AoB Plants

Hybridization is commonly reported in angiosperms, generally based on morphology, and in few cases confirmed by molecular markers. Fuchsia has a long tradition of ornamental cultivars with different hybrids produced by artificial crosses, so natural hybridization between sympatric Fuchsia species could be common. Natural hybridization between F. microphylla and F. thymifolia was tested using six newly developed microsatellites for F. microphylla in addition to other molecular markers with codominant and maternal inheritance...

The devastating effects and extent of abiotic stress on cereal production continue to increase globally, affecting food security in several countries, including Tunisia. Heat waves and the scarcity of rainfall strongly affect durum wheat yields. The present study aims to screen for tolerance to combined water and heat stresses in durum wheat at the juvenile stage. Three combined treatments were tested, namely: T0 (100% field capacity (FC) at 24 °C), T1 (50% FC at 30 °C), and T2 (25% FC at 35 °C)...

In life, it is common for almost every kind of organism to interact with one another. In the human realm, such interactions are at the basis of joint actions, when two or more agents syntonize their actions to achieve a common goal. Shared intentionality is the theoretical construct referring to the suite of abilities that enable such coordinated and collaborative interactions. While shared intentionality has become an important concept in research on social cognition, there is controversy surrounding its evolutionary origins...

Abstract . Maize may be exposed to several abiotic stresses in the field. Therefore, identifying the tolerance mechanisms of natural field stress is mandatory. Gene expression data of maize upon abiotic stress were collected, and 560 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified through meta-analysis. The most significant gene ontology terms in up-regulated genes were 'response to abiotic stress' and 'chitinase activity'. 'Phosphorelay signal transduction system' was the most significant enriched biological process in down-regulated DEGs...

High-throughput sequencing of herbarium specimens' DNA with short-read platforms has helped explore many biological questions. Here, for the first time, we investigate the potential of using herbarium specimens as a resource for long-read DNA sequencing technologies. We use target capture of 48 low-copy nuclear loci in 12 herbarium specimens of Silene as a basis for long-read sequencing using SMRT PacBio Sequel. The samples were collected between 1932 and 2019. A simple optimization of size selection protocol enabled the retrieval of both long DNA fragments (>1 kb) and long on-target reads for nine of them...

Spring ephemerals are wildflowers found in temperate deciduous forests that typically display aboveground shoots for a period of 2 months or less. Early spring, before the canopy leaves out, marks the beginning of the aboveground growth period where ephemerals acquire nutrients and resources via aboveground tissues. Several studies have shown that spring ephemeral reproduction is affected by spring temperature, but few have looked at how weather conditions of the current and previous seasons, including precipitation and temperature, influence aboveground growth...

Abstract . Akabare chili ( Capsicum annuum ) contributes to Nepalese rural livelihoods but suffers from low productivity due to various abiotic stresses including drought and heat. This study aimed to assess the physiological responses of Akabare chili landraces to heat and drought stress, individually and together, and to identify stress-tolerant genotypes in the early vegetative stage. Selected eight Akabare chili landraces and chili variety 'Jwala' were subjected to control (30/22 °C day/night) and heat stress (40/32 °C) conditions with irrigation, and drought stress (30/22 °C) and combined drought-heat stress conditions without irrigation for 7 days, followed by a 5-day recovery under control condition...

This article has been withdrawn due to a publisher error that caused the article to be duplicated. The definitive version of this article is published under https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plac024.

Oil bodies serve as a vital energy source of embryos during germination and contribute to sustaining the initial growth of seedlings until photosynthesis initiation. Despite high stability in chemical properties, how oil bodies break down and go into the degradation process during germination is still unknown. This study provides a morphological understanding of the mobilization of stored compounds in the seed germination of Cannabis . The achenes of fibrous hemp cultivar ( Cannabis sativa cv. 'Chungsam') were examined in this study using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy...

The possible persistence of genetically modified (GM) crop-to-wild hybrid seeds in the soil seed bank is a major concern in risk assessment and is closely related to seed characteristics such as dormancy. In the present study, we generated F3 hybrids via crosses between GM soybean accessions and wild soybean and evaluated the dormancy, overwintering ability and inheritance of foreign genes in different-coloured hybrid seeds (yellow, green, brown and black). The results revealed that the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase transgene may have no influence on crop wild hybrid seed dormancy and overwintering ability, and the dormancy of the hybrid seeds was closely related to seed coat colour...

To explain the co-existence and maintenance of females along with hermaphrodite plants, the female advantage hypothesis has been proposed where females should show greater fecundity compared to their conspecific hermaphrodites. On the other hand, greater attraction would be selected in the hermaphrodites to increase their male function, potentially leading to larger showier flowers, with more rewards. Here, I tested the sexual dimorphism trade-off hypothesis with the gynomonoecious-gynodioecious Dianthus plumarius (Caryophyllaceae), in the gardens of Bariloche (Patagonia, Argentina)...

The tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an annual vegetable cultivated all over the world. It faces biotic and abiotic stresses, such as salinity, in arid and semiarid regions. Investigating the relationship between physiological and economic traits, such as fruit yield, under stress conditions is necessary to identify tolerant genotypes. This study was conducted to identify tolerant tomato families according to the relationship between several important physiological, morphological and phenological traits...

In maize, blue and red light are key environmental factors regulating cell-cycle progression. We used transcriptomics to investigate and compare differential gene expression under the four light conditions: red light, blue light, red converted to blue and blue converted to red. A total of 23 differentially expressed genes were identified. The gene-gene interaction analysis indicated a significant interaction between four unidentified genes, 100191551 , pco143873 , 100284747 and pco060490 , and cell-cycle-related genes...

Epiphytes are highly dependent on atmospheric inputs of water and nutrients. Reductions in water availability associated with warming and climate change and continual atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition can affect plant growth but few studies have evaluated the effects of changes in both water and nutrient availabilities on epiphytes. We experimentally tested whether epiphyte growth is more water- or nutrient-limited, if nutrient limitation was stronger for nitrogen or phosphorus, and whether nutrient limitation interacts with water availability...

Intraspecific variation in plants is a major ecological mechanism whose local determinants are still poorly understood. In particular, the relationship between this variation and human practices may be key to understanding human-nature relationships. We argue that it is necessary to consider how human practices both influence and depend on the phenotypic variability of species of interest. Arnica montana (arnica) is a good model to study the complex interactions between human actions and plant phenotype, as (i) its ecological niche is shaped by human management actions and (ii) its variability has consequences for harvesters...

Low-temperature adaptation in rice is mediated by the ability of a genotype to tolerate chilling temperatures. A genetic locus on chromosome 11 was analysed for chilling tolerance at the plumule stage in rice. The tolerant allele of A58, a japonica landrace in Japan, was inherited as a recessive gene ( ctp-1 A58 ), whereas the susceptible alleles from wild rice ( Ctp-1 W107 ) and modern variety ( Ctp-1 HY ) were the dominant genes. Another recessive tolerant allele ( ctp-1 Silewah ) was found in a tropical japonica variety (Silewah)...

Utilization of grains of local grasses by Australia's First Nations people for food and connection to Country has largely been lost due to colonization. Native Australian grain production has the potential to deliver environmental, economic, nutritional and cultural benefits to First Nations people and the wider community. Revitalization of the native grain food system can only be achieved if relevant properties of the grains are elucidated. This study aimed to characterize the grain structure and histochemistry of four Australian native grasses: Dactyloctenium radulans (Button Grass), Astrebla lappacea (Curly Mitchell Grass), Panicum decompositum (Native Millet) and Microlaena stipoides (Weeping Grass)...

Identifying the factors that facilitate and limit invasive species' range expansion has both practical and theoretical importance, especially at the range edges. Here, we used reciprocal common garden experiments spanning the North/South and East/West range that include the North American core, intermediate and range edges of the globally invasive plant, Johnsongrass ( Sorghum halepense ) to investigate the interplay of climate, biotic interactions (i.e. competition) and patterns of adaptation. Our results suggest that the rapid range expansion of Johnsongrass into diverse environments across wide geographies occurred largely without local adaptation, but that further range expansion may be restricted by a fitness trade-off that limits population growth at the range edge...

Moss peristome hygroscopic movement plays an important role in protecting and controlling spore release. Recent studies on the peristome's hygroscopic movement and spore release have focussed on mosses with 'perfect' peristomes, such as Brachytheciaceae, whereas the hygroscopic movement type and spore release pattern of 'specialized' peristomes, such as Regmatodon declinatus , are poorly understood. We investigated the relationship between the peristome's hygroscopic movement and spore release in the 'specialized' peristome of R...

Plant-associated microbes, specifically fungal endophytes, augment the ability of many grasses to adapt to extreme environmental conditions. Tripsacum dactyloides (Eastern gamagrass) is a perennial, drought-tolerant grass native to the tallgrass prairies of the central USA. The extent to which the microbiome of T. dactyloides contributes to its drought tolerance is unknown. Ninety-seven genotypes of T. dactyloides were collected from native populations across an east-west precipitation gradient in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and then grown together in a common garden for over 20 years...