Callus regeneration and polyploidy induction of Allium cepa L var. Bima Brebes using oryzalin

Polyploidy induction could increase shallot bulb-size to raise consumer preference and local shallot productivity. The research aimed to obtain an effective method of polyploidy induction on callus of onion (Allium cepa) var. Bima Brebes. The experiment was consisted of two experimental steps, which were callus induction of onion and polyploid induction of the callus. A 1×1 cm callus was treated by two drops of oryzalin with concentrations 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, and 120 μM. The ploidy level was identified based on morphological trait, stomatal analysis and DNA content using a flow cytometry. The results showed callus diameter, number of green spots, and number of shoots were decreased with increasing oryzalin concentration. The planlet leaves regenerated from oryzalin treated callus were darker than that of control. The flow cytometry analysis showed that planlets with 75 μM oryzalin was tetraploid, had longer and wider stomata than that of the control.

Morphological Traits Among the Enset (Ensete Ventricosum) Landraces and Cultural Use of the Landraces for the Livelihood of People in Southern Ethiopia

BackgroundEnsete ventricosum is an important food crop consumed in the form of Bulla and Kocho mainly used in the southern parts of Ethiopia for their sustainable livelihood and ensuring food security. Besides, it is used as animal feed, as well as a source of medicine and fiber. This study was undertaken on the morphological traits among the Enset (Ensete ventricosum) landraces and cultural use of the landraces for the livelihood of people in Mareka woreda, Dawro zone, southern Ethiopia. The study was carried out in purposively selected four kebeles of Mareka district’s Dawro zone.ResultsA total of 145 (20 purposively selected key informants and 125 randomly selected respondents) were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, and field observation was also used to collect ethnobotanical data. The morphological traits were measured according to IBPGR (International Board for Plant Genetic Resources) descriptors for Enset. The data were analyzed by using computer software SPSS v 16.0 as well as Excel 2010 spreadsheet. A total of 33 Enset landraces were identified from the study area. Farmers gave the name for their landraces based on the morphological trait and sources of planting material. Identified landraces were grouped into five clusters based on their morphological trait variability. Mean plant height, pseudostem height, and circumference, leaf size, and numbers have significant differences among clusters. Cluster number five had the highest mean in plant height, pseudostem height, and circumference and cluster number three had the lowest mean. The highest landrace richness was recorded from Ocha (3.18) while the lowest was from Guta (2.56). The most abundant landraces were Amiya, Hoeya, Boza, Yaka, Bothena, Ontha, Adinona, Shasha, and Keteriya in the Mareka district.ConclusionsThis study confirmed that the Dawro zone is rich in diversity of Enset, however, reduction in production and loss of some landraces was observed because of different factors. Therefore, attention must be given to the conservation and maintenances of Enset landraces by all the concerned bodies.

Chemical Similarity of Co-occurring Trees Decreases With Precipitation and Temperature in North American Forests

Plant diversity varies immensely over large-scale gradients in temperature, precipitation, and seasonality at global and regional scales. This relationship may be driven in part by climatic variation in the relative importance of abiotic and biotic interactions to the diversity and composition of plant communities. In particular, biotic interactions may become stronger and more host specific with increasing precipitation and temperature, resulting in greater plant species richness in wetter and warmer environments. This hypothesis predicts that the many defensive compounds found in plants’ metabolomes should increase in richness and decrease in interspecific similarity with precipitation, temperature, and plant diversity. To test this prediction, we compared patterns of chemical and morphological trait diversity of 140 woody plant species among seven temperate forests in North America representing 16.2°C variation in mean annual temperature (MAT), 2,115 mm variation in mean annual precipitation (MAP), and from 10 to 68 co-occurring species. We used untargeted metabolomics methods based on data generated with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to identify, classify, and compare 13,480 unique foliar metabolites and to quantify the metabolomic similarity of species in each community with respect to the whole metabolome and each of five broad classes of metabolites. In addition, we compiled morphological trait data from existing databases and field surveys for three commonly measured traits (specific leaf area [SLA], wood density, and seed mass) for comparison with foliar metabolomes. We found that chemical defense strategies and growth and allocation strategies reflected by these traits largely represented orthogonal axes of variation. In addition, functional dispersion of SLA increased with MAP, whereas functional richness of wood density and seed mass increased with MAT. In contrast, chemical similarity of co-occurring species decreased with both MAT and MAP, and metabolite richness increased with MAT. Variation in metabolite richness among communities was positively correlated with species richness, but variation in mean chemical similarity was not. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that plant metabolomes play a more important role in community assembly in wetter and warmer climates, even at temperate latitudes, and suggest that metabolomic traits can provide unique insight to studies of trait-based community assembly.

Chemical Similarity of Co-occurring Trees Decreases With Precipitation and Temperature in North American Forests

Plant diversity varies immensely over large-scale gradients in temperature, precipitation, and seasonality at global and regional scales. This relationship may be driven in part by climatic variation in the relative importance of abiotic and biotic interactions to the diversity and composition of plant communities. In particular, biotic interactions may become stronger and more host specific with increasing precipitation and temperature, resulting in greater plant species richness in wetter and warmer environments. This hypothesis predicts that the many defensive compounds found in plants’ metabolomes should increase in richness and decrease in interspecific similarity with precipitation, temperature, and plant diversity. To test this prediction, we compared patterns of chemical and morphological trait diversity of 140 woody plant species among seven temperate forests in North America representing 16.2°C variation in mean annual temperature (MAT), 2,115 mm variation in mean annual precipitation (MAP), and from 10 to 68 co-occurring species. We used untargeted metabolomics methods based on data generated with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to identify, classify, and compare 13,480 unique foliar metabolites and to quantify the metabolomic similarity of species in each community with respect to the whole metabolome and each of five broad classes of metabolites. In addition, we compiled morphological trait data from existing databases and field surveys for three commonly measured traits (specific leaf area [SLA], wood density, and seed mass) for comparison with foliar metabolomes. We found that chemical defense strategies and growth and allocation strategies reflected by these traits largely represented orthogonal axes of variation. In addition, functional dispersion of SLA increased with MAP, whereas functional richness of wood density and seed mass increased with MAT. In contrast, chemical similarity of co-occurring species decreased with both MAT and MAP, and metabolite richness increased with MAT. Variation in metabolite richness among communities was positively correlated with species richness, but variation in mean chemical similarity was not. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that plant metabolomes play a more important role in community assembly in wetter and warmer climates, even at temperate latitudes, and suggest that metabolomic traits can provide unique insight to studies of trait-based community assembly.

Chemical Similarity of Co-occurring Trees Decreases With Precipitation and Temperature in North American Forests

Plant diversity varies immensely over large-scale gradients in temperature, precipitation, and seasonality at global and regional scales. This relationship may be driven in part by climatic variation in the relative importance of abiotic and biotic interactions to the diversity and composition of plant communities. In particular, biotic interactions may become stronger and more host specific with increasing precipitation and temperature, resulting in greater plant species richness in wetter and warmer environments. This hypothesis predicts that the many defensive compounds found in plants’ metabolomes should increase in richness and decrease in interspecific similarity with precipitation, temperature, and plant diversity. To test this prediction, we compared patterns of chemical and morphological trait diversity of 140 woody plant species among seven temperate forests in North America representing 16.2°C variation in mean annual temperature (MAT), 2,115 mm variation in mean annual precipitation (MAP), and from 10 to 68 co-occurring species. We used untargeted metabolomics methods based on data generated with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to identify, classify, and compare 13,480 unique foliar metabolites and to quantify the metabolomic similarity of species in each community with respect to the whole metabolome and each of five broad classes of metabolites. In addition, we compiled morphological trait data from existing databases and field surveys for three commonly measured traits (specific leaf area [SLA], wood density, and seed mass) for comparison with foliar metabolomes. We found that chemical defense strategies and growth and allocation strategies reflected by these traits largely represented orthogonal axes of variation. In addition, functional dispersion of SLA increased with MAP, whereas functional richness of wood density and seed mass increased with MAT. In contrast, chemical similarity of co-occurring species decreased with both MAT and MAP, and metabolite richness increased with MAT. Variation in metabolite richness among communities was positively correlated with species richness, but variation in mean chemical similarity was not. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that plant metabolomes play a more important role in community assembly in wetter and warmer climates, even at temperate latitudes, and suggest that metabolomic traits can provide unique insight to studies of trait-based community assembly.