Register      Login
Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Embryo development of Dyckia pseudococcinea (Pitcairnioideae-Bromeliaceae), an endangered Brazilian species

Simone P. Mendes A C , Cecília G. Costa B and Karen L. G. De Toni B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta da Boa Vista s.n., São Cristovão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.

B Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Diretoria de Pesquisa, Pacheco Leão 915, Jardim Botânico, CEP 22.460-030, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.

C Corresponding author. Email: petruccimendes@gmail.com

Australian Journal of Botany 58(6) 485-492 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT10073
Submitted: 21 March 2010  Accepted: 19 July 2010   Published: 8 September 2010

Abstract

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is a biodiversity hotspot. Many Bromeliaceae species are important components of this biome, including endemic plants, such as Dyckia pseudococcinea. However, human pressure has resulted in its designation as threatened with extinction. In an attempt to encourage the establishment of subsidised support for in vitro culture protocols that ensure its reproduction, the embryo development of this species was examined by light microscopy. Embryo development initiates with the sporophytic zygote, which undergoes a first cell division that is asymmetrical and transversal. A polarised bicellular proembryo is then formed, with an apical and a basal cell that contribute to the subsequent stages of an Asteraceae-type embryogenesis after successive divisions. Differentiation of the peripheral cells is observed during the post-octant proembryo stage that gives rise to the protoderm. At maturity, the embryo is composed of a cotyledon, shoot and root apical meristems, and a suspensor. The polarisation of the bicellular proembryo and the establishment of the protoderm were identified as the two critical stages in the embryonic development of D. pseudococcinea. Thus, in vitro propagation efforts to produce seedling plants should use proembryos from the tricellular to octant stages in view of their capacity to follow distinct morphogenetic pathways.


Acknowledgements

We thank the Graduate Program in Botany of the Museu Nacional/UFRJ; CAPES for the Masters study grant awarded to the first author; CNPq for the research grant awarded to the second author; and FAPERJ for financial support (FAPERJ 112.349/2008).


References


Araujo DSD (2000) ‘Análise florística e fitogeográfica das restingas do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.’ (Tese de Doutorado, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro: Brasil)

Batygina TB , Shamrov II , Titova GE (1993) Somatic embryogenesis in cereals (comparative embryological approach). p. 564. In ‘Abstracts XV International Botanical Congress, Yokohama’(Yokohama: Japan)

Billings FH (1904) A study of Tillandsia usneoides. Botanical Gazette (Chicago, Ill.) 38, 99–121.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | [Verified 20 February 2010].

Moza MK, Bhatnagar AK (2007) Plant reproductive biology studies crucial for conservation. Current Science 92, 1207. open url image1

Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, Fonseca GAB, Kent J (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403, 853–858.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Natesh S , Rau MA (1984) The embryo. In ‘Embryology of angiosperms’. (Ed. BM Johri) pp. 377–443. (Springer: Berlin)

O’Brien TP, Feder N, McCully ME (1964) Polychromatic staining of plant cell walls by Toluidine Blue O. Protoplasma 59, 368–373.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Rao AN, Wee YC (1979) Embryology of the pineapple Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. The New Phytologist 83, 485–497. open url image1

Ribeiro MC, Metzger IP, Martensen AC, Ponzoni F, Hirota MM (2009) Brazilian Atlantic Forest: How much is left, and how is the remaining forest distributed? Implications for conservation. Biological Conservation 142, 1141–1153.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Sá CFC, Araujo DSD (2009) Estrutura e florística de uma floresta de restinga em Ipitangas, Saquarema – RJ. Rodriguésia 60, 15–39. open url image1

Sajo MG, Prychid CJ, Rudall PJ (2004a) Structure and development of the ovule in Bromeliaceae. Kew Bulletin 59, 261–267.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Sajo MG, Rudall PJ, Prychid CJ (2004b) Floral anatomy of Bromeliaceae, with particular reference to the evolution of epigyny and septal nectaries in commelinid monocots. Plant Systematics and Evolution 247, 215–231.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Sajo MG, Furness CA, Prychid CJ, Rudall PJ (2005) Microsporogenesis and anther development in Bromeliaceae. Grana 44, 65–74.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Scarano FR (2002) Structure, function and floristic relationships of plant communities in stressful habitats marginal to the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. Annals of Botany 90, 517–524.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Scarano FR (2009) Plant communities at the periphery of the Atlantic rainforest: rare species bias and its risk for conservation. Biological Conservation 142, 1201–1208.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Shamrov II (1996) Genealogical and dynamic approaches to embryo study. In ‘Abstracts Plant Embryogenesis Workshop, 12–14 September, Centre for Applied Plant Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg’, p. 26. (University of Hamburg: Germany)

Shamrov II (2006) Embryogeny. In ‘Embryology of Flowering Plants – Terminology and Concepts. Volume II – Seed’. (Ed. TB Batygina) pp. 175–185. (Science Publishers, Enfield: NH, USA)

Shivanna KR, Mohan Ram HY (2005) Contributions of Panchanan Maheshwari’s school to Angiosperm embryology through an integrative approach. Current Science 89, 1820–1834. open url image1

Sivaramakrishna D (1978) Size relationships of apical cell and basal cell in two-celled embryos in angiosperms. Canadian Journal of Botany 56, 1434–1438.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Turcq B , Coe Neto R , Froidefond JM (1986) Variability of beach ridges on the coast of Maricá (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). In ‘Quaternary of South America and Antarctic Peninsula’. (Ed. J Rabasa) pp. 45–57. (A. Balkema: Rotterdam)

Wardlaw CW (1950) ‘Embryogenesis in plants.’ (Methuen: London)

Wee YC, Rao AN (1974) Gametophytes and seed development in pineapple. Current Science 43, 171–173. open url image1