Mosses at the bodogol natural conservation education center: species, diversity index, and evenness index

Mosses or Bryophytes are a group of cryptogamous plants or lower plants. Moss can be found in various places that have high humidity by attaching to various substrates, such as soil, rocks and tree bark. PPKA Bodogol is a potential area that protects endemic flora and fauna on the island of Java that has excellent humidity and air for moss growth and supports moss diversity. This study aims to determine the diversity of mosses and their relationship to environmental factors in the PPKA Bodogol. Data collection in this study was carried out at the PPKA Bodogol on 3 routes, namely Cikaweni, Rasamala and Kanopi. This research uses a purposive sampling method with a cover square technique. The results showed that the total number of moss species identified were 21 species. Then it was also known that the highest level of diversity was found on the Rasamala route with a diversity index of 3.03. In the Cikaweni route, was in moderate category, namely 1,967. The lowest diversity index, however, was in the canopy path with a medium category, namely 1.216. Environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, light intensity, and altitude also had an influence on the level of moss diversity of the three routes.

Cobalt: An Essential Micronutrient for Plant Growth?

Cobalt is a transition metal located in the fourth row of the periodic table and is a neighbor of iron and nickel. It has been considered an essential element for prokaryotes, human beings, and other mammals, but its essentiality for plants remains obscure. In this article, we proposed that cobalt (Co) is a potentially essential micronutrient of plants. Co is essential for the growth of many lower plants, such as marine algal species including diatoms, chrysophytes, and dinoflagellates, as well as for higher plants in the family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. The essentiality to leguminous plants is attributed to its role in nitrogen (N) fixation by symbiotic microbes, primarily rhizobia. Co is an integral component of cobalamin or vitamin B12, which is required by several enzymes involved in N2 fixation. In addition to symbiosis, a group of N2 fixing bacteria known as diazotrophs is able to situate in plant tissue as endophytes or closely associated with roots of plants including economically important crops, such as barley, corn, rice, sugarcane, and wheat. Their action in N2 fixation provides crops with the macronutrient of N. Co is a component of several enzymes and proteins, participating in plant metabolism. Plants may exhibit Co deficiency if there is a severe limitation in Co supply. Conversely, Co is toxic to plants at higher concentrations. High levels of Co result in pale-colored leaves, discolored veins, and the loss of leaves and can also cause iron deficiency in plants. It is anticipated that with the advance of omics, Co as a constitute of enzymes and proteins and its specific role in plant metabolism will be exclusively revealed. The confirmation of Co as an essential micronutrient will enrich our understanding of plant mineral nutrition and improve our practice in crop production.

Comprehensive analysis of SSRs and database construction using all complete gene-coding sequences in major horticultural and representative plants

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are one of the most important genetic markers and widely exist in most species. Here, we identified 249,822 SSRs from 3,951,919 genes in 112 plants. Then, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of these SSRs and constructed a plant SSR database (PSSRD). Interestingly, more SSRs were found in lower plants than in higher plants, showing that lower plants needed to adapt to early extreme environments. Four specific enriched functional terms in the lower plant Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were detected when it was compared with seven other higher plants. In addition, Guanylate_cyc existed in more genes of lower plants than of higher plants. In our PSSRD, we constructed an interactive plotting function in the chart interface, and users can easily view the detailed information of SSRs. All SSR information, including sequences, primers, and annotations, can be downloaded from our database. Moreover, we developed Web SSR Finder and Batch SSR Finder tools, which can be easily used for identifying SSRs. Our database was developed using PHP, HTML, JavaScript, and MySQL, which are freely available at http://www.pssrd.info/. We conducted an analysis of the Myb gene families and flowering genes as two applications of the PSSRD. Further analysis indicated that whole-genome duplication and whole-genome triplication played a major role in the expansion of the Myb gene families. These SSR markers in our database will greatly facilitate comparative genomics and functional genomics studies in the future.

Unusual Order of Chromosome Arrangement Location in Late Prophase - Early Prometaphase of Mitosis in Haploid Maize Plant Obtained With the Use of Mutation ig

Despite the huge amount of works devoted to the study of mitotic division, there is still a lot of unclear in its mechanisms. For example, insufficient attention has been paid to the processes of cell division in plant forms of different ploidy levels. The literature contains only fragmentary data on haploids in lower plants. This does not allow making any generalizations regarding mitosis in haploids of higher plants. This article presents the results of a cytological study of mitotically dividing cells of haploid maize plants. The article demonstrates the effectiveness of the well-known Chase method, based on the use of genetic markers and the ig mutation (indeterminate gametophyte) for obtaining and detecting haploids. An effective modification of a simple method of acetocarmine staining of cytological preparations is described. An essential result obtained is, in our opinion, the detection of a very brief moment in the state of chromosomes in a dividing cell of a haploid maize plant. This moment is characterized by the fact that the chromatids have already separated and turned into independent chromosomes, but have not yet begun their movement under the action of kinetochore microtubules. It is this feature that made it possible to designate this state as late prophase – early prometaphase of mitosis. An equally important feature of the detected moment is the unusual ordered arrangement of chromosomes, which lie parallel to each other close to each other along their entire length with the centromeres located on one line, which can be considered the equator of the fission spindle. The revealed fact allows us to assume that an essential role in the formation of such an arrangement of chromosomes is played by the bond of chromosomes with the equator of the nuclear membrane and their subsequent connection with the equator of the fission spindle.

'Lower' plants and pteridophytes.

This chapter contains questions about the classification, anatomy and other characteristics of mosses, liverworts, horsetails, ferns and their relatives. The questions are divided into three levels: foundation, intermediate and advanced.

Selenium and Nano-Selenium Biofortification for Human Health: Opportunities and Challenges

Selenium is an essential micronutrient required for the health of humans and lower plants, but its importance for higher plants is still being investigated. The biological functions of Se related to human health revolve around its presence in 25 known selenoproteins (e.g., selenocysteine or the 21st amino acid). Humans may receive their required Se through plant uptake of soil Se, foods enriched in Se, or Se dietary supplements. Selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) have been applied to biofortified foods and feeds. Due to low toxicity and high efficiency, Se-NPs are used in applications such as cancer therapy and nano-medicines. Selenium and nano-selenium may be able to support and enhance the productivity of cultivated plants and animals under stressful conditions because they are antimicrobial and anti-carcinogenic agents, with antioxidant capacity and immune-modulatory efficacy. Thus, nano-selenium could be inserted in the feeds of fish and livestock to improvise stress resilience and productivity. This review offers new insights in Se and Se-NPs biofortification for edible plants and farm animals under stressful environments. Further, extensive research on Se-NPs is required to identify possible adverse effects on humans and their cytotoxicity.

Growth and Yield Performance of Solanum tuberosum Grown from Seed Potatoes Infected with ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ Haplotypes A and B

Zebra chip (ZC) disease of potato (Solanum tuberosum) is associated with infection by ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ (Lso). Two haplotypes of Lso—A and B—occur in the United States. Lso haplotype B is more virulent than haplotype A, causing greater disease incidence in tubers, more severe symptoms, and greater loss in tuber yield. This study assessed whether tubers from infected plants generate new infected plants the following year. The effects of both Lso haplotypes A and B on tuber resprout were examined on five potato cultivars. When compared with noninfected tubers, overall plant emergence rate from Lso A- or B-infected tubers was lower, plants emerged slower, and plants generated lower daughter tuber yields in weight and quantity. Plants generally emerged poorly from Lso B-infected tubers and produced lower daughter tuber yields than Lso A-infected tubers. Regardless of Lso treatment, all daughter tubers were asymptomatic, and only 0.3% tested positive for Lso in experiments conducted over 2 years. This suggests that plants generated from Lso A- and Lso B-infected seed potatoes with severe ZC symptoms are likely not a significant source of Lso in potato fields.

Field Trips Strategies and Keys to Determination on Discovery Learning in Lower-Plants Botany

How to identify plants according to the hierarchy or level of taxonomy to find the scientific name of the plant species is a very difficult task for students. The field trip strategies and discovery learning models can be used to see the usage of science processing skills in students. Learning settings that involve activeness, creativity, learning outcomes, and creative thinking abilities of students in accordance with the national education system are still in development. This is required to overcome educational problems such as lower levels of the abovementioned abilities, based on conventional and teacher-centred learning. This study aimed to determine the effect of applying the field trip strategy and the use of key media of determination to improve the discovery ability of students in the classification systems of lower-plants botany. The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that there was an effect of the application of field trips strategy and the use of key determination on the ability of students in the concept of lower-plant botany courses.