic lineage arrangements.
BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2022)