Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics最新文献

{"title":"Intraspecific trait variability: Herbs are not just small trees","authors":"J. Martínková ,&nbsp;A. Klimeš ,&nbsp;J. Klimešová","doi":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125776","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125776","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Intraspecific trait variability has been identified as a possible reason why the trait-based approach in functional ecology is not as predictive as we would like. However, sources of intraspecific variability are not only largely acknowledged responses to the environmental gradients<span>, but also the intrinsic effects due to seasonal and ontogenetic development. Yet, the effect of seasonal and ontogenetic development on intraspecific trait variability has not been as theoretically predicted or studied so far as it would deserve. In this opinion paper, we follow recent theoretical predictions on the ontogenetic development of a key functional trait capturing plant economics - leaf mass per area (LMA,) and contribute to the debate on whether general predictions based and demonstrated on trees hold true also for herbs. While plant height, the position of leaves in the canopy, and the whole plant leaf area are suggested to be important drivers of LMA in trees, we propose seasonal development, bud preformation, </span></span>meristem size, and amount of carbohydrate storage to be crucial for intraspecific trait variability in temperate herbs.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":56093,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138686917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Combining the resurrection approach with transplant experiments to investigate adaptation of plant populations to environmental change","authors":"Pascal Karitter ,&nbsp;Martí March-Salas ,&nbsp;Andreas Ensslin ,&nbsp;Robert Rauschkolb ,&nbsp;Sandrine Godefroid ,&nbsp;J.F. Scheepens","doi":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125773","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125773","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Recent climatic changes, such as more frequent droughts and heatwaves, can lead to rapid evolutionary adaptations in plant populations. Such rapid evolution can be investigated using the resurrection approach by comparing plants raised from stored ancestral and contemporary seeds from the same population. This approach has so far only been used in common garden experiments, allowing to reveal genetic differentiation<span> but not adaptation. In this study, we performed a novel approach by testing for evolutionary adaptation in natural plant populations using a resurrection study in combination with in situ transplantations. We cultivated seedlings from ancestors (23–26 years old) and contemporary descendants of three perennial species (</span></span><span><em>Melica </em><em>ciliata</em><em>, Leontodon hispidus</em></span> and <em>Clinopodium vulgare</em><span>) from calcareous grasslands in the greenhouse and transplanted them back to their collection sites. In addition, we sowed seeds of ancestors and descendants of two species (</span><em>L. hispidus</em> and <em>C. vulgare</em>) to the collection sites in order to investigate germination rates. In transplanted <em>M. ciliata</em> seedlings, we observed lower mortality and larger plant size in descendants compared to ancestors. This indicates that descendants are better adapted than ancestors to the current environmental conditions, which proved to be exceptionally hot and dry during the study period. Descendants of <em>C. vulgare</em> seedlings tended to be smaller and descendants of <em>L. hispidus</em> seedlings produced fewer leaves compared to their ancestors in their contemporary environmental conditions. In <em>C. vulgare</em> and <em>L. hispidus</em>, we found evolution towards faster germination, and especially descendant seeds of <em>C. vulgare</em> were better adapted to the unfavourable conditions during the experimental period. Concluding, we demonstrate that our novel approach to combine resurrection ecology with transplant experiments is a promising avenue to rigorously test for evolutionary adaptations in changing environments.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":56093,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2023-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138508382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Performance-based inference of selection on stomatal length and specific leaf area varies with climate-of-origin of the forest tree, Eucalyptus ovata","authors":"João Costa e Silva ,&nbsp;Brad M. Potts ,&nbsp;Suzanne M. Prober","doi":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125765","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125765","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Understanding how functional traits affect plant performance and fitness is a key step in unravelling the role of natural selection in shaping the evolutionary trajectory of populations. We examined early-age selection acting on leaf traits via their effects on growth performance and fitness, measured in <em>Eucalyptus ovata</em> trees planted in a common-garden field trial embedded in a reforestation planting in Tasmania, Australia. We focused on two important leaf traits - stomatal length and specific leaf area (SLA) - measured two years after planting, and compared interplanted <em>E. ovata</em> groups originating from dry and wet home-site climates, with the trial site having intermediate long-term mean annual rainfall. Two-year height growth was used as the performance attribute, and the time-averaged tree survival over the subsequent six years as the fitness component. There was evidence for performance-based selection on the leaf traits, with the strength and form of selection depending on the trait and climate group being considered. In this sense, selection in the dry group operated mainly on stomatal length where a combination of directional (favouring longer stomata) and stabilizing selection was detected, whereas selection in the wet group acted only on SLA and was purely stabilizing. Estimates of performance-based correlational selection were not statistically significant. For both climate groups, estimates of fitness-based selection gradients provided evidence for significant directional (but not quadratic) selection on height performance, favouring individuals with faster growth, but did not indicate statistical support for direct effects of the leaf traits on tree survival, conditional on measured performance. These results validated qualitative inferences of selection from the performance-based analysis, and suggested that selection on the leaf traits appeared to be mediated by their effects on early-age height performance, which in turn directly influenced later-age survival. We discuss the mechanisms by which the focal traits may have affected height performance, and likely factors contributing to the different patterns of phenotypic selection observed in the two groups experiencing the same environment. We also provide expressions of analytical derivatives that were developed for the estimation of selection gradients based on a logistic regression model relating a binary fitness response to linear and nonlinear covariate terms for the target regressor variables.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":56093,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1433831923000495/pdfft?md5=6a92d126e17e6fc77f84a6211c997132&pid=1-s2.0-S1433831923000495-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138508366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Floral nectar: Fifty years of new ecological perspectives beyond pollinator reward","authors":"Marta Barberis ,&nbsp;Massimo Nepi ,&nbsp;Marta Galloni","doi":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125764","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125764","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Floral nectar is central to ecology, since it mediates interactions with pollinators, flower-visiting antagonists and microbes through its chemical composition. Here we review how historical assumptions about its ecological meaning were first challenged, then modified and expanded since the discovery of secondary metabolites in nectar. We then explore the origin of specific neuroactive nectar compounds known to act as important insect neurotransmitters, and how advances in the field of bee cognition and plant-microbe-animal interactions challenge such historical views. As all actors involved in the latter interactions are under simultaneous reciprocal selective pressures, their coexistence is characterized by conflicts and trade-offs, the evolutionary interpretation of which suggests exciting new perspectives in one of the longest studied aspects of plant-pollinator interactions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":56093,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2023-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1433831923000483/pdfft?md5=bd34dd999f00099695285d2af5846357&pid=1-s2.0-S1433831923000483-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138508332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diameter explains transient allocation of non-photosynthetic organs in trees","authors":"Renfei Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125763","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125763","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A central issue in plant ecology is exploring universal rules and the mechanisms under which photosynthetic energies are allocated to different organ parts. Until recently, prevalent studies focused on testing either optimal allocation theory or allometric allocation theory in predicting plant biomass partitioning patterns. However, paying much attention to the stable state prevents the development of new biomass allocation theories in transient time scales. Here, based on theories in transients and the allometric relationships in plant traits, I develop general theoretical models to study the transient perturbations of plant biomass allocated to non-photosynthetic organ parts. With both simulation and empirical approaches, I investigate the effect of plant stem diameter at breast height (DBH) on the variation of biomass allocation patterns during plant ontogeny. Results show that increases in DBH can mitigate the magnitude of the perturbations of plant biomass and biomass fractions allocated to both plant stem and root parts. The findings are robust when either deterministic or stochastic models are conducted. Moreover, empirical analyses from a large forest database in Eurasia consistently support the predictions from the theoretical frameworks. In this paper, I draw attention to the transient allocation pattern of plant biomass for non-photosynthetic organs, and I find the significant role of DBH. This work has important implications in both theoretical breakthroughs and practical applications. It not only provides the foundation to test new biomass allocation hypotheses but also directs agricultural and forest management to achieve stabilized yields.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":56093,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2023-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1433831923000471/pdfft?md5=f7f0834e9ecf48860626d827fec31863&pid=1-s2.0-S1433831923000471-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138475086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Long-term growth and xylem hydraulic responses of Albizia procera (Roxb.) Benth. to climate in a moist tropical forest of Bangladesh","authors":"Tahasina Chowdhury,&nbsp;Mahmuda Islam,&nbsp;Mizanur Rahman","doi":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125762","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125762","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Climate change is a serious concern around the world, particularly in tropical regions including Bangladesh. Yet, how tree growth and hydraulic behavior of Bangladeshi native tree species changed in response to past climate variability and changes have not been adequately understood. We developed the first ring-width and vessel chronologies of </span><em>Albizia procera</em> (Roxb.) Benth. from a moist tropical forest of Bangladesh (Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctury, RKWS) to analyze the impact of inter-annual climate variability on tree growth and xylem hydraulic traits. The chronologies contained common environmental signals as shown by the values of expressed population signal (EPS) and other statistical parameters. Climate-growth analysis showed that maximum temperature (T_max) favored tree growth at the end of the wet season (November). Among the vessel and hydraulic trait chronologies, number of vessels (NV) had significant positive relation with May minimum temperature (T_min) and vessel density (VD) had a negative relationship with April T_min<span>. Precipitation had a negative relation with vessel density (VD), and the potential specific hydraulic conductivity (K</span>_S<span>). Relative humidity (RH) and vapour pressure deficit (VPD) had contrasting effects on vessel and hydraulic traits. On a regional scale, the ring-width index and vessel chronologies were correlated with both gridded land surface temperature and precipitation, but during different periods of the year. Linear mixed effect modeling revealed significant positive relationships between VD and T</span>_max<span> implying a good acclimation potential of this tree to rising temperature. However, the absence of the generally expected trade-off between VD and D</span>_H calls for further studies on the hydraulic functions of this species in moist tropical forests.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":56093,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2023-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134832945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seasonal patterns of leaf physiological traits, nutrient and adaptive strategies of co-occurring Alnus nepalensis and Quercus leucotrichophora tree species in the central Himalaya","authors":"Rajendra Kr. Joshi,&nbsp;Satish Chandra Garkoti","doi":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125761","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125761","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span><span><span>We compared seasonal leaf gas exchange patterns, photosynthetic pigments, and photosynthetic </span>nutrient use efficiencies in two co-occurring tree species, Nepalese </span>alder (</span><span><em>Alnus nepalensis</em></span><span> D. Don) and white oak (</span><em>Quercus leucotrichophora</em><span> A. Camus), in the central Himalaya. In both species, area-based and mass-based photosynthetic CO</span>₂<span><span> assimilation rates, stomatal conductance, leaf nutrient concentration, photosynthetic nutrient use efficiency, and leaf chlorophyll pigments peaked in summer, while </span>water use efficiency peaked in autumn. In spring, summer, and autumn, values for most parameters (specific leaf area, relative water contents, area-based and mass-based photosynthetic CO</span>₂ assimilation rates, leaf nutrient concentration, photosynthetic nutrient use efficiencies, and leaf chlorophyll pigments) were higher in <em>A. nepalensis</em> than in <em>Q. leucotrichophora</em>. In winter, however, values for area-based CO₂ assimilation rates, water use efficiency, leaf calcium, leaf magnesium concentration, and photosynthetic pigments were higher in <em>Q. leucotrichophora</em> than in <em>A. nepalensis</em>. We conclude that <em>A. nepalensis</em><span> exhibits a more resource-acquisitive strategy, characterized by higher levels of leaf nutrients and nutrient use efficiencies, that supports higher photosynthetic capacity. In contrast, </span><em>Q. leucotrichophora</em> exhibits a resource-conservative strategy with higher construction cost<em>.</em></p></div>","PeriodicalId":56093,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"92073804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The spatio-temporal diversification of SRK alleles in an Arabidopsis polyploid hybrid and introgression zone","authors":"Christiane Kiefer ,&nbsp;Paola Ruiz Duarte ,&nbsp;Roswitha Schmickl ,&nbsp;Marcus A. Koch","doi":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125760","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125760","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Reproductive barriers and directional geneflow may play a key role in maintaining genetic gradients, thereby allowing ecological differentiation along ecological clines. In Brassicaceae, a sporophytic incompatibility system (SI) contributes to such barriers to geneflow, with the maternal component represented by a large diversity of </span><em>SRK</em> (stigma-specific S locus receptor kinase) alleles at varying frequencies and levels of dominance. Such clinal genetic gradient along an ecological gradient following a shift towards much drier and warmer conditions and also the bedrock type shifts from calcareous to silicious has been found earlier in an <span><em>Arabidopsis</em></span><span> introgression system involving </span><em>A. lyrata</em> and <em>A. arenosa</em><span>. The metapopulation system spans from the northeastern Austrian forealps northward towards the Danube river and the Bohemian massif. Here we explore diversification of population-level </span><em>SRK</em> gene pools across these hybrid <em>Arabidopsis</em> tetraploid metapopulation system and its putative parental source populations. Since it has been demonstrated that <em>A. lyrata</em> served as the maternal parent and <em>A. arenosa</em> introgressed via pollen constituting a genetic cline with decreasing contribution of <em>A. arenosa</em> genetic background, we test the hypothesis that this cline can be also explained by <em>SRK</em> allelic differentiation. A total of 603 individuals from 45 populations of introgressed and non-introgressed <em>A. lyrata</em> and <em>A. arenosa</em> across a 80 km transect were analysed for <em>SRK</em><span> allele variation. In total, 22 alleles from all four previously described dominance classes have been documented. Although there is clinal morphological and genetic variation following the introgression zone, </span><em>SRK</em> alleles do not follow this signature of the paternal taxa. Furthermore, the functional SI system is fully maintained across the transect, and crossing experiments show that there is no decrease in fitness depending on varying distances between populations along the transect studied herein. We conclude that transmission and structure of the <em>SRK</em><span> allelic gene pool contributes to the postglacial colonization success along such a pronounced ecological gradient maintaining a functional SI system and counteracting genetic depletion.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":56093,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50194811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolutionary seed ecology of heteromorphic Amaranthaceae","authors":"A. Žerdoner Čalasan,&nbsp;G. Kadereit","doi":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125759","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125759","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span><span>Seed and fruit structures are one of the key innovations that allow plants to successfully occupy habitats all around the globe, ensuring dispersal, survival of unfavourable conditions and seedling establishment. While adaptive tracking in the majority of plants resulted in a single most optimal seed and fruit phenotype, some plants produce two or more types of morphologically distinct fruits and/or seeds that differ in their ecological and physiological characteristics. These carpological heteromorphisms are a type of bet-hedging strategy and are believed to have developed as a response to an unpredictable spatiotemporally-changing environment. Although recognized already by Charles Darwin, the true extent of this evolutionary phenomenon, its trade-off characteristics, </span>heritability<span><span>, evolvability, and its environmental and genetic regulation are still insufficiently investigated. Carpological heteromorphisms have been described from several plant families, however, they are most commonly found in Asteraceae and </span>Amaranthaceae </span></span><em>sensu lato</em><span> (including Chenopodiaceae). The latter is an integral part of vegetation occurring in seasonally highly unpredictable semi-arid and arid zones worldwide. Carpological heteromorphisms in this family are multifold and span from morphologically distinct diaspores with different dispersal potentials and fleshy and non-fleshy fruits with different dispersal agents, to morphologically (in)distinct seeds with different germination behaviours. Heterocarpic and heterospermic taxa in Amaranthaceae </span><em>sensu lato</em> are predominantly diploid, possess relatively small genomes and have a high number of available genomic resources, which could expedite genomic investigations of these carpological heteromorphisms. Nevertheless, knowledge of the evolutionary seed ecology of Amaranthaceae <em>sensu lato</em> is scarce and disconnected. Here we review the literature on ecological, physiological and (epi)genetic aspects of germination and stress tolerance in early ontogenetic stages of heteromorphic Amaranthaceae <em>sensu lato</em><span>. Furthermore, we critically address the shortcomings of current studies and provide guidelines for further research. The authors anticipate this review to raise interest in this plant family and this biological phenomenon, which harbours a great potential to answer some very fundamental biological questions on how individual angiosperm lineages managed to conquer the most inhospitable habitats worldwide.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":56093,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50194812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sympetaly in the mimosoid clade (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae): An unusual trait in the rosid group","authors":"G.D. Pedersoli ,&nbsp;V.F. Mansano ,&nbsp;T.C. De Barros ,&nbsp;J.V. Paulino ,&nbsp;S.P. Teixeira","doi":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125747","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ppees.2023.125747","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span><span>Sympetaly is a notable feature within the mimosoid clade (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae), specially as it is uncommon in rosids. The way the petals are organized, forming a tubular </span>corolla<span> by the union of the petals directly affects the perception of pollinators. This study examines whether the petal union leading to a sympetalous corolla in the mimosoid clade is widespread and whether there is variation in type and extent. For this purpose, floral buds and flowers of 16 species from 13 genera were collected, fixed, and processed for analysis by light and scanning </span></span>electron microscopy<span>. Most species studied display a pentamerous sympetalous corolla with free lobes. The petal primordia<span><span> are individualized and emerge simultaneously on the floral apex, alternating with the sepal primordia. Petals remain free at the beginning of the intermediate stages of development, and subsequently, the petals curve and approach each other, and their margins touch. Epidermal papillae are found on the petals’ apical margin interconnecting the lobes, which enclose the inner organs of the floral bud. The structure of the sympetalous corolla is variable regarding the type and extent of the union. Four different types of sympetaly were found and classified as follows: 1. full connation - petals fully united along their length; 2. connation-coherence - petals genuinely united in the basal portion and coherent in the median and apical portion; 3. full coherence - petals intertwined with papillae throughout; and 4. partial coherence - free petals at the base and intertwined with papillae in the middle and apical portion. Thus, sympetaly of mimosoid legumes results from postgenital union of the petals at the apical, median, and basal regions during their development by tissue union (connation), intertwining of epidermal papillae (coherence), or both processes. The mucilage cells found along the petals guarantee the stabilization and flexibility of the tubes, in addition to contributing to the protection of the internal organs of the flower. Although more studies on </span>floral development are needed to understand the evolution of this unusual trait, connation appears to be a derived trait within mimosoids.</span></span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":56093,"journal":{"name":"Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44012476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}