Large-fruited Species Research Articles

Momordica charantia as a Prospective Raw Material for Health and Craft Products

Topicality of this study is determined by the prospect of expanding the assortment of health and craft products due to the use of fruits and leaves of a plant with high biological activity, namely, Momordica charantia. The aim of the article is to evaluate the prospects of using fruits and leaves of different Momordica charantia varieties in the production of health and craft materials. Research methods of studying the main quality indicators of raw materials and finished grout were standard, such as organoleptic, physicochemical and chromatographic ones. Results. The set organoleptic analysis of Momordica charantia fruits showed a strong bitter taste of all the species of this plant. This leads to a limited range of this fruit use, especially in food products with a bitter taste, such as dark chocolate, coffee, etc. All the studied varieties, large fruited ones, despite their rather big mass, have a high content of ascorbic acid, saponins and phenols. The active grout acidity of different varieties of momordica is in the range of 6.3–7.2, and the redox potential is 55–74 mW. Conclusions. The conducted research indicates that due to the presence of a high content of biologically active substances (ascorbic acid, phenols, saponins and mineral compounds), momordica is a promising raw material for the creation of health and preventive health products. The study of the large-fruited species of Momordica charantia showed the presence of the same components as in traditional momordica varieties. Thereby, it becomes possible to fully use them in culinary and food products.

Genomic Screening to Identify Food Trees Potentially Dispersed by Precolonial Indigenous Peoples.

Over millennia, Indigenous peoples have dispersed the propagules of non-crop plants through trade, seasonal migration or attending ceremonies; and potentially increased the geographic range or abundance of many food species around the world. Genomic data can be used to reconstruct these histories. However, it can be difficult to disentangle anthropogenic from non-anthropogenic dispersal in long-lived non-crop species. We developed a genomic workflow that can be used to screen out species that show patterns consistent with faunal dispersal or long-term isolation, and identify species that carry dispersal signals of putative human influence. We used genotyping-by-sequencing (DArTseq) and whole-plastid sequencing (SKIMseq) to identify nuclear and chloroplast Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in east Australian rainforest trees (4 families, 7 genera, 15 species) with large (>30 mm) or small (<30 mm) edible fruit, either with or without a known history of use by Indigenous peoples. We employed standard population genetic analyses to test for four signals of dispersal using a limited and opportunistically acquired sample scheme. We expected different patterns for species that fall into one of three broadly described dispersal histories: (1) ongoing faunal dispersal, (2) post-megafauna isolation and (3) post-megafauna isolation followed by dispersal of putative human influence. We identified five large-fruited species that displayed strong population structure combined with signals of dispersal. We propose coalescent methods to investigate whether these genomic signals can be attributed to post-megafauna isolation and dispersal by Indigenous peoples.

Fruit traits of tree species in lower montane rainforest at Doi Suthep–Pui, northern Thailand

AbstractFruits are a major food resource for wildlifes and have evolved different traits which attract specific frugivores and facilitate seed dispersal. This study examines the quantity of the frequency of fruit tree species, distribution amongst fruit traits and estimates the potential availability of the fruit resource for frugivores in a 16-ha permanent forest plot at Doi Suthep–Pui, Thailand. The similarity amongst traits for fleshy fruited species was explored using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Fleshy fruited species comprised 122 of 208 tree species &gt;2 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) recorded in the permanent plot. Amongst fleshy fruited species, small fruits (length &lt;20 mm) were most common (63.16% of species) while large fruits were rare (4.1%). Black was the most common fruit colour (43.4%). Principal Component Analysis of fruit traits explained 57% of total variance on the first three axes, and allowed identification of three species groups. Litsea martabanica and Persea gamblei are the greatest density and represented the major PCA group; black, small-sized and thin husk indehiscent fruits. These fruiting trees scattered throughout the permanent plot and were of good regeneration status. Indicating fleshy fruit can be a food resource for frugivores especially small-sized fruit. Furthermore, large-fruited species such as Madhuca floribunda is low density but important to preserve for food resource of large frugivores. This finding is very important not only for forest protection policy but also for wildlife conservation as food resources.

Frugivore-fruit size relationships between palms and mammals reveal past and future defaunation impacts

Mammalian frugivores are critical seed dispersers, but many are under threat of extinction. Futhermore, the impact of past and future defaunation on plant assemblages has yet to be quantified at the global scale. Here, we integrate palm and mammalian frugivore trait and occurrence data and reveal a global positive relationship between fruit size and frugivore body size. Global variation in fruit size is better explained by present-day frugivore assemblages than by Late Pleistocene assemblages, suggesting ecological and evolutionary reorganization after end-Pleistocene extinctions, except in the Neotropics, where some large-fruited palm species may have outlived their main seed dispersers by thousands of years. Our simulations of frugivore extinction over the next 100 years suggest that the impact of defaunation will be highest in the Old World tropics, and an up to 4% assemblage-level decrease in fruit size would be required to maintain the global body size–fruit size relationship. Overall, our results suggest that while some palm species may be able to keep pace with future defaunation through evolutionary changes in fruit size, large-fruited species may be especially vulnerable to continued defaunation.

The Strength and Drivers of Bird-Mediated Selection on Fruit Crop Size: A Meta-Analysis

Fil: Palacio, Facundo Xavier. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Division Zoologia de Vertebrados. Seccion Ornitologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico - Tucuman. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo; Argentina

Functional nonredundancy of elephants in a disturbed tropical forest

Conservation efforts are often motivated by the threat of global extinction. Yet if conservationists had more information suggesting that extirpation of individual species could lead to undesirable ecological effects, they might more frequently attempt to protect or restore such species across their ranges even if they were not globally endangered. Scientists have seldom measured or quantitatively predicted the functional consequences of species loss, even for large, extinction-prone species that theory suggests should be functionally unique. We measured the contribution of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) to the dispersal of 3 large-fruited species in a disturbed tropical moist forest and predicted the extent to which alternative dispersers could compensate for elephants in their absence. We created an empirical probability model with data on frugivory and seed dispersal from Buxa Tiger Reserve, India. These data were used to estimate the proportion of seeds consumed by elephants and other frugivores that survive handling and density-dependent processes (Janzen-Connell effects and conspecific intradung competition) and germinate. Without compensation, the number of seeds dispersed and surviving density-dependent effects decreased 26% (Artocarpus chaplasha), 42% (Careya arborea), and 72% (Dillenia indica) when elephants were absent from the ecosystem. Compensatory fruit removal by other animals substantially ameliorated these losses. For instance, reductions in successful dispersal of D. indica were as low as 23% when gaur (Bos gaurus) persisted, but median dispersal distance still declined from 30% (C. arborea) to 90% (A. chaplasha) without elephants. Our results support the theory that the largest animal species in an ecosystem have nonredundant ecological functionality and that their extirpation is likely to lead to the deterioration of ecosystem processes such as seed dispersal. This effect is likely accentuated by the overall defaunation of many tropical systems.

From ratites to rats: the size of fleshy fruits shapes species' distributions and continental rainforest assembly.

Seed dispersal is a key process in plant spatial dynamics. However, consistently applicable generalizations about dispersal across scales are mostly absent because of the constraints on measuring propagule dispersal distances for many species. Here, we focus on fleshy-fruited taxa, specifically taxa with large fleshy fruits and their dispersers across an entire continental rainforest biome. We compare species-level results of whole-chloroplast DNA analyses in sister taxa with large and small fruits, to regional plot-based samples (310 plots), and whole-continent patterns for the distribution of woody species with either large (more than 30 mm) or smaller fleshy fruits (1093 taxa). The pairwise genomic comparison found higher genetic distances between populations and between regions in the large-fruited species (Endiandra globosa), but higher overall diversity within the small-fruited species (Endiandra discolor). Floristic comparisons among plots confirmed lower numbers of large-fruited species in areas where more extreme rainforest contraction occurred, and re-colonization by small-fruited species readily dispersed by the available fauna. Species' distribution patterns showed that larger-fruited species had smaller geographical ranges than smaller-fruited species and locations with stable refugia (and high endemism) aligned with concentrations of large fleshy-fruited taxa, making them a potentially valuable conservation-planning indicator.

Gibbon and Elephant as Seed Dispersers

Photographs by Kulpat Saralamba In the forests of Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, gibbons (Hylobates lar) were the most effective seed disperser of the large-fruited Garcinia benthamii. The fruits were at the upper size limit of what the gibbons could process, however, and we found evidence that suggests these large fruits might be more efficiently dispersed by elephants, which were rare at our study site. Our study shows that primates can function as complementary or back-up seed dispersers for some large-fruited species, but they might not be capable of replacing large dispersers, leading to potential changes in landscape-scale dispersal where these animals are absent. One of the main seed dispersers of the large-fruited Garcinia benthamii in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, the white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar). Another potential seed disperser, the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). These photographs illustrate the article “Effectiveness of primate seed dispersers for an “over-sized” fruit Garcinia benthamii,” by Kim R. McConkey, Warren Y. Brockelman, Chanpen Saralamba, and Anuttara Nathalang, published in Ecology 96(10):2737–2747, October 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/14-1931.1

The influence of environment and life‐history traits on the distribution of genes and individuals: a comparative study of 11 rainforest trees

This study investigates patterns of genetic connectivity among 11 co-distributed tropical rainforest tree species from the genus Elaeocarpus across a biogeographic barrier, the Black Mountain Corridor (BMC) in the Australian Wet Tropics (AWT). We analysed a combination of allelic and flanking region sequence data from microsatellite markers, and evaluated the relative influence of environmental preferences and functional traits on genetic diversity and gene flow. The results indicate that only in three species geographic structuring of haplotype distribution reflects a north vs. south of the BMC pattern. Environmental factors linked with altitude were recognized as affecting genetic trends, but the selective processes operating on upland species appear to be associated with competitiveness and regeneration opportunities on poor soil types rather than climate variables alone. In contrast to previous observations within southeastern Australian rainforests, genetic differentiation in the AWT appears to be associated with small-fruited rather than large-fruited species, highlighting how external factors can influence the dispersal dimension. Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of considering functional and environmental factors when attempting generalizations on landscape-level patterns of genetic variation. Understanding how plant functional groups respond to environmental and climatic heterogeneity can help us predict responses to future change.

Identification of growth processes involved in QTLs for tomato fruit size and composition

Many quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for quality traits have been located on the tomato genetic map, but introgression of favourable wild alleles into large fruited species is hampered by co-localizations of QTLs with antagonist effects. The aim of this study was to assess the growth processes controlled by the main QTLs for fruit size and composition. Four nearly isogenic lines (NILs) derived from an intraspecific cross between a tasty cherry tomato (Cervil) and a normal-tasting large fruit tomato (Levovil) were studied. The lines carried one (L2, L4, and L9) or five (Lx) introgressions from Cervil on chromosomes 1, 2, 4, and 9. QTLs for fruit size could be mainly associated with cell division processes in L2 and L9, whereas cell expansion was rather homogeneous among the genotypes, except Cervil for which the low expansion rate was attributed to low cell plasticity. The link between endoreduplication and fruit size remained unclear, as cell or fruit sizes were positively correlated with the cell DNA content, but not with the endoreduplication factor. QTLs for fruit composition reflected differences in water accumulation rather than in sugar accumulation, except in L9 for which the up-regulation of sucrose unloading and hexose transport and/or starch synthesis was suggested. This may explain the increased amount of carbon allocated to cell structures in L9, which could be related to a QTL for fruit texture. In Lx, these effects were attenuated, except on fruit size and cell division. Finally, the region on top of chromosome 9 may control size and composition attributes in tomato, by a combination of QTL effects on cell division, cell wall synthesis, and carbon import and metabolism.

TheVh8locus of a new gene‐for‐gene interaction betweenVenturia inaequalisand the wild appleMalus sieversiiis closely linked to theVh2locus inMalus pumilaR12740‐7A

The wild apple (Malus sieversii) is a large-fruited species from Central Asia, which is used as a source of scab resistance in cultivar breeding. Phytopathological tests with races of Venturia inaequalis were performed to differentiate scab-resistance genes in Malus as well as an avirulence gene in the pathogen. A novel gene-for-gene interaction between V. inaequalis and Malus was identified. The locus of the scab-resistance gene Vh8 is linked with, or possibly allelic to, that of the Vh2 gene in Malus pumila Russian apple R12740-7A, at the lower end of linkage group 2 of Malus. Race 8 isolate NZ188B.2 is compatible with Vh8, suggesting the loss or modification of the complementary AvrVh8 gene, while isolate 1639 overcomes both Vh2 and Vh8, but is incompatible with at least one other gene not detected by any of the other race isolates tested. Our research is the first to differentiate scab-resistance genes in a putative gene cluster in apple with the aid of races of V. inaequalis.

Forest edge in the Brazilian Atlantic forest: drastic changes in tree species assemblages

In this study we surveyed all trees ≥10 cm diameter at breast height within 20 0.1 ha plots in a 3,500 ha forest fragment, surrounded by sugar cane fields, of the Brazilian Atlantic forest to compare tree species assemblages at the forest edge (0–100 m into forest) vs forest interior (&gt;200 m). Plots were perpendicular to the margin. The mean number of tree species was significantly higher in the forest interior (35.4 ± SD 7.1 vs 18.4 ± SD 4.4). In addition, forest edge differed from interior in the proportion of shade-tolerant, emergent, large/very large-fruited species, and large-seeded tree species. Among the 134 tree species recorded, 24% were exclusive to the forest edge and 57% to the forest interior. Our results suggest that both the current system of protected areas and archipelagos of small fragments (1) tend to retain only a subset of the original flora, (2) will converge in terms of floristic and ecological composition (biotic simplification and homogenization), and (3) will lose rare and threatened tree species.

Columnar Cacti in Seri Indian Culture

ABSTRACTSix species of columnar cacti (Family Cactaceae, Tribe Cereeae) are native to the Seri region of western Sonora, Mexico. Different parts of these cacti were variously employed for food, caulking pitch, games, house-building, medicine, sealing pottery vessels, tattooing, and wine. Four large-fruited species were of major economic significance in traditional Seri culture. These are cardon (Pachycereus pringlei) organ-pipe (Lemaireocereus thurberi), pitahaya agria (Machaerocereus gummosus), and sahuaro (Carnegiea gigantea). The fruit is a favorite food and is still harvested. The fruit of certain species was dried and stored for future use, as were the seeds, which have a high oil and protein content. The seeds were ground and variously prepared. Traditionally the fruit of organ-pipe and sahuaro was used almost exclusively for wine-making. A relatively extensive vocabulary is associated with the columnar cacti. Certain species, particularly senita (Lophocereus schottii), are prominent in traditional ...

Abronia macrocarpa (Nyctaginaceae): A New Species from Texas

Abronia macrocarpa, a large-fruited species, is described as new. It is known only from a small sand dune area in Leon County, Texas.