Number Of Idioblasts Research Articles

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ANATOMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF RHEUM TATARICUM L. PLANTS FROM DIFFERENT ECOPOPULATIONS

There are about 60 species of the genus Rheum L. (Polygonaceae) distributed mainly in temperate and subtropical Asia, with the largest number (38 species, including 19 endemics) recorded in China. All species of the genus are used as medicinal plants. According to modern pharmacology, the most important property of the rhubarb root is regulation of the stomach and intestine function, due to its laxa-tive effect; rhubarb also has antipyretic properties and antioxidant activity. The high content of dietary fibers provides protection against cardiovascular diseases, and vitamin K is valuable for the prevention of osteoporosis. However, the active ingredients and their mechanism of action have not been sufficiently studied.Rheum tataricum L., known for its high resistance to drought, salinity, and lack of nutrients is the least studied species of wild rhubarb. The whole plant, and especially the leaves, contains several toxic compounds, in particular anthraquinone glycosides and calcium oxalate crystals. Here we present the results of a comparative analysis of the anatomical and morphological structure of Rh. tataricum plants from ecopopulations growing in the Balkhash and Karatal districts of the Almaty region. We identified the differences due to the weather and climatic conditions of the ecopopulations. It is important to note that many idioblasts containing calcium oxalate were found in the rhizomes of Rh. tataricum, which prevent animals from eating plants and getting poisoned. The number of idioblasts in the central circle of the Rh. tataricum rhizome was smaller in the Balkhash district than in the Karatal district, while the idioblasts were larger in size in the former district. The medicinal and nutritional value of Rh. tataricum growing in a semi-desert environment indicates a high potential of the species in plant breeding, medicine, and as a food source.

Justification of anatomical- and morphological criteria for the plant origin food products identification and quality

Interest in the development of anatomical and morphological authenticity criteria of a number of food products of plant origin is growing due to their falsification. A fairly common falsification is the substitution of laurel noble leaves (Laurus nobilis L.) with similarly alike leaves of medicinal laurel cherries (Laurocerasus officinalis M. Roem.), full or partial replacement of long leaf tea with vegetative organs of other families plants. The microscopy method in combination with histochemical reactions to biologically active substances can become promising not only for identification, but also for assessing the quality of individual food products of plant origin. The aim of the study was to develop anatomical and morphological criteria for the identification and quality of food products of plant origin on the example of black long leaf tea and laurel leaf. Diagnostic features allowing identification and detection of laurel leaf falsification by cherryl leaves are leaf area, stomatal apparatus type, number and location of essential oil containers, tannins localization, calcium oxalate crystals shape and location. The criterion for qualimetric identification of laurel leaf is the number of calcium oxalate crystals and the filling of containers with essential oil. A strong positive link between the number of filled essential oil containers and the content of essential oil in the leaves were established. A diagnostic feature of tea leaf is the presence of idioblasts. It is advisable to use the number of idioblasts, hairs and drusen of calcium oxalate crystals per unit area to identify, detect outgrowing, assess the degree of maturity of the tea leaf and the quality of black tea, the value of which is associated with the content of water-soluble extractive substances and tannin..

Leaf anatomy of Acrocomia (Arecaceae): an additional contribution to the taxonomic resolution of a genus with great economic potential

Acrocomia is one of the most complex genera to understand in the Neotropical Arecaceae, and there is no consensus on the number of species in the genus. A comparative study of leaf anatomy was conducted on seven species of Acrocomia: one with a wide distribution in the Americas (A. aculeata), five endemic to different regions of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay (A. emensis, A. glaucescens, A. hassleri, A. intumescens and A. totai) and one endemic to Cuba (A. crispa). Characters that unify the species of Acrocomia include the following: epidermis covered with cuticle, hypodermis on both sides of the leaflets, non-vascular fiber bundles, and primary and secondary vascular bundles. The shape of the leaflet margin, the distribution of the primary vascular bundles and fiber bundles, the number of idioblasts with raphides and the size of the vascular bundles, along with other characteristics, were used to distinguish these species in Acrocomia.

Calcium oxalate formation in Lemna minor: physiological and ultrastructural aspects of high capacity calcium sequestration.

• The function of calcium oxalate (CaOx) raphide crystal formation, and structural features related to regulation of crystal formation, were studied in Lemna minor fronds using physiological and microscopy techniques. • Specialized crystal-forming cells (crystal idioblasts) increased in number and size; CaOx, but not soluble oxalate, increased in response to increasing calcium in the growth medium. Size and number of idioblasts had a distinct upper limit. • The CaOx crystals are formed in membranous 'chambers' and connected in rows by parallel membrane sheets, both forming de novo in the vacuole. The chambers, but not parallel membranes, had calcium associated with them. A calcium-binding matrix protein was associated with idioblast vacuoles and crystal formation. • Lemna crystal idioblasts function as calcium-inducible, specialized high-capacity but saturable sinks for bulk regulation of calcium, and crystal deposition is a highly controlled process requiring intravacuolar membrane systems and calcium-binding organic matrix materials.

The formation of crystal idioblasts in Canavalia ensiformis DC. at different levels of calcium supply

Summary 1. Plants of the jackbean were grown in nutrient solution at three different levels of Ca supply: a) In «normal« solution ensuring optimal growth. b) With a minimum amount of Ca, which made it just possible for the plants to survive and grow. c) With excess Ca, fed through the stem. 2. With minimal Ca the plants show obvious signs of damage yet still they form crystals of Ca oxalate although to a lesser extent as compared with «normal« controls. 3. With excess Ca the number of crystals rises above the «normal« level. 4. Crystals appear exclusively in idioblasts. Idioblasts without crystals are found only in the old leaves of plants with minimal Ca. The number of crystals is paralleled by the number of idioblasts. Both numbers go down with a low and rise with a high amount of Ca fed to the plants.

THE ANATOMY OF INTERNAL TIPBURN OF CABBAGE

Leaves of resistant and susceptible breeding lines of two closely related varieties of cabbage, ‘Glory’ and ‘Globe,’ showing internal tipburn were examined anatomically. Since both resistant and susceptible lines developed tipburn, the type of injury rather than the amount was considered. Regardless of the degree of resistance, cellular disorders in the tipburned areas were the same. Early symptoms showed small gray areas at the lobes of the leaves. The outer parenchymatous cells of these areas remained normal. Some of the xylem vessels became occluded with a granular substance; surrounding cells, including the idioblasts, enlarged. The idioblasts, reported to contain the enzyme myrosin, contained a particulate substance. Some idioblasts hypertrophied and also divided resulting in the distribution of the particles to additional cells. The conditions causing tipburn also affected cell walls, causing thickening and the production of pectic warts between cells and on walls facing the intercellular spaces. As more xylem vessels became occluded, and as the number of idioblasts with particles increased, the cells at the periphery of the leaf collapsed.

The Anatomy of Internal Tipburn of Cabbage

Leaves of resistant and susceptible breeding lines of two closely related varieties of cabbage, ‘Glory’ and ‘Globe,’ showing internal tipburn were examined anatomically. Since both resistant and susceptible lines developed tipburn, the type of injury rather than the amount was considered. Regardless of the degree of resistance, cellular disorders in the tipburned areas were the same. Early symptoms showed small gray areas at the lobes of the leaves. The outer parenchymatous cells of these areas remained normal. Some of the xylem vessels became occluded with a granular substance; surrounding cells, including the idioblasts, enlarged. The idioblasts, reported to contain the enzyme myrosin, contained a particulate substance. Some idioblasts hypertrophied and also divided resulting in the distribution of the particles to additional cells. The conditions causing tipburn also affected cell walls, causing thickening and the production of pectic warts between cells and on walls facing the intercellular spaces. As more xylem vessels became occluded, and as the number of idioblasts with particles increased, the cells at the periphery of the leaf collapsed.