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Apomixis and the paradox of sex in plants Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-03-15 Elvira Hörandl
Background The predominance of sex in eukaryotes, despite the high costs of meiosis and mating, is still an evolutionary enigma. Many theories have been proposed, none of them being conclusive on its own, and they are partly not well applicable to land plants. Sexual reproduction is obligate in embryophytes for the great majority of species. Scope This review will compare the main forms of sexual and
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Transgenerational plasticity to drought: contrasting patterns of non-genetic inheritance in two semiarid Mediterranean shrubs Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-03-14 Marina Ramos-Muñoz, Mario Blanco-Sánchez, Beatriz Pías, Adrián Escudero, Silvia Matesanz
Background and Aims Intra- and transgenerational plasticity may provide substantial phenotypic variation to cope with environmental change. Since assessing the unique contribution of the maternal environment to the offspring phenotype is challenging in perennial, outcrossing plants, little is known about the evolutionary and ecological implications of transgenerational plasticity and its persistence
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Local climate and vernalization sensitivity predict the latitudinal patterns of flowering onset in the crop wild relative Linum bienne Mill Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-03-14 Beatrice Landoni, Pilar Suárez-Montes, Rico H F Habeahan, Adrian C Brennan, Rocío Pérez-Barrales
Background and Aims The timing of flowering onset often correlates with latitude, indicative of climatic gradients. Flowering onset in temperate species commonly requires exposure to cold temperatures, known as vernalization. Hence, population differentiation of flowering onset with latitude might reflect adaptation to the local climatic conditions experienced by populations. Methods Within its Western
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Grape cultivars adapted to hotter, drier growing regions exhibit greater photosynthesis under hot conditions despite less drought-resistant leaves Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-03-12 Gabriela Sinclair, Erin R Galarneau, Josh F Hnizdor, Andrew J McElrone, Michael Andrew Walker, Megan K Bartlett
Background and Aims Many agricultural areas are expected to face hotter, drier conditions from climate change. Understanding the mechanisms crops use to mitigate these stresses can guide breeding for more tolerant plant material. We tested relationships between traits, physiological function under hot conditions, and historical climate associations to evaluate these mechanisms for winegrapes. We expected
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Niche and phenotypic differentiation in fern hybrid speciation, a case study of Pteris fauriei (Pteridaceae) Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-03-12 Yi-Shan Chao, Yao-Wei Yang, Chiou-Rong Sheue, I-Ling Lai
Background and Aims Niche differentiation is a critical issue in speciation. Although it has a well-known role in adaptive processes of hybrid angiosperms, it is less understood in hybrid ferns. Here we investigate whether an intermediate ecological niche of a fern hybrid is a novel adaptation that provides insights into fern hybrid speciation. Methods Pteris fauriei (Pteridaceae) is a natural hybrid
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Fire facilitates ground layer plant diversity in a Miombo ecosystem Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-03-12 Jakub D Wieczorkowski, Caroline E R Lehmann, Sally Archibald, Sarah Banda, David J Goyder, Mokwani Kaluwe, Kondwani Kapinga, Isabel Larridon, Aluoneswi C Mashau, Elina Phiri, Stephen Syampungani
Background and Aims Little is known about the response of ground layer plant communities to fire in Miombo ecosystems, which is a global blind spot of ecological understanding. We aim to (i) assess the impact of three experimentally imposed fire treatments on ground layer species composition, and compare it with patterns observed for trees; and (ii) analyse the effect of fire treatments on species
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Effects of extreme temperatures and recovery potential of Gongolaria barbata from a coastal lagoon in the northern Adriatic Sea: An ex situ approach Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-03-11 Andrea Bilajac, Edi Gljušćić, Shannen Smith, Mirjana Najdek, Ljiljana Iveša
Background and Aims Globally, rising seawater temperatures contribute to the regression of marine macroalgal forests. Along the Istrian coastline (northern Adriatic), an isolated population of Gongolaria barbata persists in a coastal lagoon, representing one of the last marine macroalgal forests in the region. Our objective was to examine the impact of extreme temperatures on morphology and physiology
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Crop-to-wild gene flow in wild coffee species – the case of Coffea canephora in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-03-05 Lauren Verleysen, Jonas Depecker, Robrecht Bollen, Justin Asimonyio, Yves Hatangi, Jean-Léon Kambale, Ithe Mwanga Mwanga, Tshimi Ebele, Benoit Dhed’a, Piet Stoffelen, Tom Ruttink, Filip Vandelook, Olivier Honnay
Background and aims Plant breeders are increasingly turning to crop wild relatives (CWRs) to ensure food security in a rapidly changing environment. However, CWR populations are confronted with various human-induced threats, including hybridisation with their nearby cultivated crops. This might be especially a problem for wild coffee species, which often occur near coffee cultivation areas. Here, we
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Fire effects on pollination and plant reproduction: a quantitative review Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-03-01 Lucas M Carbone, Julia Tavella, Victoria Marquez, Lorena Ashworth, Juli G Pausas, Ramiro Aguilar
Background and Aims Fire may favour plant flowering by opening the vegetation and increasing abiotic resource availability. Increased floral display size can attract more pollinators and increase the absolute fruit and seed production immediately after the fire. However, anthropogenic increases in fire frequency may alter these responses. We aim to assess the effects of fire on pollination and reproductive
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Divergence and reticulation in the Mexican white oaks: ecological and phylogenomic evidence on species limits and phylogenetic networks in the Quercus laeta complex (Fagaceae) Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-03-01 Saddan Morales-Saldaña, Andrew L Hipp, Susana Valencia-Ávalos, Marlene Hahn, M Socorro González-Elizondo, David S Gernandt, Kasey K Pham, Ken Oyama, Antonio González-Rodríguez
Background and Aims Introgressive hybridization poses a challenge to taxonomic and phylogenetic understanding of taxa, particularly when there are high numbers of co-occurring, intercrossable species. The genus Quercus exemplifies this situation. Oaks are highly diverse in sympatry and cross freely, creating syngameons of interfertile species. Although a well-resolved, dated phylogeny is available
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Interactions of moisture and light drive lichen growth and the response to climate change scenarios – experimental evidence for Lobaria pulmonaria Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-03-01 Martine Borge, Christopher J Ellis
Background and Aims There is growing interest in the functional ecology of poikilohydric nonvascular photoautotrophs (NVPs), including ‘cryptogamic’ bryophytes and lichens. These organisms are structurally important in many ecosystems, contributing substantially to ecosystem function and services, while also being sensitive to climate change. Previous research has quantified the climate change response
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Anatomical insights into the vascular lay-out of the barley rachis: implications for transport and spikelet connection Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-26 Twan Rutten, Venkatasubbu Thirulogachandar, Yongyu Huang, Nandhakumar Shanmugaraj, Ravi Koppolu, Stefan Ortleb, Götz Hensel, Jochen Kumlehn, Michael Melzer, Thorsten Schnurbusch
Background and aims Vascular patterning is intimately related to plant form and function. Here, using barley (Hordeum vulgare) as a model, we studied the vascular anatomy of the spike-type inflorescence. The main aim of the present work was to clarify the relationship between rachis (spike axis) vasculature and spike size, define vascular dynamics, the implications for transport capacity and its interaction
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Contrasting biomass allocations explain adaptations to cold and drought in the world’s highest-growing angiosperms Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-26 Jiri Dolezal, Thinles Chondol, Zuzana Chlumska, Jan Altman, Katerina Capkova, Miroslav Dvorsky, Pavel Fibich, Kirill A Korznikov, Adam T Ruka, Martin Kopecky, Martin Macek, Klara Rehakova
Background and Aims Understanding biomass allocation among plant organs is crucial for comprehending plant growth optimization, survival and responses to global change drivers. Yet, mechanisms governing mass allocation in vascular plants from extreme elevations exposed to cold and drought stresses remain poorly understood. Methodology We analyzed organ mass weights and fractions in 258 Himalayan herbaceous
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Do phylogenetic community metrics reveal the South African quartz fields as terrestrial-habitat islands? Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-24 Daniel A Zhigila, Tammy L Elliott, Ute Schmiedel, A Muthama Muasya
Background and aims The quartz fields of the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) are arid and island-like special habitats, hosting about 142 habitat-specialized plant species of which 81% are local endemics, characterized by a rapid turnover of species between and among sites. We use several phylogenetic community metrics to i) examine species diversity and phylogenetic structure within and among
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High spatial resolution datasets analyses identify genes associated with multi-layered secondary cell wall thickening in Pinus bungeana Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-17 Yu Guo, Lichao Jiao, Jie Wang, Lingyu Ma, Yang Lu, Yonggang Zhang, Juan Guo, Yafang Yin
Background and Aims Secondary cell wall (SCW) thickening is a major cellular developmental stage determine wood structure and properties. Although the molecular regulation of cell wall deposition during tracheary element differentiation has been well established in primary growth systems, less is known about the gene regulatory processes involved in the multi-layered SCW thickening of mature trees
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Isohydric stomatal behaviour alters fruit vascular flows and minimizes fruit size reductions in drought-stressed ‘Hass’ avocado (Persea americana Mill.) Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-17 Teruko Kaneko, Nick Gould, David Campbell, Michael J Clearwater
Background and aims Plant water status is important for fruit development, as many fleshy fruits contain large amounts of water. However, there is no information on vascular flows of Persea americana ‘Hass’ avocado. The aims of this research were to explore the impact of drought stress on the water relations of the ‘Hass’ avocado plant, and its fruit growth. Methods Well-watered and water-stressed
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Histochemical, metabolic and ultrastructural changes in leaf patelliform nectaries explain extrafloral nectar synthesis and secretion in Clerodendrum chinense Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-17 Shobhon Paul, Adinpunya Mitra
Background and Aims Extrafloral nectaries are nectar-secreting structures present on vegetative parts of the plants which provide indirect defences against herbivore attack. Extrafloral nectaries in Clerodendrum chinense are patelliform-shaped specialised trichomatous structures. However, complete portrayal of patelliform extrafloral nectaries in general and C. chinense in particular, is not yet established
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Quantifying Water-Use Efficiency in Plant Canopies with Varying Leaf Angle and Density Distribution Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-16 María A Ponce de León, Brian N Bailey
Background and Aims Variation in architectural traits related to the spatial and angular distribution of leaf area can have considerable impacts on canopy-scale fluxes contributing to water-use efficiency (WUE). These architectural traits are frequent targets for crop improvement, and for improving understanding and predictions of net ecosystem carbon and water fluxes. Methods A three-dimensional,
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Xylem-dwelling pathogen unaffected by local xylem vessel network properties in grapevines (Vitis spp.) Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-09 Ana Clara Fanton, Martin Bouda, Craig Brodersen
Background and aims Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is the xylem-dwelling bacterium associated with Pierce’s Disease (PD), which causes mortality in agriculturally important species, such as grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.). Development of PD symptoms in grapevines depends on the ability of Xf to produce cell wall-degrading enzymes to break up intervessel pit membranes and systematically spread through xylem
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Conserved autophagy and diverse cell wall composition: Unifying features of vascular tissues in evolutionarily distinct plants Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-07 Kornel M Michalak, Natalia Wojciechowska, Katarzyna Marzec-Schmidt, Agnieszka Bagniewska-Zadworna
Background and Aims The formation of multifunctional vascular tissues represents a significant advancement in plant evolution. Differentiation of conductive cells is specific, involving two main pathways – protoplast clearance and cell wall modification. In xylogenesis, autophagy is a crucial process of the complete protoplast elimination in tracheary elements, whose cell wall also undergoes strong
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Anti-herbivory defenses delivered by Epichloë fungal endophytes: a quatitative review of alkaloid concentration variation among hosts and plant parts Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-06 Florencia M Realini, Víctor M Escobedo, Andrea C Ueno, Daniel A Bastías, Christopher L Schardl, Fernando Biganzoli, Pedro E Gundel
Background and Aims In the Poöideae subfamily (Poaceae), certain grass species possess antiherbivore alkaloids synthesized by fungal endophytes that belong to the genus Epichloë (Clavicipitaceae). The protective role of these symbiotic endophytes can vary, depending on alkaloid concentrations within specific plant-endophyte associations and plant parts. Methods We conducted a literature review to identify
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Prospecting for rare earth element (hyper)accumulators in the Paris Herbarium using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy reveals new distributional and taxon discoveries Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-04 Léo Goudard, Damien Blaudez, Catherine Sirguey, Imam Purwadi, Vanessa Invernon, Germinal Rouhan, Antony van der Ent
Context Rare earth elements (REEs) are increasingly crucial for modern technologies. Plants could be used as a biogeochemical pathfinder and a tool to extract REEs from deposits. However, a paucity of information on suitable plants for these tasks exists. Methods We aimed to discover new REE (hyper)accumulating plant species by performing an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) survey at the Herbarium of the Muséum
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The evolution of the duckweed ionome mirrors losses in structural complexity Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-02-02 Kellie E Smith, Min Zhou, Paulina Flis, Dylan Jones, Anthony Bishopp, Levi Yant
Background and Aims The duckweeds (Lemnaceae) consist of 36 species exhibiting impressive phenotypic variation, including the progressive evolutionary loss of a fundamental plant organ, the root. Loss of roots and reduction of vascular tissues in recently derived taxa occur in concert with genome expansions of up to 14-fold. Given the paired loss of roots and reduction in structural complexity in derived
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Flowering time responses to warming drive reproductive fitness in a changing Arctic Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-01-22 Courtney G Collins, Amy Angert, Karin Clark, Sarah Elmendorf, Cassandra Elphinstone, Greg Henry
Background and Aims The Arctic is warming at an alarming rate, leading to earlier spring conditions and plant phenology. It is often unclear to what degree changes in reproductive fitness (flower, fruit, seed production) are a direct response to warming versus an indirect response through shifting phenology. This study aims to quantify the relative importance of these direct and indirect pathways and
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Patterns of Grewia (Malvaceae) diversity across geographic scales in Africa and Madagascar Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-01-20 Nisa Karimi, Margaret M Hanes
Background and aims Quantifying spatial species richness is useful to describe biodiversity patterns across broad geographic areas, especially in large, poorly known plant groups. We explore patterns and predictors of species richness across Africa in one such group; the paleotropical genus Grewia L. (Malvaceae). Methods Grewia species richness was quantified by extracting herbarium records from GBIF
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'Out of Africa' origin of the pantropical staghorn fern genus Platycerium (Polypodiaceae) supported by plastid phylogenomics and biogeographic analysis Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-01-17 Bine Xue, Erfeng Huang, Guohua Zhao, Ran Wei, Zhuqiu Song, Xianchun Zhang, Gang Yao
Background and Aims The staghorn fern genus Platycerium is one of the most commonly grown ornamental ferns, and it evolved to occupy a typical pantropical intercontinental disjunction. However, the species-level relationships in the genus have not been well-resolved, and the spatiotemporal evolutionary history of the genus also needs to be explored. Methods Plastomes of all the 18 Platycerium species
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Differential expression and co-localization of transcriptional factors during callus transition to differentiation for shoot organogenesis in the water fern Ceratopteris richardii Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-01-11 Yuan-Le Xiao, Gui-Sheng Li
Background and Aims In flowering plants, regeneration can be achieved by a variety of approaches, and different sets of transcriptional factors are involved in these processes. However, regeneration in taxa other than flowering plants is still a mystery. Ceratopteris richardii is a representative fern capable of both direct and indirect organogenesis, and this study aims to investigate the genetics
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Adenanthos species (Proteaceae) in phosphorus-impoverished environments use a variety of phosphorus-acquisition strategies and achieve high-phosphorus-use efficiency Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-01-10 Qi Shen, Kosala Ranathunge, Hans Lambers, Patrick M Finnegan
Background and Aims Soils in south-western Australia are severely phosphorus (P) impoverished, and plants in this region have evolved a variety of P-acquisition strategies. Phosphorus acquisition by Adenanthos cygnorum (Proteaceae) is facilitated by P-mobilising neighbours which allows it to extend its range of habitats. However, we do not know if other Adenanthos species also exhibit a strategy based
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The sweet tabaiba or there and back again: phylogeographic history of the Macaronesian Euphorbia balsamifera Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-01-09 Mario Rincón Barrado, Tamara Villaverde, Manolo F Perez, Isabel Sanmartín, Ricarda Riina
Background and Aims Biogeographic relationships between the Canary Islands and northwest Africa are often explained by oceanic dispersal and geographic proximity. Sister-group relationships between Canarian and eastern African/Arabian taxa, the “Rand Flora” pattern, are rare among plants, and have been attributed to the extinction of northwestern African populations. Euphorbia balsamifera is the only
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PfPIN5 Promotes Style Elongation by Regulating Cell Length in Primula forbesii French Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-01-08 Ying Liu, Weiljia Si, Sitong Fu, Jia Wang, Tangren Cheng, Qixiang Zhang, Huitang Pan
Background and Aim Style dimorphism is one of the polymorphic characteristics of flowers in heterostyly plants, which includes two flower types: Pin morph with long styles and shorter anthers, and 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 the style length
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Fruit softening: evidence for rhamnogalacturonan lyase action in vivo in ripe fruit cell walls Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-01-05 Thurayya Z S Al-Hinai, C Logan Mackay, Stephen C Fry
SUMMARY Background and aims The softening of ripening fruit involves partial depolymerisation of cell-wall pectin by three types of reaction: enzymic hydrolysis, enzymic elimination (lyase-catalysed) and non-enzymic oxidative scission. Two known lyase activities are pectate lyase and rhamnogalacturonan lyase (RGL), potentially causing mid-chain cleavage of homogalacturonan and rhamnogalacturonan-I
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Transcriptome data from silica-preserved leaf tissue reveals gene flow patterns in a Caribbean bromeliad Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2024-01-04 Natalia Ruiz-Vargas, Karolis Ramanauskas, Alexa S Tyszka, Eric C Bretz, May T S Yeo, Roberta J Mason-Gamer, Joseph F Walker
Summary Background and aims Transcriptome sequencing is a cost-effective approach that allows researchers to study a broad range of questions. However, to preserve RNA for transcriptome sequencing, tissue is often kept under special conditions, such as immediate ultracold freezing. Here, we demonstrate that RNA can be obtained from six-month-old, field collected samples stored in silica gel at room
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Fire-modulated fluctuations in nutrient availability stimulate biome-scale floristic turnover in time, and elevated species richness, in low-nutrient fynbos heathland Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-27 G Anthony Verboom, Jasper A Slingsby, Michael D Cramer
Background and aims In many systems, postfire vegetation recovery is characterised by temporal changes in plant species composition and richness. We attribute this to changes in resource availability with time since fire, with the magnitude of species turnover determined by the degree of resource limitation. Here we test the hypothesis that postfire species turnover in South African fynbos heathland
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Allelochemical root-growth inhibitors in low-molecular-weight cress-seed exudate Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-24 Muhammad Ishfaq Khan, Rifat Ara Begum, Lenka Franková, Stephen C Fry
SUMMARY Background and aims Cress seeds release allelochemicals that overstimulate the elongation of neighbouring (potentially competing) seedlings’ hypocotyls and inhibit their root growth. The hypocotyl promoter is potassium, but the root inhibitor was unidentified; its nature is investigated here. Methods Low-molecular-weight cress-seed exudate (LCSE) from imbibed Lepidium sativum seeds was fractionated
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Temperature sensitivity of detrital photosynthesis Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-24 Luka Seamus Wright, Taylor Simpkins, Karen Filbee-Dexter, Thomas Wernberg
Background and Aims Kelp forests are increasingly considered blue carbon habitats for ocean-based biological carbon dioxide removal, but knowledge gaps remain in our understanding of their carbon cycle. Of particular interest is the remineralisation of detritus, which can remain photosynthetically active. Here, we study a widespread, thermotolerant kelp (Ecklonia radiata) to explore detrital photosynthesis
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Effects of experimental warming on floral scent, display, and rewards in two subalpine herbs Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-23 Carrie Wu, John M Powers, David Z Hopp, Diane R Campbell
Background and Aims Floral volatiles, visual traits, and rewards mediate attraction and defense in plant-pollinator and plant-herbivore interactions, but these floral traits may be altered by global warming through direct effects of temperature or longer term impacts on plant resources. We examined the effect of warming on floral and leaf volatile emissions, floral morphology, plant height, nectar
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Paternal leakage of plastids rescues inter-lineage hybrids in Silene nutans Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-23 Zoé Postel, Fabienne Van Rossum, Cécile Godé, Eric Schmitt, Pascal Touzet
Background and Aims Organelle genomes are usually maternally inherited in angiosperms. However, biparental inheritance has been observed, especially in hybrids resulting from crosses between divergent genetic lineages. When it concerns the plastid genome, this exceptional mode of inheritance might rescue inter-lineage hybrids suffering from plastid-nuclear incompatibilities. Genetically differentiated
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The sugar kelp Saccharina latissima I: recent advances in a changing climate Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-18 Nora Diehl, Huiru Li, Lydia Scheschonk, Bertille Burgunter-Delamare, Sarina Niedzwiedz, Silje Forbord, Maren Sæther, Kai Bischof, Catia Monteiro
Background The sugar kelp Saccharina latissima is a Laminariales species widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Its physiology and ecology have been studied since the 1960s, given its ecological relevance on western temperate coasts. However, research interest has been rising recently, driven mainly by reports of negative impacts of anthropogenically induced environmental change and by the
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Better soon than never: climate change induces strong phenological reassembly in the flowering of a Mediterranean shrub community Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-15 Daniel Pareja-Bonilla, Montserrat Arista, Leonor Patrícia Cerdeira Morellato, Pedro Luis Ortiz
● Flowering is a key process in the life cycle of a plant. Climate change is shifting flowering phenologies in the Northern Hemisphere, but studies with long data series at community level are scarce, and even more so those regarding the consequences of phenological changes for emerging ecological interactions. In the Mediterranean region, the effects of climate change are stronger than the global
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Characterising subgenome recombination and chromosomal imbalances in banana varietal lineages Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-15 Janet Higgins, Jaime Andrés Osorio-Guarín, Carolina Olave-Achury, Deisy Lisseth Toloza-Moreno, Ayda Enriquez, Federica Di Palma, Roxana Yockteng, Jose J De Vega
Background Bananas and plantains (Musa spp.) are among the most important crops worldwide. The cultivated varieties are vegetatively propagated, so their genetic diversity is essentially fixed over time. M. acuminata, M. balbisiana and M. schizocarpa provided the named A, B and S subgenomes that predominantly constitute these varieties. We aimed to characterise intergenetic recombination and chromosomal
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Quantifying differences in plant architectural development between hybrid potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants grown from two types of propagules Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-15 Jiahui Gu, Paul C Struik, Jochem B Evers, Narawitch Lertngim, Ruokai Lin, Steven M Driever
Background and Aims Plants can propagate generatively and vegetatively. The type of propagation and the resulting propagule can influence the growth of the plants, such as plant architectural development and biomass allocation pattern. Potato is a species that can reproduce through both types of propagation: through true botanical seed and seed tuber. The consequences of propagule type on the plant
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Fertilization benefits the facultative parasitic plant Rhamphicarpa fistulosa while gains by the infected host Oryza sativa are marginalized Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-14 Jonne Rodenburg, Ruben Dümmer, Yi-Han Ho, Lammert Bastiaans
Background and Aims Rhamphicarpa fistulosa (Hochst.) Benth. is an annual facultative parasitic plant adapted to hydromorphic soils. In sub-Saharan Africa it causes high crop losses as a weed in rainfed lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.). Fertilisers are often proposed as control measure against hemiparasitic weeds but understanding of nutrient effects on R. fistulosa is currently still elusive. Methods
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Plant-microbe interactions through a lens: Tales from the mycorrhizosphere Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-12 Alex Williams, Besiana Sinanaj, Grace A Hoysted
Background The soil microbiome plays a pivotal role in maintaining ecological balance, supporting food production, preserving water quality, and safeguarding human health. Understanding the intricate dynamics within the soil microbiome necessitates unravelling complex bacterial-fungal interactions (BFIs). BFIs occur in diverse habitats, such as the phyllosphere, rhizosphere, and bulk soil, where they
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Understanding Change in Benthic Marine Systems Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-12 Craig R Johnson, Steve Dudgeon
Background Unprecedented influence of human activities on natural ecosystems in the 21st century has resulted in increasingly frequent large-scale changes in ecological communities. This has heightened interest in understanding such changes and effective means to manage them. Accurate interpretation of state changes is challenging because of difficulties translating theory to empirical study, and most
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Harvesting pollen with vibrations: Towards an integrative understanding of the proximate and ultimate reasons for buzz pollination Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-10 Mario Vallejo-Marin, Avery L Russell
Buzz pollination, a type of interaction in which bees use vibrations to extract pollen from certain kinds of flowers, captures a close relationship between thousands of bee and plant species. In the last 120 years, studies of buzz pollination have contributed to our understanding of the natural history of buzz pollination, and basic properties of the vibrations produced by bees and applied to flowers
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Mechanisms of grapevine resilience to a vascular disease: investigating stem radial growth, xylem development, and physiological acclimation Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-09 Ninon Dell’Acqua, Gregory A Gambetta, Sylvain Delzon, Nathalie Ferrer, Laurent J Lamarque, Nicolas Saurin, Pauline Theodore, Chloé E L Delmas
Background and Aims Plant vascular diseases significantly impact crop yield worldwide. Esca is a grapevine vascular disease found globally in vineyards which causes a loss of hydraulic conductance due to the occlusion of xylem vessels by tyloses. However, the integrated response of plant radial growth and physiology in maintaining xylem integrity in grapevine expressing esca symptoms remains poorly
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Developmental stages and episode-specific regulatory genes in andromonoecious melon flower development Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-12-02 Giuliano S Pechar, M Amelia Sánchez-Pina, Teresa Coronado-Parra, Pau Bretó, Roque Carlos García-Almodóvar, Lifeng Liu, Miguel A Aranda, Livia Donaire
Background and aims Given the lack of specific studies on floral development in melon (Cucumis melo L.), we carried out an extensive study involving morphological and transcriptomic analyses to characterize floral development in this species Methods Using an andromonoecious line, we analyzed the development of floral buds in male and hermaphrodite flowers with both light microscopy and scanning electron
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Snow, fire and drought: How alpine and treeline soil seed banks are affected by simulated climate change Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-27 Jerónimo Vázquez-Ramírez, Susanna E Venn
Background and Aims Seed persistence in soil depends on environmental factors that affect seed dormancy and germination, such as temperature and water availability. In high-elevation ecosystems, rapid changes in these environmental factors due to climate change can impact future plant recruitment. To date, our knowledge on how soil seed banks from high-altitude environments will respond to climate
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A continuum of selection on life-history traits under differential environmental heterogeneity. A commentary on 'Chasing the fitness optimum: temporal variation in genetic and environmental expression of life-history traits for a perennial plant'. Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-25 Meredith A Zettlemoyer
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Victim of Changes? Marine macroalgae in a changing world Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-23 M E Hanley, L F Firth, A Foggo
Background Marine macroalgae (‘seaweeds’) are a diverse and globally distributed group of photosynthetic organisms that together generate considerable primary productivity, provide an array of different habitats for other organisms, and contribute many important ecosystem functions and services. As a result of continued anthropogenic stress on marine systems, many macroalgal species and habitats face
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Dispersal from Africa to the Neotropics was followed by multiple transitions across Neotropical biomes facilitated by frugivores Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Jenifer de Carvalho Lopes, Luiz Henrique M. Fonseca, David M Johnson, Federico Luebert, Nancy Murray, Francis J Nge, Carlos Rodrigues-Vaz, Vincent Soulé, Renske E Onstein, Lúcia G Lohmann, Thomas L P Couvreur
Background and Aim Plant disjunctions have fascinated biogeographers and ecologists for a long time. We use tribe Bocageeae (Annonaceae), a predominantly Neotropical plant group distributed across several present-day Neotropical biomes and with an African-American disjunction, to investigate long-distance dispersal mediated by frugivorous animals at both intercontinental and intracontinental scales
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Biological inhibition of denitrification (BDI): an early plant strategy for Fallopia x bohemica seedling development Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Cantarel Amélie A.M, Signoret Aymeric, Gervaix Jonathan, Beligon Chiquitta, Béraud Cédric, Boisselet Christelle, Creuzé des Châtelliers Charline, Defour Pauline, Delort Abigaïl, Lacroix Elise, Lobreau Clément, Louvez Enzo, Marais Coralie, Simonin Marie, Piola Florence
Background and Aims The successful plant Fallopia x bohemica presents interesting capacities for the control of soil nitrogen cycle at the adult stage, named the biological denitrification inhibition (BDI). BDI strategy allows the plant, through the production of secondary metabolites (procyanidins), to compete with denitrifying microbial community and to divert, to its benefit, the nitrate from soil
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Time to budbreak is not enough: cold hardiness evaluation is necessary in dormancy and spring phenology studies Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Michael G North, Al P. Kovaleski
Background Dormancy of buds is an important phase in the life cycle of perennial plants growing in environments where unsuitable growth conditions occur seasonally. In regions where low temperature defines these unsuitable conditions, the attainment of cold hardiness is also required for survival. The end of the dormant period culminates in budbreak and flower emergence, or spring phenology, one of
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The north-south divide? Macroalgal functional trait diversity and redundancy varies with intertidal aspect Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-16 A Amstutz, L B Firth, A Foggo, J I Spicer, M E Hanley
Background and Aims Marine macroalgae (‘seaweeds’) are critical to coastal ecosystem structure and function, but also vulnerable to the many environmental changes associated with Anthropogenic Climate Change (ACC). The local habitat conditions underpinning observed and predicted ACC-driven changes in intertidal macroalgal communities are complex and likely site-specific, in addition to more commonly
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Population genomics of the Isoetes appalachiana (Isoetaceae) complex supports a ‘diploids-first’ approach to conservation Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-15 David Wickell, Jacob Landis, Elizabeth Zimmer, Fay-Wei Li
Background and Aims Allopolyploidy is an important driver of diversification and a key contributor to genetic novelty across the tree of life. However, many studies have questioned the importance of extant polyploid lineages, suggesting that the vast majority may constitute evolutionary “dead-ends.” This has important implications for conservation efforts where polyploids and diploid progenitors often
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Sexual attraction with pollination during feeding behaviour: implications for transitions between specialised strategies Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-14 Ryan D Phillips, Björn Bohman, Rod Peakall, Noushka Reiter
Background and Aims Understanding the origin of pollination by sexual deception has proven challenging, as sexually deceptive flowers are often highly modified, making it hard to resolve how any intermediate forms between sexual deception and an ancestral strategy might have functioned. Here, we report the discovery in Caladenia (Orchidaceae) of sexual attraction with pollination during feeding behaviour
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Hybridization and divergent climatic-preferences drive divergence of two allopatric Gentiana species in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-14 Peng-Cheng Fu, Alex D Twyford, Yu-Tong Hao, Yue Zhang, Shi-Long Chen, Shan-Shan Sun
Background and Aims Exploring how species diverge is vital for understanding the drivers of speciation. Factors such as geographic separation and ecological selection, hybridization, polyploidization and shifts in mating system are all major mechanisms of plant speciation, but their contributions to divergence are rarely well-understood. Here we test these mechanisms in two plant species, Gentiana
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Spatiotemporal variability in population demography and morphology of the habitat-forming macroalga Saccorhiza polyschides in the Western English Channel Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-14 Nora Salland, Catherine Wilding, Antony Jensen, Dan A Smale
Background and Aims Large brown macroalgae serve as foundation organisms along temperate and polar coastlines, providing a range of ecosystem services. Saccorhiza polyschides is a warm-temperate kelp-like species found in the northeast Atlantic, which is suggested to have proliferated in recent decades across the southern United Kingdom (UK), possibly in response to increasing temperatures, physical
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NON-STRESSFUL TEMPERATURE CHANGES AFFECT TRANSGENERATIONAL PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY ACROSS THE LIFE CYCLE OF ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA PLANTS Ann. Bot. (IF 4.2) Pub Date : 2023-11-13 Ailén Authier, Pablo Cerdán, Gabriela Auge
Background and Aims Plants respond plastically to seasonal changes, often resulting in an adaptation to environmental variation. Even though much is known about how seasonality regulates developmental transitions within generations, transgenerational effects of non-stressful environmental changes are just beginning to be unveiled. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of ambient temperature changes