Abstract
Abstract We studied the anatomical features of the leaf structure of Deschampsia antarctica É. Desv. (Poaceae) obtained from seeds collected from different habitats of the maritime Antarctic. These plants have been maintained in culture in vitro for more than 7 years. The plants include stable chromosome forms comprising diploids (2 n = 26), a diploid plant with B-chromosomes (2 n = 26 + 0–3B), a triploid with rearranged chromosome morphology, and myxoploids with different ratios of diploid and nondiploid cells in the root meristem. The D. antarctica plants that were studied generally had a similar anatomical structure in culture in vitro and in nature. At the same time, plants of different cultivated genotypes also displayed their own leaf structure features. In particular, qualitative features included asymmetric four-ribs and five-rib leaves instead of typical three-rib leaves for some genotypes, some individuals characterized by the presence of unicellular nonglandular pointed trichomes on an adaxial side, differences in vascular bundle sheath, and other features. No clear dependence of the anatomical structural features on the chromosomal status of the studied genotypes was evident. At the same time, differences were evident in traits that included the number of stomata, thickness of the outer cell walls of the epidermis, bundles sheath state, number of leaf ribs, and the persistent presence of trichomes under prolonged in vitro cloning. The findings indicate that D. antarctica plants collected from different locations of the maritime Antarctic for long-term cultivation in vitro under standard cultivation conditions retain the anatomical characteristics of the wild plants. The polymorphism of in vitro-cultivated plants is not related to the polymorphism of their karyotype, but is apparently due to the heterogeneity of the original plants and possibly the epigenetic fixation of a number of anatomical features produced in the natural microhabitats of D. antarctica populations.
Highlights
E study of adaptation mechanisms and resistance of aboriginal plants, in particular Deschampsia antarctica É
We previously compared D. antarctica plants grown naturally and in vitro, and determined that anatomical differences of plants from various natural localities coincided with plants grown in vitro that originated from the same places (Nuzhyna et al, 2019). us, qualitative and some quantitative anatomical features are preserved upon transferring plants to in vitro culture
Four-rib leaves and single-celled nonglandular pointy trichomes have been previously found in plants from the natural population of the largest of the Berthelot Islands – BE1. is characteristic is completely retained in the plants in vitro (Nuzhyna et al, 2019)
Summary
E study of adaptation mechanisms and resistance of aboriginal plants, in particular Deschampsia antarctica É. Poaceae (Antarctic hairgrass), to the harsh climatic conditions of Antarctic is important for the comprehensive characterization of Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems and biota in general and will open the way for new applied research. E species that form the genus Deschampsia are metallophytes that can accumulate a significant amount of metals in their roots or aboveground parts Such species can be used in the reclamation of areas that have been contaminated by zinc and lead, or degraded by mining. E aim of this study was to compare the anatomical structure of D. antarctica leaves grown in vitro from seeds collected from different habitats of the maritime Antarctic. E aim of this study was to compare the anatomical structure of D. antarctica leaves grown in vitro from seeds collected from different habitats of the maritime Antarctic. e plants have been grown in culture in vitro for more than 7 years. ese results are important for an understanding of the fixation opportunities of adaptive mechanisms of D. antarctica resistance to Antarctic stress conditions at the anatomical level
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