Larger Flowers Research Articles

Evaluation of ornamental traits of apple trees from the collection of I. V. Michurin Federal Scientific Center

Ornamental species of apple trees have gained large popularity in landscape design. The long-term work of Russian breeders has resulted in the selection of a number of ornamental apple-tree forms; however, insufficient attention has been paid to their practical implementation. At present, the Russian market is mainly represented by European varieties, which are unstable to the harsh conditions of Russian regions. The creation of adaptive varieties of ornamental apple trees with high aesthetic characteristics appears to be a relevant research task. In this work, ornamental apple tree forms for use in landscape design are evaluated using the methodology developed by V. V. Vasekha et al. (2017). Studies were conducted in the 2015-2022 period in experimental plots located in Michurinsk, Tambov Oblast. Research objects included trees planted in 2004 with a planting scheme of 6×2 m using 54-118 rootstocks. Depending on the genotype, the bud color was found to vary from white (M. sachalinensis), bright red (M. floribunda), and purple (M. purpurea pendula, Jay Darling, etc.). The new forms 7-13, 7-29, 4-100, and Nikas were characterized by large flowers over 35 mm in diameter. The leaf color varied depending on the season, from purple and red-purple in spring to green in autumn, which was typical of the majority of the studied genotypes. In summer, the genotypes having purple leaves turn red-green with the exception for the Royalty variety and M. purpurea var. aldenhamensis and M. purpurea species, whose leaves remain red until autumn. Fruits of ornamental apple trees are small, from 8 to 35 mm in diameter. Such varieties and forms, as Royalty, Profusion, M. sargentii, M. purpurea, M. floribunda, M. sachalinensis, M. Nikita floribunda, Jay Darling, Altaiskoe bagryanoe, M. floribunda, Nikas, 7-29, 7-13, and 4-100 are characterized by fruits up to 15 mm in diameter with high aesthetic characteristics. Nikas, 7-29, 7-13, and 4-100 have a columnar crown habitus, which significantly increases their ornamental value.

First report of leaf spot on Rhododendron delavayi caused by Pestalotiopsis scoparia in China.

Rhododendron delavayi is an evergreen shrub with large scarlet flowers that make it highly attractive as an ornamental species. The species is native to southwest China (Cai et al. 2015). From May to July in 2022, symptoms of leaf spot were observed on R. delavayi over a wide portion of the Baili Azalea Forest Area (N 27°10'-27°20', E 105°04'-106°04'), Guizhou Province, China. About 500 plants were surveyed and the incidence of leaf spot on R. delavayi leaves was 20 to 30%, significantly reducing their ornamental and economic value. The affected leaves had irregular, dark brown lesions with a clear blackish brown boundary and black conidiomata in a grayish center. To isolate the pathogen, 15 symptomatic leaves were collected from 10 plants. A few black dots were picked from the lesions with a sterilized needle, plated on water agar and incubated at 25℃ for 24 h to observe spore germination (Choi et al. 1999). Then the germinated spores were transferred onto PDA for further purification and morphological observation. Three single-spore isolates (GUDJ 61, GUDJ 62, GUDJ 63) that produced identical in morphology were obtained. The isolate GUDJ 61 was used for further study. Colonies on PDA grew velvety white on the upper surface and light yellow on the lower surface. Conidia were 5-celled, spindle- to ellipsoid-shaped, straight or slightly curved, 4-septate, and measured 39.0 ± 3.7 × 10.4 ± 0.79 µm (n=50). The morphological features were consistent with the description of Pestalotiopsis scoparia Maharachch., K.D. Hyde & Crous, (Maharachchikumbura et al. 2014). The pathogen was confirmed to be P. scoparia by amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), the partial β-tubulin (TUB), and the partial translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF) genes using primers ITS4/ITS5, T1/Bt-2b, and EF1-728F/EF-2, respectively. Sequences from PCR amplification were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers OP048045 (ITS), OP058111 (TUB) and OP058114 (TEF), respectively. BLAST searches of the sequences revealed 99% (549/552 nt), 99% (711/714 nt), and 82% (130/158 nt) homology with those of P. scoparia CBS 176.25T form GenBank (KM199330, KM199393, and KM199478), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis (MEGA 7.0) using the maximum likelihood method placed the isolate GUDJ 61 in a well-supported cluster with P. scoparia. The pathogen was thus identified as P. scoparia based on the morphological characterization and molecular analyses. The pathogenicity of GUDJ 61was tested through a pot assay. Ten healthy R. delavayi plants were scratched with a sterilized needle (0.45 mm in diameter) on three leaves per plant. Plants were inoculated by spraying a spore suspension (106 spores mL-1) of GUDJ 61 onto leaves until runoff, and the control leaves sprayed with sterile water. The plants were maintained at 25°C and 75% relative humidity in a growth chamber. The pathogenicity test was repeated three times (Fang 2007). After 12 days, the treated leaves developed brown lesions similar to those in the field, while the control had no symptoms. The same fungus was reisolated from the infected leaves and identified based on a morphological characterization and molecular analyses. These results fulfilled Koch's postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of leaf spot on R. delavayi caused by P. scoparia in China. The fungal pathogen identification will provide valuable information for prevention and management of leaf spot disease associated with R. delavayi.

Strong conservatism of floral morphology during the rapid diversification of the genus Helianthemum.

Divergence of floral morphology and breeding systems are often expected to be linked to angiosperm diversification and environmental niche divergence. However, available evidence for such relationships is not generalizable due to different taxonomic, geographical and time scales. The Palearctic genus Helianthemum shows the highest diversity of the family Cistaceae in terms of breeding systems, floral traits, and environmental conditions as a result of three recent evolutionary radiations since the Late Miocene. Here, we investigated the tempo and mode of evolution of floral morphology in the genus and its link with species diversification and environmental niche divergence. We quantified 18 floral traits from 83 taxa and applied phylogenetic comparative methods using a robust phylogenetic framework based on genotyping-by-sequencing data. We found three different floral morphologies, putatively related to three different breeding systems: type I, characterized by small flowers without herkogamy and low pollen to ovule ratio; type II, represented by large flowers with approach herkogamy and intermediate pollen to ovule ratio; and type III, featured by small flowers with reverse herkogamy and the highest pollen to ovule ratio. Each morphology has been highly conserved across each radiation and has evolved independently of species diversification and ecological niche divergence. The combined results of trait, niche, and species diversification ultimately recovered a pattern of potentially non-adaptive radiations in Helianthemum and highlight the idea that evolutionary radiations can be decoupled from floral morphology evolution even in lineages that diversified in heterogeneous environments as the Mediterranean Basin.

New records of two alien plants, <i>Juncus torreyi</i> (Juncaceae) and <i>Egeria densa</i> (Hydrocharitaceae) in Korea

Naturalized populations of two alien plants were newly found, and we describe their morphological characteristics and habitats with photographs. One is a member of Juncaceae, <i>Juncus torreyi</i> Coville, and was newly found at a pool of a beach in Gangwon-do. This rush is native to North America and belongs to the sect. <i>Ozophyllum</i> (subgen. <i>Juncus</i>) according to certain morphological characteristics, such as its racemose inflorescence, the absence of floral bracteole, and unitubular leaves with perfect septa. <i>J. torreyi</i> is easily distinguishable from Korean rushes by its long rhizomes with swollen nodes and globular head with 25–100 flowers. Its introduction into Japan and Europe was reported, but the ecological risk associated with its over-dispersal is not known. The other alien plant is a submerged plant, <i>Egeria densa</i> Planch. (Hydrocharitaceae), which was found in streams in Gyeongsangbuk-do and ditches in the Busan-si area, both of which being in the watershed of the Nakdong River. <i>Egeria densa</i> is similar to <i>Hydrilla verticillata</i> (L.f.) Royle, which is native to Korea. However, it is distinguished from <i>H. verticillata</i> by its larger flowers and lack of overwintering organs. This alien plant is native to South America and was introduced for aquarium gardening and naturalized around the world. <i>Egeria densa</i> is treated as a malignant weed due to its asexual reproduction and rapid growth. Size changes and the number of populations of <i>E. densa</i> must be investigated.

The identities of Millettia pseudoracemosa and M. pulchra var. munnarensis (Fabaceae: Millettieae) from South India

Millettia pseudoracemosa and M. pulchra var. munnarensis were described as small trees with large and violet flowers from South India in 1997 and 2017, respectively. However, referring to literature and examination of herbarium specimens showed that both of the two taxa cannot be distinguished from with M. dura, a species described from tropical Africa in 1911. The species was widely cultivated in East Africa and also introduced to South India and Sri Lanka during the early 20th century. Thus, the former two names are reduced as synonyms of the last name. The lectotypes of M. dura and M. pseudoracemosa are also designated here. In addition, it is confirmed that 12 Millettia species are recorded from India, including eight native species and four introduced ones.

Three New Gesneria Species (Gesneriaceae) Support Parc National Pic Macaya (Haiti) as an Important Biodiversity Hotspot

Abstract— The Caribbean Islands are a biodiversity hotspot characterized by a high taxonomic diversity and endemicity, suggesting that many species have yet to be discovered. Unfortunately, many of these undescribed species may go extinct before they are described because of the drastic habitat loss in these oceanic islands. In this study, we describe three new plant species of Gesneria (Gesneriaceae) that are endemic to the Massif de la Hotte in southwest Haiti, a region recently affected by extensive deforestation. Elliptical Fourier analyses of leaf shapes and DNA sequencing of five nuclear genes were used to support the species delimitations. Gesneria flava is a tall shrub with large yellow flowers, leafy sepals, and rugose leaves. Gesneria × cornuta is a hybrid between Gesneria bicolor and the newly described Gesneria flava and is morphologically intermediate between its parents. Its hybrid origin is further supported by the presence of alleles from both parents for all five nuclear genes sequenced. Finally, Gesneria radiata is a saxicolous herb with radially symmetrical corollas. The three new species described here are limited to a single mountain range in the Caribbean, the Massif de la Hotte. These recent discoveries reflect the high endemicity of this region and exemplify the urgency to conserve the remaining primary forest of Haiti in order to protect its biodiversity.

Monitoring the birds and the bees: Environmental DNA metabarcoding of flowers detects plant–animal interactions

AbstractAnimal pollinators are vital for the reproduction of ~90% of flowering plants. However, many of these pollinating species are experiencing declines globally, making effective pollinator monitoring methods more important than ever before. Pollinators can leave DNA on the flowers they visit, and metabarcoding of these environmental DNA (eDNA) traces provides an opportunity to detect the presence of flower visitors. Our study, collecting flowers from seven plant species with diverse floral morphologies, for eDNA metabarcoding analysis, illustrated the value of this novel survey tool. eDNA metabarcoding using three assays, including one developed in this study to target common bush birds, recorded more animal species visiting flowers than visual surveys conducted concurrently, including birds, bees, and other species. We also recorded the presence of a flower visit from a western pygmy possum; to our knowledge this is the first eDNA metabarcoding study to simultaneously identify the interaction of insect, mammal, and bird species with flowers. The highest diversity of taxa was detected on large inflorescence flower types found on Banksia arborea and Grevillea georgeana. The study demonstrates that the ease of sample collection and the robustness of the metabarcoding methodology has profound implications for future management of biodiversity, allowing us to monitor both plants and their attendant cohort of potential pollinators. This opens avenues for rapid and efficient comparison of biodiversity and ecosystem health between different sites and may provide insights into surrogate pollinators in the event of pollinator declines.

Orenburg Radial-Concentric Structure at Great Depth: Experimental Modeling under Fluid Dynamic Loads and Comparative Analysis of Sandstone Samples from Oil Fields in Western Siberia

The study of the deep structure of the Orenburg radial-concentric structure in the basement of the Russian Platform based on seismotectonic and geomorphological data has been carried out. Interpretation of temporal regional seismic profiles crossing the structure was performed, identifying the main deep faults and measuring their dip angles. It was revealed that the radial-concentric structure is a large flower structure. Its structure involves the main multidirectional deep faults dipping at angles of \(\perp \)60°–85° and limiting horst or reverse fault zones in the basement. The hierarchy of faults structure has been established. Oil and gas fields are confined to the main deep dislocations of the Orenburg structure and represent flower structures of minor sizes. An experimental modeling of the formation of “flower” structures was performed based on the analysis of the results of studies using data from the acoustic emission activity of rocks and under the action of fluid dynamic loads performed at the “UIK-AE” unit (Institute of Geophysics, Ural Branch of RAS, Russia) on sandstone core samples from reservoir rocks of oil fields in Western Siberia. The developed model showed that the formation of flower structures can occur without horizontal shear due to lateral compression and deep pressure. With the help of the seismo-acoustic emission method, characteristic noise was recorded during the formation of cracks in core samples, sound attenuation before splitting, and then its sharp explosive increase from a break in the continuity of the rock. Analysis of the core of wells drilled within the Orenburg radial-concentric structure revealed signs of hydrothermal fluid discharge in the sedimentary cover rocks, such as wavy (or flat) layering, bizarre textures and intervals of breccias, shell-shaped inclusions, stillotite seams, fluid textures. It is concluded that the genesis of the Orenburg radial-concentric structure is associated with the impact of deep heat flows, fluids, high pressure and has a commonality with the explosive ring structures of shields and platforms.

First report of leaf spot on Magnolia grandiflora caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae in Jiangsu.

Magnolia grandiflora linn, with large and fragrant flowers, is widely planted in the south of Yangtze River valley in China. It is an excellent street tree and a beautiful ornamental tree for landscaping.In October 2021, a new leaf spot disease was observed on M. grandiflora seedlings and maturetreesgrowing in NanjingBotanical Garden, Jiangsu Province, China. According to statistics, about 300 M. grandifloratrees were planted here, and approximately 60% of M. grandiflora trees suffered from the disease. In the beginning, small black spots appeared on the leaf of M. grandiflora, and then the disease spots were connected into coalesced, and eventually lead to a large area of leaf dead (Figure S1A). To isolate the pathogen, ten diseased leaves were collected from ten plants distributed in different five areas of the botanical garden. The leaf sections (3 to 4 mm) were excised from the margins between healthy and diseased tissues, surface sterilized in 75% alcohol for 30 s and then in 1.5% NaClO for 90 s, rinsed three times in sterilized distilled water, plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25℃in the darkness. Pure cultures were obtained by monosporic isolation. Twenty-three isolates were obtained (the isolate rate of 72%), and identified as Lasiodiplodia sp.. A representative isolate, G-H-1 was used for the further study. The colony of G-H-1, growing on PDA was cotton-like. The primary mycelia was gray and white in the early stage of culture. It gradually turned black gray in the later stage, and the reverse was similar in color (Figure S1B). The pycnidia (fruiting body) was black and appeared over PDA plates after 15 days (Figure S1C). The hyphae of G-H-1 were dark brown, and the conidia were monospora, oval or elliptic, with a size of (9.6 ~ 13.3) µm× (5.7 ~ 8.0) µm (mean 11.7×6.6 µm, n=35) (Figure S1D). In the pycnidia, the conidiophores were inside and produced conidia (Figure S1E). In the early stage, the conidia of G-H-1 were colorless transparent, then gradually turned dark brown with a septum in the center (Figure S1F). These characteristics were consistent with the description of Lasiodiplodia sp. (Alves et al. 2008). The regions of ITS, translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1α) and β-tubulin (TUB) genes (GenBank Accession No.OM698339, No.OM942757, and No.OM942756, respectively) were amplified and sequenced with the primer pairs ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), EF1-728F/EF1-986R (Alves et al. 2008) and Bt2a/Bt2b (Glass and Donaldson 1995). The obtained sequences showed 99.05-99.81% similarity with those from L. theobromae accessions in GenBank. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was generated by combining all sequenced loci in MEGA7. The isolate G-H-1 clustered in the L. theobromae clade with 96% bootstrap support (Figure S2). To test pathogenicity, three one-year-old M. grandiflora seedlings that previously had been wounded with a sterile needle were inoculated with 20 μL conidia suspension (1×106 spores/mL) on the left sides of leaves. Inoculation with 20 µL sterile water was treated as the control, which were inoculated on the right sides of leaves. All plants were covered with clear polyethylene bags to keep moisture. And inoculated detached leaves were incubated in a greenhouse (Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences) at 25℃, 80% relative humidity, and a 12-h light/dark cycle. The experiment was repeated three times. After 5 days of inoculation, typical black spots were found on the left sides of all inoculated leaves and the right sides did not have any leaf spot symptoms (Figure S1G-H). After 25 days of inoculation, perforation occurred at the black spots on the leaves of the inoculated plants, resulting in incomplete leaf (Figure S1I), which is identical disease symptoms to those observed in garden. The same fungus, identified by morphological characteristics and sequencing using ITS, TEF1α and TUB genes, was isolated from the diseased spots of the inoculated leaves to complete Koch,s postulates. The pathogen has a very wide host range. For example, it has been reported to cause dieback and sooty canker on Ficus trees (Abo Rehab et al. 2014), infected trunk of sultana seedless (Tang et al. 2021) and castor bean(Akgul et al. 2015),root ofCitrus (Al-Sadi et al. 2014), date palm,and Mango (Al-Sadi et al. 2013) and Cassia fistula (Deng et al. 2015). But, according to nt.ars-grin.gov, there are no other reports of L. theobromae on M. grandiflora in the world. So, this would be the first one. This study provides an important reference for the biology, epidemiology.

Epimediumlongnanense (Berberidaceae), a new species from Gansu, China.

Epimediumlongnanense, a new species of Epimedium (Berberidaceae) from Longnan Prefecture, Gansu Province, China, is here proposed and illustrated. E.longnanense has large flowers with petals possessing long spur and obvious basal lamina, and thus should be grouped into series Davidianae. The species closely resembles E.flavum of ser. Davidianae in morphology. However, it can be easily distinguished by its elongated rhizome (vs. compact), trifoliolate leaves (vs. five leaflets, sometimes trifoliolate), pale pink or purplish-red inner sepals with 6-8 × 2-3 mm (vs. pale sulphur-yellow, ca. 11 × 4 mm).

Ranunculusmaoxianensis (Ranunculaceae), a new species from northwestern Sichuan, China, with an emended description of R.chongzhouensis, the putative closest ally of the new species.

Ranunculusmaoxianensis (Ranunculaceae), a new species from Jiuding Shan in Maoxian county, northwestern Sichuan province, China, is here illustrated and described. The species is morphologically similar to R.chongzhouensis, a species also occurring in Sichuan, in having reniform leaves and puberulous receptacles, carpels and achenes, but differs by having leaves adaxially puberulous with shorter appressed hairs 0.16‒0.28 mm long (vs. longer appressed hairs 0.55‒0.85 mm long), larger flowers (1.8‒2 cm vs. 1.4‒1.6 cm in diameter), larger (8‒10 × 5.5‒6.5 mm vs. 6‒7 × 4.5‒5 mm) and widely obovate petals (vs. obovate), more numerous stamens (35‒55 vs. 12‒18), and subglobose gynoecium and aggregate fruit (vs. ellipsoid). The two species are also different in chromosome number and chromosome morphology. Ranunculuschongzhouensis has a karyotype of 2n = 2x = 16 = 10m + 6sm while R.maoxianensis has a karyotype of 2n = 4x = 32 = 16m + 16sm. An emended description of R.chongzhouensis is provided, and its geographical distribution is largely extended.

Liparistianchiensis (Orchidaceae), a new species from Gansu, China.

Liparistianchiensis (Orchidaceae, Epidendroideae), a new species from Wenxian County, Gansu Province, China, is described and illustrated, based on morphological characters. Liparistianchiensis is morphologically similar to L.damingshanensis, L.pauliana and L.mengziensis with erect, lax flowered-inflorescences, small persistent floral bracts, small greenish-purple flowers, spreading sepals, free reflexed and linear petals, a lip with 2 calli near the base and an arcuate column. Liparistianchiensis differs from L.pauliana by the single and much smaller leaf, shorter sepals and petals, smaller and reflexed oblong lip. It differs from L.mengziensis by having fewer and larger flowers and not connate lip apex. The novelty mostly resembles L.damingshanensis, but can be readily identified by having longer sepals and a reflexed oblong lip. Liparistianchiensis only occurs in evergreen broad-leaved forest around a mountain lake in Wenxian County, Gansu Province, China.

Commelinadanxiaensis (Commelinaceae), a new species from Guangdong, China.

Commelinadanxiaensis (Commelinaceae), a remarkable new species from Mount Danxia, Guangdong Province, China, is described and illustrated. This species is similar to C.communis in inflorescences and flowers but readily distinguishable in its nearly erect stems, larger flowers, and different petal colouration.

The largest amber-preserved flower revisited

Amber exquisitely preserves the delicate organs of fossil flowers for millions of years. However, flower inclusions can be rare and usually do not exceed 10 mm in size. Here we report an exceptionally large flower from late Eocene Baltic amber, measuring 28 mm across, which is about three times as large as most floral inclusions. This fossil was described over 150 years ago as Stewartia kowalewskii (Theaceae) and has never been revised. The analysis of pollen extracted from the anthers of the flower inclusion, however, revealed strong affinities to Asian species of Symplocos (Symplocaceae), prompting the new combination Symplocos kowalewskii comb. nov. et emend. This fossil represents the first record of Symplocaceae from Baltic amber and supports affinities of its flora to evergreen broadleaved and mixed mesophytic forests of present-day East and Southeast Asia. The rarity of such large-sized flower inclusions is likely due to the size of the resin outpouring and its properties, which might affect the embedding of plant organs.

Adonis fucensis (A. sect. Adonanthe, Ranunculaceae), a New Species from the Central Apennines (Italy).

Adonis fucensis is herein described as a new species based on morphological and molecular analyses. It is endemic to one locality of the Central Apennines between Amplero and Fucino plains within the NATURA 2000 network in the SAC IT7110205 (Central Italy). The only discovered population is composed of 65 individuals and is at risk of extinction. The conservation status assessment according to IUCN categories and criteria is proposed and discussed. The new species belongs to A. sect. Adonanthe and is morphologically similar to A. volgensis (incl. A. transsilvanica), a species distributed in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey as well as eastward to SW Siberia and Central Asia. Adonis fucensis can be distinguished from A. volgensis by larger cauline leaves, pentagonal with lobes lanceolate, larger stipules with more lobes and teeth, and larger flowers. Finally, an analytical key to Adonis species belonging to sect. Adonanthe distributed in Europe is presented.

Impatiens zhaojueensis (Balsaminaceae) sp. nov. from Sichuan, China

This paper describes and illustrates the morphological traits of Impatiens zhaojueensis Q. Luo (Balsaminaceae), a new species from the Sichuan Province of southwestern China. Using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), the micromorphological characteristics of its pollen grains and seeds are also described. The new species is closely related to Impatiens baishaensis, but it has larger flowers, obround dorsal petals, somewhat clawed lateral united petals, obround or obround‐dolabriform distal lobes and the ornamentation on the pollen grains has wider meshes.

Aristolochia hondurensis (Aristolochiaceae), a new species from Honduras

Aristolochia hondurensis, a new species of Aristolochia series Hexandrae subseries Hexandrae, endemic to Honduras, is described and illustrated. It is a species morphologically similar to Aristolochia anguicida, from which it is distinguished by its much larger flowers (in all dimensions) with an oblong, attenuate, erect perianth limb, perpendicular to the tube. Comments about its distribution, habitat, phenology, conservation status, and distinction from morphologically similar species, and a dichotomous key of the species present in Honduras belonging to the subseries Hexandrae are provided. The new species is known from only two populations and is not known to occur in any protected area; it is provisionally categorized as Critically Endangered (CR) according to IUCN Red List criteria. Previous reports of A. inflata for Honduras appear to be unsubstantiated by herbarium specimens.

A new species of Luisia (Orchidaceae) from Shan State, Myanmar

A new species, Luisia verrucosaKurzweil, Nob.Tanaka & Ormerod, from Shan State in Myanmar is described and illustrated. It is very distinct in the genus, characterised by (1) light pinkish and purple-marked navicular sepals which are coarsely verrucose on the outside, especially in their distal part, (2) light pinkish and irregularly pink-dotted lorate-elliptic petals with yellow tips, and (3) a lip with a comparatively large, oblong-elliptic, maroon-purple epichile with prominent callosities in the form of massive bulges. Because its lip does not have a constriction or prominent boundary line between hypochile and epichile, it is superficially similar to Luisia brachystachys (Lindl.) Blume, but the new species differs by having considerably larger flowers with verrucose sepals and pronounced lip ornaments.

Chromosome-scale genome assembly of Eustoma grandiflorum, the first complete genome sequence in the genus Eustoma

Eustoma grandiflorum (Raf.) Shinn. is an annual herbaceous plant native to the southern United States, Mexico, and the Greater Antilles. It has a large flower with a variety of colors and is an important flower crop. In this study, we established a chromosome-scale de novo assembly of E. grandiflorum genome sequences by integrating four genomic and genetic approaches: (1) Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) Sequel deep sequencing, (2) error correction of the assembly by Illumina short reads, (3) scaffolding by chromatin conformation capture sequencing (Hi-C), and (4) genetic linkage maps derived from an F2 mapping population. Thirty-six pseudomolecules and 64 unplaced scaffolds were created, with a total length of 1,324.8 Mb. A total of 36,619 genes were predicted on the genome as high-confidence genes. A comparison of genome structure between E. grandiflorum and C. canephora or O. pumila suggested whole-genome duplication after the divergence between the families Gentianaceae and Rubiaceae. Phylogenetic analysis with single-copy genes suggested that the divergence time between Gentianaceae and Rubiaceae was 74.94 MYA. Genetic diversity analysis was performed for nine commercial E. grandiflorum varieties bred in Japan, from which 254,205 variants were identified. This first report on the construction of a reference genome sequence in the genus Eustoma is expected to contribute to genetic and genomic studies in this genus and in the family Gentianaceae.

Diversity of Ultraviolet Reflection Pattern in Arachis Flowers

Over a third of global agriculture is dependent on insect pollination, especially by bees. Yields of insect-pollinated crops are often managed by the addition of honeybees (Apis mellifera) to increase pollination, yet wild bee species (Bombus spp.) also increase pollination and fruit set for many globally important crops. Plant biodiversity within and surrounding crop fields can attract wild bee species and increase pollination in those fields. Peanut is an important global food crop known to attract honeybee and wild bee pollinators despite being self-pollinating and not reliant on bee pollination for seed set. Some wild Arachis species derived breeding materials have been documented to have early flowering, high flowering throughout the growing season, and large flowers as compared to cultivated peanut, which can increase attractiveness to bees. However, the presence and diversity of UV floral guides, color and UV absorbance and reflectance flower patterns that aid in flower detection and orientation towards nectar and/or pollen, have not been studied in Arachis. This study documents the presence and diversity of UV floral guides in two A. hypogaea genotypes, two peanut breeding lines, eight wild Arachis species, 19 unique allotetraploids, and four BC1F3 lines. All Arachis genotypes studied had UV floral guides and genotype was a significant indicator of flower size and UV floral guide size. Further studies evaluating the nutritional quality and abundance of pollen in Arachis species are needed to better understand the impact of ornamental Arachis species and peanut cultivars on wild bee abundance and diversity in urban landscapes and in agricultural fields, respectively.