Short Styles Research Articles

Mismatch between pollen and pistil size causes asymmetric mechanical reproductive isolation across Phlox species.

Characterizing the mechanisms of reproductive isolation (RI) between lineages is key to determining how new species are formed and maintained. In flowering plants, interactions between the reproductive organs of the flower -the pollen and the pistil- serve as the last barrier to reproduction before fertilization. As such, these pollen-pistil interactions are both complex and important for determining a suitable mate. Here, we test whether differences in style length (a part of the pistil) generate a postmating prezygotic mechanical barrier between five species of perennial Phlox wildflowers with geographically overlapping distributions. We perform controlled pairwise reciprocal crosses between three species with long styles and two species with short styles to assess crossing success (seed set). We find that heterospecific seed set is broadly reduced compared to conspecific cross success and reveal a striking asymmetry in heterospecific crosses between species with different style lengths. To determine the mechanism underlying this asymmetric reproductive isolating barrier we assess pollen tube growth in vivo and in vitro. We demonstrate that pollen tubes of short-styled species do not grow long enough to reach the ovaries of long-styled species. We find that short-styled species also have smaller pollen and that both within and between species pollen diameter is highly correlated with pollen tube length. Our results support the hypothesis that the small pollen of short-styled species lacks resources to grow pollen tubes long enough to access the ovaries of the long-styled species, resulting in an asymmetrical, mechanical barrier to reproduction. Such reproductive isolating mechanisms, combined with additional pollen-pistil incompatibilities, may be particularly important for closely related species in geographic proximity that share pollinators.

Genetic Causes and Genomic Consequences of Breakdown of Distyly in Linum trigynum.

Distyly is an iconic floral polymorphism governed by a supergene, which promotes efficient pollen transfer and outcrossing through reciprocal differences in the position of sexual organs in flowers, often coupled with heteromorphic self-incompatibility. Distyly has evolved convergently in multiple flowering plant lineages, but has also broken down repeatedly, often resulting in homostylous, self-compatible populations with elevated rates of self-fertilization. Here, we aimed to study the genetic causes and genomic consequences of the shift to homostyly in Linum trigynum, which is closely related to distylous Linum tenue. Building on a high-quality genome assembly, we show that L. trigynum harbors a genomic region homologous to the dominant haplotype of the distyly supergene conferring long stamens and short styles in L. tenue, suggesting that loss of distyly first occurred in a short-styled individual. In contrast to homostylous Primula and Fagopyrum, L. trigynum harbors no fixed loss-of-function mutations in coding sequences of S-linked distyly candidate genes. Instead, floral gene expression analyses and controlled crosses suggest that mutations downregulating the S-linked LtWDR-44 candidate gene for male self-incompatibility and/or anther height could underlie homostyly and self-compatibility in L. trigynum. Population genomic analyses of 224 whole-genome sequences further demonstrate that L. trigynum is highly self-fertilizing, exhibits significantly lower genetic diversity genome-wide, and is experiencing relaxed purifying selection and less frequent positive selection on nonsynonymous mutations relative to L. tenue. Our analyses shed light on the loss of distyly in L. trigynum, and advance our understanding of a common evolutionary transition in flowering plants.

New species of Corydalis DC. (Fumariaceae) from Western Caucasus

A new species, Corydalis arkhyzica Mikhailova et Shilnikov (sect. Corydalis), is described from Western Caucasus, the Karachayevo-Circassian Republic, the Pkhiya Pass at the junction of Abishir Akhuba and Arkasara ridges. The species differs from C. teberdensis A. P. Khokhr. by lemon-yellow (not white) corolla and shorter style, from C. paczoskii N. Busch by lemon-yellow (not purple-rose) corolla and shape of bracts, from both of them by thick (not thin) leaves.

PfPIN5 promotes style elongation by regulating cell length in Primula forbesii Franch.

Style dimorphism is one of the polymorphic characteristics of flowers in heterostylous plants, which have two types of flowers: the pin morph, with long styles and shorter anthers, and the thrum morph, with short styles and longer anthers. The formation of dimorphic styles has received attention in the plant world. Previous studies showed that CYP734A50 in Primula determined style length and limited style elongation and that the brassinosteroid metabolic pathway was involved in regulation of style length. However, it is unknown whether there are other factors affecting the style length of Primula. Differentially expressed genes highly expressed in pin morph styles were screened based on Primula forbesii transcriptome data. Virus-induced gene silencing was used to silence these genes, and the style length and anatomical changes were observed 20 days after injection. PfPIN5 was highly expressed in pin morph styles. When PfPIN5 was silenced, the style length was shortened in pin and long-homostyle plants by shortening the length of style cells. Moreover, silencing CYP734A50 in thrum morph plants increased the expression level of PfPIN5 significantly, and the style length increased. The results indicated that PfPIN5, an auxin efflux transporter gene, contributed to regulation of style elongation in P. forbesii. The results implied that the auxin pathway might also be involved in the formation of styles of P. forbesii, providing a new pathway for elucidating the molecular mechanism of style elongation in P. forbesii.

Twitter sentiment analysis using conditional generative adversarial network

Sentiment analysis, which aims to extract information from textual data indicating people's ideas or attitudes about a particular problem, has developed into one of the most exciting study issues in natural language processing (NLP) with the development of social media. Twitter is a social network with an extensive audience that expresses their thoughts and opinions clearly and readily. Due to the prevalence of slang phrases and incorrect spellings in short phrase styles, Twitter data analysis is more challenging than data analysis from other social networks. Automated feature selection still has several limitations, such as higher computing costs that rise with the number of characteristics. Deep learning, which is self-learned and more accurate at processing vast amounts of data, is utilized to overcome these challenges. This paper introduces a conditional generative adversarial network (GAN) for Twitter sentiment analysis, whereas a convolutional neural network (CNN) has been used to extract traits from Twitter data. Compared to existing works, the proposed work has outperformed in accuracy, recall, precision, and F1 score. The suggested method is the most accurate, with a classification accuracy of 93.33 %.

A new species of Amorphophallus (Araceae) from northeastern Thailand.

Amorphophallussakonnakhonensis Chatan & Promprom, a new species from northeastern Thailand, is described and illustrated. The new species is most similar to A.harmandii Engl. & Gehrm. and A.linearis Gagnep., but it is distinguished by the combination of characters as follows: clear differences with A.harmandii are shorter style; disc-like, slightly smooth surface, concave centre, ca. 0.2 × 0.1 mm stigma; slightly cylindrical, slightly narrower upper part of staminate flower zone; slightly cylindrical to elongate-fusiform, erect or slightly erect, creamy white appendix. The clearly distinct morphology with A.linearis are disc-like, slightly smooth surface, concave centre, ca. 0.2 × 0.1 mm stigma; elliptic or obovate leaflet; 1-3 cm long, creamy white appendix. The preliminary conservation status was assessed, and the distinct characteristics of similar species were discussed.

A new species of Sedum (Crassulaceae) from Mount Danxia in Guangdong, China.

Sedumjinglanii, a new species of Crassulaceae from Mount Danxia in Guangdong, China, is described and illustrated. Phylogenetic analysis based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nrDNA suggests that the new species belongs to S.sect.Sedum sensu Fu and Ohba (2001) in the "Flora of China", and is sister to a clade comprising S.alfredi and S.emarginatum with high support values (SH-aLRT = 84, UFBS = 95) but is distantly related to S.baileyi. The new species is morphologically similar to S.alfredi but it can be distinguished from the latter in its opposite leaves (vs. alternate leaves), its usually wider leaves (0.4-1.2 cm vs. 0.2-0.6 cm), its usually shorter petals (3.4-4.5 mm vs. 4-6 mm), its shorter nectar scales (0.4-0.5 mm vs. 0.5-1 mm), its shorter carpels (1.5-2.6 mm vs. 4-5 mm), and its shorter styles (0.6-0.9 mm vs. 1-2 mm). The new species can be easily distinguished from S.emarginatum which both have opposite leaves by its short, erect or ascending rhizome (vs. long and prostrate rhizome in the latter), shorter petals (3.4-4.5 mm vs. 6-8 mm) and shorter carpels (1.5-2.6 mm vs. 4-5 mm). It can also be easily distinguished from S.baileyi by its short, erect or ascending rhizome (vs. long and prostrate rhizome) and its shorter style (0.6-0.9 mm vs. 1-1.5 mm).

Thalictrum hengduanshanense and T. longistipitatum (Ranunculaceae), two new species from southeastern Xizang and northwestern Yunnan, China

Thalictrum hengduanshanense and T. longistipitatum (Ranunculaceae), two new species from the southern Hengduan Mountains region in southeastern Xizang and northwestern Yunnan, China, are illustrated and described. Morphologically T. hengduanshanense is most closely similar to T. tsawarungense in having narrowly oblanceolate-linear filaments of stamens and apically slightly recurved styles, but differs by having laxly branched, corymb-like (vs. narrowly paniculiform) inflorescences and larger (ca. 9 mm vs. 4.5‒7 mm long), narrowly lunate (vs. broadly lunate) achenes (body width/body length = ca. 1/3 vs. ca. 1/2). Thalictrum longistipitatum is closely similar to T. hengduanshanense in habit and in having narrowly oblanceolate-linear filaments of stamens, apically slightly recurved styles, and long stipitate achenes, but differs by having apically abruptly recurved (vs. straight) pedicels and shorter styles (ca. 1 mm vs. ca. 2 mm long). Chromosome numbers of T. longistipitatum (2n = 14), T. rostellatum (2n = 28), T. tsawarungense (2n = 14) and T. wangii (2n = 14) are reported here for the first time.

Research on the effect of different types of short music videos on viewers' psychological emotions.

There is now widespread agreement that different types of short music videos can cause viewers to have psychological emotions, and significant new findings have been discovered in the study of how music affects listeners' affective reactions. However, there is still controversy regarding research on the inclinations toward behavior and autonomic neurophysiological reactions of musical emotions. The psychological states of viewers of various types of short music videos are yet unknown and require further study. This study investigates how different types of short music videos affect viewers' psychological responses, placing particular emphasis on the following variables: rhythm type (stable rhythm and flow rhythm) and music short video type (narrative, live, and funny). In an experiment, viewers' psychological responses to several short music videos were investigated to determine the impact of different short music video styles and rhythms on musically induced emotions.

Smithiayehii (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae), a new species from Taiwan.

A new species of Smithia Aiton, S.yehii C.M.Wang, Chih Y.Chang & Y.H.Tseng, sp. nov. from the wetlands of Taiwan is reported in this article. This species was mistakenly identified as S.sensitiva Aiton, but can be distinguished by its pale yellow corolla (vs. vivid yellow), often smaller flowers and shorter style. There is also a color gradient on the adaxial surface of the leaflets between young and mature leaves. Surface sculpture of pollen of S.yehii has significantly larger perforations, and muri are wider than those of S.sensitiva. An identification key to the Smithia taxa of Taiwan and S.sensitiva is presented.

Preparing for the New Phygital Generation as Potential Academic Library Users in South African Higher Education

Context: Higher education and its academic support services, including academic library and information services (LIS), have continuously been challenged by new technological developments, as well as the quest for transformation toward more inclusive education. The rapid and disruptive technological changes imposed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) heralded a new entry-level student, coined the “phygital generation.” This new generation of library users is characterised by an ever-expanding digital imprint and a preference for using mobile technology to navigate all aspects of their daily lives, including how they approach their tertiary studies. Focus: The study interrogates the readiness of information specialists to understand the nature of the phygital generation within a higher education group in South Africa. The changes in information-seeking behaviour are explored with due cognisance of the existing digital exclusions experienced by many South African students. Methodology: Through the lens of the critical theory paradigm and guided by the conceptualisations of post-digital frameworks, critical digital approaches and metacognitive frameworks, qualitative data were collected during a focus group interview. The non-probability sample was purposively selected, consisting of information specialists of a school within a higher education institution. The transcribed data were coded and thematically analysed. Key findings: Key findings show a shift in the information-seeking behaviour of new entry-level students. There is a propensity towards using mobile technology. It is evident that LIS staff in this study are not yet mobilised to accommodate this new trend by adapting existing services to be more open to accommodating mobile technology seamlessly. The participants reported that academic writing skills are affected by short messaging styles used in social media. Understanding the nature of the new phygital student and capitalising on the affordances of mobile learning will support student success. Value: Mobile LIS urgently needs to be formalised and implemented strategically with the needs of the new generation in mind. The need for further institutional reform and innovation is evident. Further research is required on plagiarism trends, copyright infringement and privacy compliance that emerged from the findings of this study.

Glochidion malingheense (Phyllanthaceae), a new species from Guizhou, China

Glochidion malingheense, a new species from southwestern Guizhou, China, is described. Morphologically, the new species is most similar to G. oblatum Hook. f. in having angled branchlets, leathery leaves, and thick pericarp of capsules that become lignified to some extent when dry, but clearly differs from the latter by its long pedicelled pistillate flowers that are with oblong sepals, short cylindrical styles, depressed globose ovary, subcircular to broadly ellipticum sepals of staminate flowers, 3 stamens and smaller fruits.

Evaluation of pollen tube growth ability in Petunia species having different style lengths.

Pollen tube growth is essential for the fertilization process in angiosperms. When pollen grains arrive on the stigma, they germinate, and the pollen tubes elongate through the styles of the pistils to deliver sperm cells into the ovules to produce the seeds. The relationship between the growth rate and style length remains unclear. In previous studies, we developed a liquid pollen germination medium for observing pollen tube growth. In this study, using this medium, we examined the pollen tube growth ability in Petunia axillaris subsp. axillaris, P. axillaris subsp. parodii, P. integrifolia, and P. occidentalis, which have different style lengths. Petunia occidentalis had the longest pollen tubes after 6 h of culture but had a relatively shorter style. Conversely, the pollination experiments revealed that P. axillaris subsp. parodii, which had the longest style, produced the longest pollen tubes in vivo. The results revealed no clear relationship between the style lengths and the growth rate of pollen tubes in vitro. Interspecific pollinations indicated that the styles affected pollen tube growth. We concluded that, in vitro, the pollen tubes grow without being affected by the styles, whereas, in vivo, the styles significantly affected pollen tube growth. Furthermore, interspecific pollination experiments implied that the pollen tube growth tended to be suppressed in the styles of self-incompatibility species. Finally, we discussed the pollen tube growth ability in relation to style lengths.

Germination of Seeds from Flowers along a Continuum of Long to Short Styles in the Cold Desert Perennial Herb Ixiolirion songaricum.

We compared seed set, mass, and dormancy/germination of seeds from flowers at three points on the style-length continuum [long (LS), intermediate (IS), and short (SS) styles] in Ixiolirion songaricum. The effects of open and hand pollination (self and cross with pollen from upper and lower-level stamens) on seed set, mass, and dormancy/germination were assessed. Most freshly-matured seeds from LS, IS, and SS flowers were dormant, and dormancy was broken under laboratory and field conditions. After-ripened seeds from LS and IS flowers germinated to significantly higher percentages than those from SS flowers. In all pollination treatments, seed set and mass were significantly higher for LS and IS than for SS flowers. Seed set, mass, and germination for LS, IS, and SS flowers were significantly higher in open-pollinated and in cross-pollinated with pollen from upper and lower-level stamens than in self-pollination with pollen from upper- and lower-level stamens. These differences in offspring reproductive traits may be adaptive for I. songaricum in its rainfall-unpredictable environment. This is the first study to demonstrate the association between style length and germination in a species with continuous variation in style length.

Mediation Role of Parental Nutrition Style in Relation with Parental Coping Strategies and Pediatric Obesity in Shiraz, 2019

Objective: In obese children, there is a greater likelihood that they will become obese adults, and they will have negative physical and psychological outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the mediating role of parental nutritional style in the relationship between parental coping styles and childhood obesity. Materials and Methods: The present study was descriptive and correlational. The statistical population of the study consisted of all obese children and their parents in 2019 in Shiraz. 160 children and their parents were selected and studied by multi-stage cluster sampling from the statistical population. Coping inventory for a stressful situation – short form (CISS) and parental feeding styles questionnaire (PFSQ), and body mass index (BMI) were used to collect data. After collecting and extracting data, participants' scores were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equations (path analysis) by means of SPSS 20 and AMOS 20 statistical software. Results: The results showed that the relationship between problem-oriented and emotion-oriented coping style with BMI was significant and negative (P= 0.01); furthermore, relationship between distraction style and social engagement style with BMI was significant and positive (P= 0.01). Moreover, there was a significant and positive the relationship between the subscale of emotional nutrition, instrumental nutrition, arousal, and encouragement to eat with BMI (P= 0.05). Conclusion: According to the findings, parents who urge their children to follow a healthy eating pattern have an essential moderating role in the interplay between coping techniques and childhood obesity.

Female self-incompatibility type in heterostylous Primula is determined by the brassinosteroid-inactivating cytochrome P450 CYP734A50

Most flowering plants are hermaphrodites, with flowers having both male and female reproductive organs. One widespread adaptation to limit self-fertilization is self-incompatibility (SI), where self-pollen fails to fertilize ovules.1,2 In homomorphic SI, many morphologically indistinguishable mating types are found, although in heteromorphic SI, the two or three mating types are associated with different floral morphologies.3-6 In heterostylous Primula, a hemizygous supergene determines a short-styled S-morph and a long-styled L-morph, corresponding to two different mating types, and full seed set only results from intermorph crosses.7-9 Style length is controlled by the brassinosteroid (BR)-inactivating cytochrome P450 CYP734A50,10 yet it remains unclear what defines the male and female incompatibility types. Here, we show that CYP734A50 also determines the female incompatibility type. Inactivating CYP734A50 converts short S-morph styles into long styles with the same incompatibility behavior as L-morph styles, and this effect can be mimicked by exogenous BR treatment. Invitro responses of S- and L-morph pollen grains and pollen tubes to increasing BR levels could only partly explain their different invivo behavior, suggesting both direct and indirect effects of the different BR levels in S- versus L-morph stigmas and styles in controlling pollen performance. This BR-mediated SI provides a novel mechanism for preventing self-fertilization. The joint control of morphology and SI by CYP734A50 has important implications for the evolutionary buildup of the heterostylous syndrome and provides a straightforward explanation for why essentially all of the derived self-compatible homostylous Primula species are long homostyles.11.

The leaf polarity factors SGS3 and YABBYs regulate style elongation through auxin signaling in Mimulus lewisii.

Style length is a major determinant of breeding strategies in flowering plants and can vary dramatically between and within species. However, little is known about the genetic and developmental control of style elongation. We characterized the role of two classes of leaf adaxial-abaxial polarity factors, SUPPRESSOR OF GENE SILENCING3 (SGS3) and the YABBY family transcription factors, in the regulation of style elongation in Mimulus lewisii. We also examined the spatiotemporal patterns of auxin response during style development. Loss of SGS3 function led to reduced style length via limiting cell division, and downregulation of YABBY genes by RNA interference resulted in shorter styles by decreasing both cell division and cell elongation. We discovered an auxin response minimum between the stigma and ovary during the early stages of pistil development that marks style differentiation. Subsequent redistribution of auxin response to this region was correlated with style elongation. Auxin response was substantially altered when both SGS3 and YABBY functions were disrupted. We suggest that auxin signaling plays a central role in style elongation and that the way in which auxin signaling controls the different cell division and elongation patterns underpinning natural style length variation is a major question for future research.

Madhuca balakrishnanii (Sapotaceae), a new species from Kerala, India

Madhuca balakrishnanii (Sapotaceae), a new species from Kerala is here described with photographs. It is most closely similar to M. diplostemon and M. insignis but differs in having long stipules, sparsely hairy pedicels, abaxially hairy inner sepals, shorter corolla tubes with oblong lobes, fairly long densely hairy staminal filaments, shorter styles and ovoid fruits. The IUCN conservation status, ecology, distribution and phenology along with a key for the identification of Madhuca species in the Western Ghats is provided.

Recipient and donor characteristics govern the hierarchical structure of heterospecific pollen competition networks

Abstract Pollinator sharing can have negative consequences for plant fitness via competition for visits as well as with the arrival of heterospecific pollen. Plant traits and relatedness of donor and recipient species have been suggested to drive the observed variation in plant fitness effects of both processes, but how they shape the structure of interspecific pollen competition networks has been overlooked at the community level. To understand the importance of reproductive traits and relatedness to the impact of heterospecific pollen, we conducted a controlled glasshouse experiment with an artificial co‐flowering community. We performed 2,200 hand pollination crosses by experimentally transferring conspecific pollen alone or with 50% and 100% foreign pollen among 10 species belonging to three different plant families. Relative to conspecific pollen alone, there was a significant reduction in seed set with 50% heterospecific pollen for 67% of the crosses. This effect is driven largely by recipient traits and the interaction between recipient and donor traits under specific circumstances of trait matching. In general, species with shorter styles, smaller stigmas and lower pollen:ovule ratios were more impacted by heterospecific pollen. These traits and their differences among species led to a hierarchical (or transitive) structure of pollen competition with clear winners and losers. However, phylogenetic distance among recipient and donor species did not explain the effects. Synthesis. Our study shows that specific traits and trait combinations between donor and recipient species are important in determining seed production outcomes with heterospecific pollen receipt. Moreover, the differences in traits between species lead to a competitive structure with clear ‘winners’ or ‘losers’ species. The results of this study highlight the importance of specific traits in understanding the position of the competitive hierarchy of the species and the mechanisms underlying heterospecific pollen impacts upon plant reproductive success.

Chlorophytum sabiense (Asparagaceae): A new speices from Nigeria

Chlorophytum Ker-Gawl. is a monocotyledonous perennial herb. Its perennating organ is rhizome which may be tuberous or not. The genus like other Liliales is characterized by having tricarpellay syncarpous ovary. In the present study, samples of the species collected from the North Central part of Nigeria and used for this study, were observed to have multiple carpels fused at the base and with free styles. This is the main diagnostic feature of the newly identified species. Multicarpellary syncarpous ovary is not only new for the genus but also for the tribe Asphodeleae of Hutchinson's system. The carpels consist of; 3 with long free styles and 3 with short free styles. Placentation is axile, with three chambers, suggesting carpellode situation in few of its carpels. The new taxon is therefore named Chlorophytum sabiense. Omokanye, sp. nov. TYPE: Nigeria, Sabi