Nuclear variations and tapetum polyploidy related to pollen grain development in Passiflora L. (Passifloraceae).

Tapetal cells comprise an anther tissue fundamental to pollen grain development. They are associated with endoreduplication events, which culminate in polyploid and multinucleated cells, high metabolic activity, and different organelle arrangements to support all the development of the pollen grains. Passiflora species present a secretory tapetum, with diversity in the number and size of nuclei. Tapetal cells undergo numerous changes in a short period of development when compared to the plant's life span. To improve our knowledge of tapetum development, tests assessing ploidy levels, anatomy, cytochemistry, transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry, as well as conventional and molecular cytogenetics were used in Passiflora actinia and P. elegans. The current data show striking differences in nuclear organisation during tapetal cell development, including mono to quadrinucleate cells, and ploidy levels from 2n to 32n. One of the most peculiar features was the atypical behaviour of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which accumulated in the cell border, similar to a 'cER', as well as large dictyosomes. This endomembrane configuration may be related to the tapetum nutritional network and secretion of compounds at the end of meiosis. Another atypical feature of the ER was the formation of an invagination to establish 'binucleated' polyploid cells. This membrane projection appears when the nuclei form two lobes, as well as when it organises a nucleoplasmic reticulum. These data demonstrate that there are important ultrastructural changes in tapetal cells, including organelle arrangements, ploidy levels, and nuclear activity, common to P. actinia and P. elegans, but different from the plant model A. thaliana.

New trends in Passiflora L. pollen grains: morphological/aperture aspects and wall layer considerations.

Passifloraceae shows a huge variability of pollen wall characteristics, most still little described. Passiflora is the largest genus with about 580 species with tropical distribution. Few studies in palynological approaches have described the intine layer which can fill existent gaps. Passiflora L. present four subgenera, from which Passiflora, Astrophea, and Decaloba were described in this study. The pollen wall variations were poorly studied, with the objective of describing the morphological and histochemical structure of Passiflora sporoderm that occurs in South America, aims to supply more pollen wall characters in some contexts. Besides the inference of evolutive trends, we described the number of apertures, type, reticule, and variations of the morphology and sporoderm and we related them with possible evolutive trends for the group. As a result, the pollen grains were not far from the patterns found by the literature, with exceptions. The species of the subgenus Passiflora have fused colpi, varying from 6 to 12 colpi, with type 2-reticulate exine. The species of the subgenus Astrophea have colporus and the species of Decaloba varied as the type of aperture, in which a new type of exine to be considered was found: the type 3. The subgenus Passiflora showed the thickest intine, slim endexine, and absent foot layer. While the species that belong to the other subgenera present a slim intine, the endexine is thick and the foot layer is continuous, among other variable characteristics. The size of the pollen grain seems to be related to the thickness of the intine, and consequently, related to possible pollinators. Through the cluster analysis, we reinforce the affinity of the species to its respective subgenus. To conclude, the analysis of the ultrastructure of the sporoderm and external morphology would be useful for an almost complete interpretation of the variations occurring in the genus, giving more information that the subgenus Passiflora is apomorphic when compared to the other two. The pollen wall characters should be considered on the interpretation of natural history, as well as the phylogenetic relationships of the family, mainly in the Passiflora genus, that has a large number of species distributed across the Neotropical regions.

New insights into aluminum tolerance in rice: the ASR5 protein binds the STAR1 promoter and other aluminum-responsive genes.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity in plants is one of the primary constraints in crop production. Al³âº, the most toxic form of Al, is released into soil under acidic conditions and causes extensive damage to plants, especially in the roots. In rice, Al tolerance requires the ASR5 gene, but the molecular function of ASR5 has remained unknown. Here, we perform genome-wide analyses to identify ASR5-dependent Al-responsive genes in rice. Based on ASR5_RNAi silencing in plants, a global transcriptome analysis identified a total of 961 genes that were responsive to Al treatment in wild-type rice roots. Of these genes, 909 did not respond to Al in the ASR5_RNAi plants, indicating a central role for ASR5 in Al-responsive gene expression. Under normal conditions, without Al treatment, the ASR5_RNAi plants expressed 1.756 genes differentially compared to the wild-type plants, and 446 of these genes responded to Al treatment in the wild-type plants. Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by deep sequencing identified 104 putative target genes that were directly regulated by ASR5 binding to their promoters, including the STAR1 gene, which encodes an ABC transporter required for Al tolerance. Motif analysis of the binding peak sequences revealed the binding motif for ASR5, which was confirmed via in vitro DNA-binding assays using the STAR1 promoter. These results demonstrate that ASR5 acts as a key transcription factor that is essential for Al-responsive gene expression and Al tolerance in rice.

Floral rewards in the tribe Sisyrinchieae (Iridaceae): oil as an alternative to pollen and nectar?

Iridaceae is one of the few families in which floral oils are produced and collected by pollinators as a resource. Perigonal nectaries and trichomal elaiophores are highly unusual within the tribe Sisyrinchieae. Both structures occur mainly on the staminal column, while they are usually distributed on the tepals in the other tribes of the subfamily Iridoideae. Sisyrinchieae is the largest tribe of Iridaceae present on the American continent, and the diversity observed may be related to the exceptional development of trichomal elaiophores within the genus Sisyrinchium, but knowledge concerning the other types of nuptial glandular structures within the tribe is still limited, preventing us from estimating their implication for species diversity. Structural observations and histochemical tests were performed to identify and characterize glandular structures and pollen rewards within the flowers of the genera Orthrosanthus, Sisyrinchium and Solenomelus. Perigonal nectaries were detected only in Solenomelus segethi, and trichomal elaiophores were characterized only within Sisyrinchium. All species showed large amounts of additional resources available for pollinators in the form of pollenkitt and polysaccharides present in the cytoplasm of the pollen grains. The results are discussed in a phylogenetic context, with regard to pollinators and floral rewards reported for the tribe Sisyrinchieae.

Evolution of oil-producing trichomes in Sisyrinchium (Iridaceae): insights from the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the genus.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sisyrinchium (Iridaceae: Iridoideae: Sisyrinchieae) is one of the largest, most widespread and most taxonomically complex genera in Iridaceae, with all species except one native to the American continent. Phylogenetic relationships within the genus were investigated and the evolution of oil-producing structures related to specialized oil-bee pollination examined. METHODS: Phylogenetic analyses based on eight molecular markers obtained from 101 Sisyrinchium accessions representing 85 species were conducted in the first extensive phylogenetic analysis of the genus. Total evidence analyses confirmed the monophyly of the genus and retrieved nine major clades weakly connected to the subdivisions previously recognized. The resulting phylogenetic hypothesis was used to reconstruct biogeographical patterns, and to trace the evolutionary origin of glandular trichomes present in the flowers of several species. KEY RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Glandular trichomes evolved three times independently in the genus. In two cases, these glandular trichomes are oil-secreting, suggesting that the corresponding flowers might be pollinated by oil-bees. Biogeographical patterns indicate expansions from Central America and the northern Andes to the subandean ranges between Chile and Argentina and to the extended area of the Paraná river basin. The distribution of oil-flower species across the phylogenetic trees suggests that oil-producing trichomes may have played a key role in the diversification of the genus, a hypothesis that requires future testing.

Dermatophyte infections in patients attending a tertiary care hospital in northern Italy.

We studied dermatophyte infections in patients attending the Dermatology Outpatients Clinic of S. Matteo hospital Pavia, Italy, during the period 2004-2006. A total of 100 samples were collected from 95 patients; 97 dermatophytes and 3 keratinophylic fungi were isolated. Trichophyton rubrum was the most frequent dermatophyte isolated (42.3%), followed by Microsporum canis (31%), T. mentagrophytes (14.5%) and M. gypseum (9.2%). Less frequently isolated were Epidermophyton floccosum and T. violaceum. The most common dermatophyte infections included tinea corporis, tinea pedis, tinea unguium, tinea capitis and tinea cruris. Zoophilic dermatophytes were most commonly recovered from children and adolescents with tinea capitis and tinea corporis. Anthropophilic species were identified mostly in adults with tinea pedis, tinea cruris and onychomycosis.