Fruit developmental biology and endosperm rumination in Elaeocarpus ruminatus (Elaeocarpaceae), and its taxonomic significance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet N. Gagul ◽  
David Y. P. Tng ◽  
Darren M. Crayn
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Biology ◽  
Adaptive Significance ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Phylogenetic Distribution ◽  
Taxonomic Significance ◽  
The Family ◽  
Developmental Phases ◽  
Trees And Shrubs ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Gaining Insight

The genus Elaeocarpus is the largest genus in the family Elaeocarpaceae, comprising more than 350 species of trees and shrubs with a mainly Indo-Pacific distribution. Approximately 28 species in the genus, including nine species from Australia, are known to possess ruminate endosperm. To provide a basis for understanding fruit development and endosperm rumination in the genus and, therefore, its taxonomic and evolutionary significance, we studied the fruit anatomy of Elaeocarpus ruminatus F.Muell. at different developmental phases (petal-fall to maturity). We found lignin in pericarp and ovary wall tissues in the earliest stages of development. In contrast, endosperm rumination occurs only after fruits have fully expanded, and becomes more pronounced as fruits ripen. Its phylogenetic distribution suggests that ruminate endosperm is a derived, albeit homoplasious character in Elaeocarpus. Comparative studies on related species will be instructive in determining the utility of ruminate endosperm for informing infra-generic taxonomy of the genus, and gaining insight into its adaptive significance.

scholarly journals Patterns of loop development in post-Paleozoic terebratulid brachiopods and their evolutionary significance

1992 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 192-192
Author(s):  
David I. Mackinnon
Keyword(s):  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Growth Line ◽  
Dorsal Valve ◽  
Median Septum ◽  
The Family ◽  
Evolutionary Studies ◽  
Secondary Layer ◽  
Insight Into

Studies of loop ultrastructure reveal much about both the processes and patterns of loop growth in brachiopods. Such studies also provide useful insight into evolutionary relationships between various main loop-bearing brachiopod taxa. At least five different loop types, two short-looped and three long-looped, are recognisable in Cenozoic Terebratulida.Loop development in short-looped forms is relatively unspectacular and of limited value for evolutionary studies. It consists of the growth of either an undulating transverse ribbon extending between two short crura (in the Family Terebratulidae) or, where crural processes are united (as in most Cancellothyrididae), a ring. In all short-looped forms the loop is derived from, and hence supported solely by, the crura throughout ontogeny.The early stages of loop development in the great majority of post-Paleozoic long-looped brachiopods are similar. A septal pillar, located centrally in the dorsal valve floor, appears generally very early in ontogeny. Rudimentary descending branch elements are generated both from the crura and the flanks of the septal pillar. Rudimentary ascending elements develop at either the ventral or posteroventral edge of the septal pillar and consist firstly of an inverted or steeply inclined and continuously expanding cone or hood which, through resorption of its posteriorly located apex, becomes transformed into a ring. Further growth sees firstly the fusion of the anterior extremeties of adjacent ascending and descending loop elements followed by their progressive anterolateral separation from the septal pillar.Contrasting modes of growth characterise the later stages of loop development in the three main groups of long-looped brachiopods. In Dallinidae, ascending and descending elements detach from the septum to give rise to a long, reflected loop supported only by the crura. In Terebratellidae, a pair of narrow, laterally directed but anteriorly migrating struts anchor the the descending branches to the median septum. These struts, in structural continuity with the median septum, are built up entirely from secondary layer fibres. In Laqueidae, in addition to a pair of septal struts, a pair of anterolaterally migrating vertical bands spanning the gap between adjacent ascending and descending branches provide further support. Unlike the septal struts but like the remaining ascending and descending loop elements, the vertical bands are constructed from both primary and secondary shell layers. Growth line discordancies at the junctions between the vertical bands and contiguous ascending and descending elements indicate the structural integrity of the vertical bands.

A Review of Phytochemical and Pharmacological Studies of Inula Species

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 557-567
Author(s):  
Aparoop Das ◽  
Anshul Shakya ◽  
Surajit Kumar Ghosh ◽  
Udaya P. Singh ◽  
Hans R. Bhat
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Important Ingredient ◽  
Pharmacological Activities ◽  
Medicinal Uses ◽  
The Family ◽  
Pharmacological Studies ◽  
Perennial Herbs ◽  
Insight Into

Background: Plants of the genus Inula are perennial herbs of the family Asteraceae. This genus includes more than 100 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Africa and Asia including India. Many of them are indicated in traditional medicine, e.g., in Ayurveda. This review explores chemical constituents, medicinal uses and pharmacological actions of Inula species. Methods: Major databases and research and review articles retrieved through Scopus, Web of Science, and Medline were consulted to obtain information on the pharmacological activities of the genus Inula published from 1994 to 2017. Results: Inula species are used either alone or as an important ingredient of various formulations to cure dysfunctions of the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, urinary system, central nervous system and digestive system, and for the treatment of asthma, diabetes, cancers, skin disorders, hepatic disease, fungal and bacterial infections. A range of phytochemicals including alkaloids, essential and volatile oils, flavonoids, terpenes, and lactones has been isolated from herbs of the genus Inula, which might possibly explain traditional uses of these plants. Conclusion: The present review is focused on chemical constituents, medicinal uses and pharmacological actions of Inula species and provides valuable insight into its medicinal potential.

Standing up to the Demos

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Erskine
Keyword(s):  
Athenian Democracy ◽  
Parallel Lives ◽  
Standing Up ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Gaining Insight ◽  
The Way

Plutarch wrote twenty-three Greek Lives in his series of Parallel Lives—of these, ten were devoted to Athenians. Since Plutarch shared the hostile view of democracy of Polybius and other Hellenistic Greeks, this Athenian preponderance could have been a problem for him. But Plutarch uses these men’s handling of the democracy and especially the demos as a way of gaining insight into the character and capability of his protagonists. This chapter reviews Plutarch’s attitude to Athenian democracy and examines the way a statesman’s character is illuminated by his interaction with the demos. It also considers what it was about Phocion that so appealed to Plutarch, first by looking at his relationship with the democracy and then at the way he evokes the memory of Socrates. For him this was not a minor figure, but a man whose life was representative of the problems of Athenian democracy.

scholarly journals Gaining Insight into Vitiligo Genetics through the Lens of a Large Epidemiologic Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 141 (4) ◽  
pp. 718-721
Author(s):  
Ken Okamura ◽  
Manuel Garber ◽  
John E. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Epidemiologic Study ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Gaining Insight

scholarly journals Black spicules from a new interstitial opheliid polychaete Thoracophelia minuta sp. nov. (Annelida: Opheliidae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoto Jimi ◽  
Shinta Fujimoto ◽  
Mami Takehara ◽  
Satoshi Imura
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Biology ◽  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
New Species ◽  
Morphological Diversity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Research Subject ◽  
Ecological Diversity ◽  
Coelomic Cavity ◽  
Molecular Phylogenetic

AbstractThe phylum Annelida exhibits high morphological diversity coupled with its extensive ecological diversity, and the process of its evolution has been an attractive research subject for many researchers. Its representatives are also extensively studied in fields of ecology and developmental biology and important in many other biology related disciplines. The study of biomineralisation is one of them. Some annelid groups are well known to form calcified tubes but other forms of biomineralisation are also known. Herein, we report a new interstitial annelid species with black spicules, Thoracophelia minuta sp. nov., from Yoichi, Hokkaido, Japan. Spicules are minute calcium carbonate inclusions found across the body and in this new species, numerous black rod-like inclusions of calcium-rich composition are distributed in the coelomic cavity. The new species can be distinguished from other known species of the genus by these conspicuous spicules, shape of branchiae and body formula. Further, the new species’ body size is apparently smaller than its congeners. Based on our molecular phylogenetic analysis using 18S and 28S sequences, we discuss the evolutionary significance of the new species’ spicules and also the species' progenetic origin.

scholarly journals X-Ray Structure of 12-Oxophytodienoate Reductase 1 Provides Structural Insight into Substrate Binding and Specificity within the Family of OYE

Structure ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 419-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constanze Breithaupt ◽  
Jochen Strassner ◽  
Ulrike Breitinger ◽  
Robert Huber ◽  
Peter Macheroux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substrate Binding ◽  
X Ray ◽  
The Family ◽  
Structural Insight ◽  
Insight Into

Cassiavellia galtarae, new species, new genus: a new Permian bivalve and its significance for pterioidean systematics

2010 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 1152-1176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya Tëmkin ◽  
John Pojeta
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Larval Shell ◽  
Upper Permian ◽  
Taxonomic Significance ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
The Family ◽  
Dental Ontogeny

An exceptionally well-preserved silicified bivalve from the Upper Permian of Texas is described and assigned to a new genus and species,Cassiavellia galtarae, placed in the family Bakevelliidae. The species represents one of the earliest and best characterized unequivocal occurrences of the multivincular ligament in the superfamily Pterioidea. The silicified material provides a wealth of information on the morphology of inadequately known Paleozoic pterioideans, including hitherto undescribed aspects of the larval shell, auricular sulcus, muscle scars, and dental ontogeny. The discovery of the condyle-fossa complex on the anteroventral shell margin, a feature previously undescibed in Bivalvia, raises the question of the homology and taxonomic significance of the problematic subumbonal ridge-like structures in Pterioidea. In life,C. galtaraewas probably an epifaunal right-pleurothetic bivalve, byssally attached to hard or raised flexible substrata. In addition toC. galtarae, another new species,C. nadkevnae, is placed inCassiavellia.

scholarly journals Genetic and phenotypic analysis of the pathogenic potential of two novel Chlamydia gallinacea strains compared to Chlamydia psittaci

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marloes Heijne ◽  
Martina Jelocnik ◽  
Alexander Umanets ◽  
Michael S. M. Brouwer ◽  
Annemieke Dinkla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Chlamydia Psittaci ◽  
Phenotypic Analysis ◽  
Pathogenic Potential ◽  
The Family ◽  
Chicken Eggs ◽  
Sequence Types ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Embryonated Chicken

AbstractChlamydia gallinacea is an obligate intracellular bacterium that has recently been added to the family of Chlamydiaceae. C. gallinacea is genetically diverse, widespread in poultry and a suspected cause of pneumonia in slaughterhouse workers. In poultry, C. gallinacea infections appear asymptomatic, but studies about the pathogenic potential are limited. In this study two novel sequence types of C. gallinacea were isolated from apparently healthy chickens. Both isolates (NL_G47 and NL_F725) were closely related to each other and have at least 99.5% DNA sequence identity to C. gallinacea Type strain 08-1274/3. To gain further insight into the pathogenic potential, infection experiments in embryonated chicken eggs and comparative genomics with Chlamydia psittaci were performed. C. psittaci is a ubiquitous zoonotic pathogen of birds and mammals, and infection in poultry can result in severe systemic illness. In experiments with embryonated chicken eggs, C. gallinacea induced mortality was observed, potentially strain dependent, but lower compared to C. psittaci induced mortality. Comparative analyses confirmed all currently available C. gallinacea genomes possess the hallmark genes coding for known and potential virulence factors as found in C. psittaci albeit to a reduced number of orthologues or paralogs. The presence of potential virulence factors and the observed mortality in embryonated eggs indicates C. gallinacea should rather be considered as an opportunistic pathogen than an innocuous commensal.

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