Embryology of Jeffersonia dubia Baker et S. Moore (Berberidaceae) and comparison with allied genera

Abstract

Because the embryological features of Jeffersonia dubia are poorly understood, we conducted the first embryological study comparing it to other related genera of Berberidaceae. Important embryological features of J. dubia are as follows: the anther is tetrasporangiate, anther wall formation confirms basic type, glandular tapetum cells are two nucleate, the epidermis persistent, and the endothecium develops fibrous thickenings, anther dehiscence by two valves, meiosis in a microspore mother cell is accompanied by simultaneous cytokinesis, microspore tetrads are usually tetrahedral, pollen grains two cells at the time of anthesis. The ovule is bitegmic, anatropous and crassinucellate, archesporium single celled, development of the embryo sac Polygonum type, a mature embryo sac is ellipsoidal in shape. Endosperm formation is of Nuclear type and embryogeny Onagrad type. Seeds are arillate and seed coat exotestal type. Embryological comparisons showed that Jeffersonia resemble to Epimedium and Vancouveria rather than Berberis and Mahonia in some features, like as number of tapetal cells, cytokinesis in meiosis, and thickness of exotesta. It also resembles to Gymnospermium in mode of anther wall formation, number of tapetal cells, formation of nucellar cap, and nature of antipodal cells. Nevertheless, Jeffersonia and Gymnospermium differ from several other embryological features and molecular data too. Therefore, embryological evidences support that Jeffersonia is closely related with Epimedium and Vancouveria.

Genetic diagnosis of a rare myrmecochorous species, Plagiorhegma dubium (Berberidaceae): Historical genetic bottlenecks and strong spatial structures among populations

“…Plants normally flower in the early spring around March to April and produce capsule fruits once a year (Kim, in press; Rhie et al., ). Flowers of the plant have both male and female parts in a single flower with six stamens and one carpel (Ghimire & Heo, ). Pollination of P. dubium is not yet surveyed; however, the species is likely pollinated by insects as the most closely species, J. diphylla is an insect‐pollinated species (Smith et al., ).…”

“…In Korea, P. dubium was rarely found in natural habitats and it is listed as an “endangered species” by the Ministry of Environment of South Korea in part due to limited migration ability as a myrmecochorous plant (Ministry of Environment, ). The species only inhabits dense deciduous forests mostly along the north side of shady valleys (Ghimire & Heo, ; Rhie, Lee, & Kim, ). However, the species was removed from the list in 2012 based on the recent population growth observed throughout the nation within the past 10 years (3rd National Environmental Survey, Ministry of Environment unpublished data; Suh & Kim, ).…”

Development and characterization of 30 microsatellite loci for Plagiorhegma dubium (Berberidaceae)

“…(Berberidaceae) is composed of only one species, P. dubium Maxim., which has a narrow distribution in northeastern Asia and Siberia (Jeong and Sivanesan, ). Plagiorhegma dubium has been listed as an endangered species by the Ministry of the Environment of South Korea due to its rarity and specific habitat preference (Kim, ; Ghimire and Heo, ). The plants have a long history of medicinal uses: roots have long been used as folk medicine for stomachache, and the phytochemicals extracted from the plants have shown remedial effects on elevated cholesterol levels (Kong et al., ).…”