The R2R3-MYB genes regulate pigmentation and morphogenesis of flowers, including flower and cell shape, and therefore have importance in the development of new varieties of orchids. However, new variety development is limited by the long breeding time required in orchids. In this study, we identified a cDNA, DhMYB1, that is expressed during flower development in a hybrid orchid, Dendrobium hybrida (Dendrobium bobby messina X Dendrobium chao phraya) then used the direct application of dsRNA to observe the effect of gene silencing on flower phenotype and floral epidermal cell shape.
Pollinator syndrome is one of the most important determinants regulating pollen dispersal in tropical tree species. It has been widely accepted that the reproduction of tropical forest species, especially dipterocarps that rely on insects with weak flight for their pollination, is positively density-dependent. However differences in pollinator syndrome should affect pollen dispersal patterns and, consequently, influence genetic diversity via the mating process. We examined the pollen dispersal pattern and mating system of Shorea maxwelliana, the flowers of which are larger than those of Shorea species belonging to section Mutica which are thought to be pollinated by thrips (weak flyers). A Bayesian mating model based on the paternity of seeds collected from mother trees during sporadic and mass flowering events revealed that the estimated pollen dispersal kernel and average pollen dispersal distance were similar for both flowering events. This evidence suggests that the putative pollinators - small beetles and weevils - effectively contribute to pollen dispersal and help to maintain a high outcrossing rate even during sporadic flowering events. However, the reduction in pollen donors during a sporadic event results in a reduction in effective pollen donors, which should lead to lower genetic diversity in the next generation derived from seeds produced during such an event. Although sporadic flowering has been considered less effective for outcrossing in Shorea species that depend on thrips for their pollination, effective pollen dispersal by the small beetles and weevils ensures outcrossing during periods of low flowering tree density, as occurs in a sporadic flowering event.
Impatiens balsamina L. is a tropical ornamental and traditional medicinal herb rich in natural compounds, especially 2-methoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (MNQ) which is a bioactive compound with tested anticancer activities. Characterization of key genes involved in the shikimate and 1,4-dihydroxy-2-naphthoate (DHNA) pathways responsible for MNQ biosynthesis and their expression profiles in I. balsamina will facilitate adoption of genetic/metabolic engineering or synthetic biology approaches to further increase production for pre-commercialization. In this study, HPLC analysis showed that MNQ was present in significantly higher quantities in the capsule pericarps throughout three developmental stages (early-, mature- and postbreaker stages) whilst its immediate precursor, 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (lawsone) was mainly detected in mature leaves. Transcriptomes of I. balsamina derived from leaf, flower, and three capsule developmental stages were generated, totalling 59.643 Gb of raw reads that were assembled into 94,659 unigenes (595,828 transcripts). A total of 73.96% of unigenes were functionally annotated against seven public databases and 50,786 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Expression profiles of 20 selected genes from four major secondary metabolism pathways were studied and validated using qRT-PCR method. Majority of the DHNA pathway genes were found to be significantly upregulated in early stage capsule compared to flower and leaf, suggesting tissue-specific synthesis of MNQ. Correlation analysis identified 11 candidate unigenes related to three enzymes (NADH-quinone oxidoreductase, UDP-glycosyltransferases and S-adenosylmethionine-dependent O-methyltransferase) important in the final steps of MNQ biosynthesis based on genes expression profiles consistent with MNQ content. This study provides the first molecular insight into the dynamics of MNQ biosynthesis and accumulation across different tissues of I. balsamina and serves as a valuable resource to facilitate further manipulation to increase production of MNQ.
A cross between IR64 (high-yielding but drought-susceptible) and Aday Sel (drought-tolerant) rice cultivars yielded a stable line with enhanced grain yield under drought screening field trials at International Rice Research Institute. The major effect qDTY4.1 drought tolerance and yield QTL was detected in the IR77298-14-1-2-10 Backcrossed Inbred Line (BIL) and its IR87705-7-15-B Near Isogenic Line (NIL) with 93.9% genetic similarity to IR64. Although rice yield is extremely susceptible to water stress at reproductive stage, currently, there is only one report on the detection of drought-responsive microRNAs in inflorescence tissue of a Japonica rice line. In this study, more drought-responsive microRNAs were identified in the inflorescence tissues of IR64, IR77298-14-1-2-10 and IR87705-7-15-B via next-generation sequencing. Among the 32 families of inflorescence-specific non-conserved microRNAs that were identified, 22 families were up-regulated in IR87705-7-15-B. Overall 9 conserved and 34 non-conserved microRNA families were found as drought-responsive in rice inflorescence with 5 conserved and 30 non-conserved families induced in the IR87705-7-15-B. The observation of more drought-responsive non-conserved microRNAs may imply their prominence over conserved microRNAs in drought response mechanisms of rice inflorescence. Gene Ontology annotation analysis on the target genes of drought-responsive microRNAs identified in IR87705-7-15-B revealed over-representation of biological processes including development, signalling and response to stimulus. Particularly, four inflorescence-specific microRNAs viz. osa-miR5485, osa-miR5487, osa-miR5492 and osa-miR5517, and two non-inflorescence specific microRNAs viz. osa-miR169d and osa-miR169f.2 target genes that are involved in flower or embryonic development. Among them, osa-miR169d, osa-miR5492 and osa-miR5517 are related to flowering time control. It is also worth mentioning that osa-miR2118 and osa-miR2275, which are implicated in the biosynthesis of rice inflorescence-specific small interfering RNAs, were induced in IR87705-7-15-B but repressed in IR77298-14-1-2-10. Further, gene search within qDTY4.1 QTL region had identified multiple copies of NBS-LRR resistance genes (potential target of osa-miR2118), subtilisins and genes implicated in stomatal movement, ABA metabolism and cuticular wax biosynthesis.
Matched MeSH terms: Flowers/genetics; Flowers/growth & development
In the study, we evaluated chemical composition and antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and antitumor activities of essential oils from dried leaf essential oil of leaf and flower of Agastache rugosa for the first time. Essential oil of leaf and flower was evaluated with GC and GC-MS methods, and the essential oil of flower revealed the presence of 21 components, whose major compounds were pulegone (34.1%), estragole (29.5%), and p-Menthan-3-one (19.2%). 26 components from essential oil of leaf were identified, the major compounds were p-Menthan-3-one (48.8%) and estragole (20.8%). At the same time, essential oil of leaf, there is a very effective antimicrobial activity with MIC ranging from 9.4 to 42 μg ml(-1) and potential antibiofilm, antitumor activities for essential oils of flower and leaf essential oil of leaf. The study highlighted the diversity in two different parts of A. rugosa grown in Xinjiang region and other places, which have different active constituents. Our results showed that this native plant may be a good candidate for further biological and pharmacological investigations.
Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) is one of the important species of Hibiscus cultivated for fiber. Availability of homozygous parent lines is prerequisite to the use of the heterosis effect reproducible in hybrid breeding. The production of haploid plants by anther culture followed by chromosome doubling can be achieved in short period compared with inbred lines by conventional method that requires self pollination of parent material. In this research, the effects of the microspore developmental stage, time of flower collection, various pretreatments, different combinations of hormones, and culture condition on anther culture of KB6 variety of Kenaf were studied. Young flower buds with immature anthers at the appropriate stage of microspore development were sterilized and the anthers were carefully dissected from the flower buds and subjected to various pretreatments and different combinations of hormones like NAA, 2,4-D, Kinetin, BAP, and TDZ to induce callus. The best microspore development stage of the flower buds was about 6-8 mm long collected 1-2 weeks after flower initiation. At that stage, the microspores were at the uninucleate stage which was suitable for culture. The best callus induction frequency was 90% in the optimized semisolid MS medium fortified with 3.0 mg/L BAP + 3.0 mg/L NAA.
The pollinators of 29 ginger species representing 11 genera in relation to certain floral morphological characteristics in a mixed-dipterocarp forest in Borneo were investigated. Among the 29 species studied, eight were pollinated by spiderhunters (Nectariniidae), 11 by medium-sized Amegilla bees (Anthophoridae), and ten by small halictid bees. These pollination guilds found in gingers in Sarawak are comparable to the pollination guilds of neotropical Zingiberales, i.e., hummingbird-, and euglossine-bee-pollinated guilds. Canonical discriminant analysis revealed that there were significant correlations between floral morphology and pollination guilds and suggests the importance of plant-pollinator interactions in the evolution of floral morphology. Most species in the three guilds were separated on the plot by the first and second canonical variables. Spiderhunter-pollinated flowers had longer floral tubes, while Amegilla-pollinated flowers had wider lips than the others, which function as a platform for the pollinators. Pistils and stamens of halictid-pollinated flowers were smaller than the others. The fact that gingers with diverse morphologies in a forest with high species diversity were grouped into only three pollination guilds and that the pollinators themselves showed low species diversity suggests that many species of rare understory plants have evolved without segregating pollinators in each pollination guild.
Pollination ecology of three Durio species, D. grandiflorus, D. oblongus, and D. kutejensis (Bombacaceae), was studied in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Sarawak, Malaysia, during a peak flowering period when at least 305 species of plants bloomed in 1996. Durio has been reported to be pollinated by bats in Peninsular Malaysia. However, my observations of flower visitors and pollination experiments indicated that two species, D. grandiflorus and D. oblongus, were pollinated by spiderhunters (Nectariniidae) and that the other species, D. kutejensis, was pollinated by giant honey bees and bats as well as birds. Hand-pollination experiments showed that all three species were obligate outbreeders. A resource limitation in fruit production was suggested. The former two species were visited only by spiderhunters, and the bagged flowers that were opened for animal visitors only at night bore no fruit, while those that were opened only during the day bore fruits, at comparable fruiting ratios to open pollination. Durio kutejensis was observed to be visited by giant honey bees, birds, and bats at different times of day, and three series of bagged experiments that exposed the flowers to animal visitors at different times of day bore fruits at a comparable ratio to open-pollination.
Flowerings and flower visitors were observed continuously in alowland dipterocarp forest in Sarawak, Malaysia, for 53 mo in1992-1996. Flower visitors of 270 plant species were observed orcollected, and pollinators were assessed by observing body contact tostigmas and anthers. We recognized 12 categories of pollination systems.Among them, plants pollinated by social bees included the largest numberof species (32%) and were followed by beetle-pollinated species(20%). Pollination systems were significantly related with somefloral characters (flowering time of day, reward, and floral shape), butnot with floral color. Based on the relationships between pollinatorsand floral characters, we described pollination syndromes found in alowland dipterocarp forest. The dominance of social bees and beetlesamong pollinators is discussed in relation to the general floweringobserved in dipterocarp forests of West Malesia. In spite of high plantspecies diversity and consequent low population densities of lowlanddipterocarp forests, long-distance-specific pollinators were uncommoncompared with theNeotropics.
A new species of Diplodiscus is described and illustrated from one collection made in lowland mixed dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysia. Conspicuous by its twig colour, leaf shape and indumentum, it is probably allied to D. longifolius, but differs in sufficient characters (shape, indumentum, apex and venation of blade, flower bud shape and size, petal diameter, ovary shape and fruit shape and size) to be a species in its own right. A key to the species of Diplodiscus in Malaysia also is provided.
Viola betonicifolia (Violaceae) is commonly recognized as "Banafsha" and widely distributed throughout the globe. This plant is of great interest because of its traditional, pharmacological uses. This review mainly emphases on morphology, nutritional composition, and several therapeutic uses, along with pharmacological properties of different parts of this multipurpose plant. Different vegetative parts of this plant (roots, leaves, petioles, and flowers) contained a good profile of essential micro- and macronutrients and are rich source of fat, protein, carbohydrates, and vitamin C. The plant is well known for its pharmacological properties, e.g., antioxidant, antihelminthic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and has been reported in the treatment of various neurological diseases. This plant is of high economic value. The plant has potential role in cosmetic industry. This review suggests that V. betonicifolia is a promising source of pharmaceutical agents. This plant is also of significance as ornamental plant, however further studies needed to explore its phytoconstituents and their pharmacological potential. Furthermore, clinical studies are needed to use this plant for benefits of human beings.
Thrips (Thysanoptera) are common pests on legume plants, yet little is known about their ecology or diversity in Peninsular
Malaysia. In legumes, thrips are typically found in flowers, where their feeding activity causes malformations that
eventually lead to crop damage. In this study, we examined the diversity of thrips species, particularly Megalurothrips
usitatus, in three selected legume farms around Peninsular Malaysia (Janda Baik, Pahang; Bestari Jaya, Selangor; and
Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan). Each month from April 2013 to May 2014, depending on growing season, legume flowers were
inspected for thrips in five random plots from each farm. Sampling was performed six times in Bestari Jaya and Jelebu
and twelve times in Janda Baik. The most abundant thrips species on legumes was M. usitatus (89.97%) followed by
Thrips parvispinus (9.77%), T. hawaiiensis (0.13%) and Ceratothripoides brunneus (0.12%). The abundance of M. usitatus
was not different between long bean, French bean and winged bean which equally distributed among different arbitrary
strata on legume plants. Temperature and light intensity were found to be positively correlated with the abundance of
M. usitatus, but relative humidity showed a negative relationship. M. usitatus was found in large numbers during hot
and dry months, but in lower numbers during raining season. This study suggested that wet season may help to regulate
the populations of M. usitatus on legume plants.
The technique of mRNA fingerprinting was used to isolate flower-specific cDNAs in the oil palm. Differences in the RNA populations between vegetative tissue (leaf) and inflorescences at various stages of flower development were examined using 18 primer combinations. A total of 16 flower-specific cDNAs were identified, of which 15 were successfully re-amplified. Reverse Northern analysis confirmed that 8 of the 15 cDNAs appeared to truly represent differentially expressed mRNAs in flowering tissues. Northern blot analysis subsequently showed that 5 of the clones are preferentially or exclusively expressed in the flowering tissues of oil palm.
Crude extracts of fresh Dendrobium Sonia 'Earsakul' orchid flowers (DSE) were prepared using microwave assisted extraction (MAE; using household microwave oven) and hot water extraction (HWE; at constant 80 °C). The obtained DSEs were measured their absorbance at λmax of 543 and 583 nm and determined their total monomeric anthocyanin contents (TAC). Mathematical models of MAE of Dendrobium Sonia 'Earsakul' orchid flower were constructed using response surface methodology - Box-Behnken design. Studied parameters included flower to water ratio, microwave power, and extraction time, with absorbance at λmax as response. The data generated were 1) visible spectrum (400-700 nm) of DSE; 2) absorbance values at λmax and 3) TAC of DSEs obtained from various extraction conditions of MAE and HWE; 4) linear equations describing correlations between TAC and absorbance at λmax of DSEs; and 5) mathematical models of MAE of Dendrobium Sonia 'Earsakul' orchid.
Pink Antigonon leptopushave potential to be commercialized as cut flowers for flower arrangement. In order to determine cut inflorescences' vase life, vase solution treatments containing Artificial Tap Water as control, salicyclic acid (SA) at 100, 200, 300 mg/L and combination of 100, 200, 300 mg/L SA with 2% sucrose were conducted. Parameters observed were vase life, relative fresh weight (RFW), vase solution uptake (VSU), flower drop (FD), flower colour, relative water content (RWC) and pH. The results showed that cut inflorescences in vase treatment containing 200 mg/L SA + 2% sucrose and 300 mg/L + 2% sucrose had 1.6 fold longer vase life than the control, showing higher water uptake and reduced flower drop by 28%.
In this study, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was exploited for non-destructive determination of theanine content of oolong tea. The NIR spectral data (400-2500 nm) were correlated with the theanine level of 161 tea samples using partial least squares regression (PLSR) with different wavelengths selection methods, including the regression coefficient-based selection, uninformative variable elimination, variable importance in projection, selectivity ratio and flower pollination algorithm (FPA). The potential of using the FPA to select the discriminative wavelengths for PLSR was examined for the first time. The analysis showed that the PLSR with FPA method achieved better predictive results than the PLSR with full spectrum (PLSR-full). The developed simplified model using on FPA based on 12 latent variables and 89 selected wavelengths produced R-squared (R2) value and root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.9542, 0.8794 and 0.2045, 0.3219 for calibration and prediction, respectively. For PLSR-full, the R2 values of 0.9068, 0.8412 and RMSEs of 0.2916, 0.3693, were achieved for calibration and prediction. Also, the optimized model using FPA outperformed other wavelengths selection methods considered in this study. The obtained results indicated the feasibility of FPA to improve the predictability of the PLSR and reduce the model complexity. The nonlinear regression models of support vector machine regression and Gaussian process regression (GPR) were further utilized to evaluate the superiority of using the FPA in the wavelength selection. The results demonstrated that utilizing the wavelength selection method of FPA and nonlinear regression model of GPR could improve the predictive performance.
The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of spent mushroom compost of Pleurotus eous strain P-31 on the growth and yield performance of pepper and tomato seedlings under greenhouse conditions. Sandy loam soil was combined with different percentages of SMC to obtain the following combinations (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30) %. Lower concentrations SMC5, SMC10 and SMC15 promoted vegetative growth (plant height, leaf area, chlorophyll content, number of leaves and axillary branches) of the two test plants. Tomato seedlings grown in SMC10 recorded the highest plant height (50.3 ± 7.2cm); leaf area (378.8 ± 1.2cm2); number of floral buds (51) and flowers (28) whereas SMC5 recorded the highest chlorophyll content 34.1 ± 0.9CCI though SMC15 recorded the highest number of leaves (8). Tomato seedlings grown in SMC30 produced both the maximum number of fruits (8) with corresponding high weight (34.2 ± 7.7g). Pepper seedlings grown in lower concentrations (SMC5-15) recorded the highest plant heights (29.8-30.8cm), chlorophyll content (20.3CCI) and leaf area (53.5-66.2 cm2). Although the different combinations of sandy loam soil and SMC did not significantly (p ≥ 0.05) affect the number of axillary branches developed; different combinations significantly (p ≤ 0.05) affected the number of floral bud, flower and fruit, weight of fruits formed and value of each of these increased with increasing percentage of SMC. Pepper seedlings grown on SMC30 recorded the maximum number of floral buds (32.0 ± 3.6), number of flowers (19.4 ± 1.3), number of fruits (10.8 ± 1.2) and weight of fruits (31.9 ± 3.4g). Tomato seedlings raised on SMC100 (spent mushroom compost only) and soil only did not significantly (p ≥ 0.05) differ from each other however, was statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) from amended sandy loam soil by all criteria investigated. The study shows that SMC provide favourable soil conditioners for the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and foliage crops as it improved growth and yield of tomato and pepper seedlings.
Chrysanthemum morfolium is an important temperate cut flower and potted plant for Malaysian local market and exporter. Considering chrysanthemum as a popular vegetatively propagated ornamental plant, induce mutations for breeding purposes are more beneficial. Several of physical mutagens have been used in mutation breeding including x-rays, gamma rays and ion beams. Gamma rays and ion beams are from two different linear energy transfer (LET) which are low and high, respectively. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of acute gamma and ion beam irradiation in generating flower colour mutations on nodal explants of Chrysanthemum morifblium cv. Reagan Red'. The nodal explants were irradiated with acute gamma (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110 and 120 Gy) and ion beam (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 8.0, 10, 15, 20 and 30 Gy). The optimal dose for in vitro shoot regeneration using acute gamma was in the range of 10 to .15.0Gy and for ion beam was between 3.5 to 4.OGv. Relative biological effectiveness for ion beam was found 3.75 higher than the acute gamma. The regenerated plantlets were planted in the greenhouse at MARDI, Cameron Highland for morphological screening. The highest frequency of flower colour mutation for acute gamma was 77.8% whilst for ion beam were between 42.3 to 58.3%.
This study was done to assess the total phenolic compounds (TPC) and 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity in the flowers and leaves of Clitoria ternateaand Vitex negundo Linn. by using methanol and water extraction. TPC were evaluated using Folin-Ciocalteau method. Methanol was more efficient in extracting phenolic compounds compared with water in measuring TPC. Vitex negundo Linn. contained higher amount of TPC compared to Clitoria ternatea. Besides that, leaves for both plants showed higher amount of TPC compared to the flowers. Methanol extracted Vitex negundo Linn. showed higher DPPH scavenging activity compared with Clitoria ternatea. In contrast, DPPH scavenging activity for water extracted Clitoria ternatea showed higher value in compare with water extracted Vitex negundo Linn. The type of solvent used to extract the plant material and concentration of extracts used showed significance difference (P < 0.05) on the amount of DPPH scavenged by the plant extract. The presence of antioxidant activity in both leaves and flowers showed that Clitoria ternatea and Vitex negundo Linn. have the potential to be an alternative source of natural antioxidants. In vivo study is needed for successful commercialization and to benefit both the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Synthetic antioxidants are added to food in the powdered form to preserve it. However these compounds posed serious health concern since they have been associated with causing cancer. Thus using fresh herbs with antioxidant activities would be good alternative. The objectives of this study were to evaluate and compare the total phenolic contents and antioxidant activities of both powdered and fresh forms of turmeric leaf, pandan leaf and torch ginger flower. Total phenolic content (TPC) was assayed based on the redox reaction between Folin-Ciocalteu with phenolics in the sample extracts. Antioxidant activity (AA) was assayed using the ß-carotene linoleate model system and the percentage of antioxidant activity was calculated from the values of degradation rate. Scavenging activity (SA) was assayed using the DPPH radical scavenging model system whereby EC50 value was determined from the plotted graph of scavenging activity against the concentration of sample extracts. Analyses revealed that powdered forms of turmeric leaf, pandan leaf and torch ginger flower had higher TPC (2013.09 ± 5.13, 1784.25 ± 7.59 and 1937.42 ± 6.61 mg GAE/100g, respectively) than their respective fresh forms (348.75 ± 1.26, 356.42 ± 1.32 and 211.59 ± 6.29 mg GAE/100g, respectively). Similarly, powdered forms of turmeric leaf, pandan leaf and torch ginger flower possessed better AA (64.31 ± 0.99, 65.09 ± 0.74 and 11.80 ± 0.40 %, respectively) than their respective fresh forms (24.93 ± 0.71, 16.91 ± 0.70 and 1.45 ± 0.10 %, respectively). Powdered forms of turmeric leaf, pandan leaf and torch ginger flower were also better radical scavenger as compared to their respective fresh forms. In conclusion, all samples in their powdered forms have high total phenolic contents, antioxidant and scavenging activities than their respective fresh forms.