Gregarious Flowering of Chusquea

Seifriz, William

doi:10.1038/165635a0

Cited by 35 publications

(21 citation statements)

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“…Thus, it is unlikely that Chusquea seed persists after the seed-producing year. Studies of Chusquea abietifolia in Jamaica (Seifrez 1950) have shown that this species flowers gregariously at 33 year intervals; a similarly lengthy interval between seed productions would account for the absence of Chusquea spp. from the surfaces exposed by the 1960 mass movements in the Valdivian Andes.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catastrophic influences on the vegetation of the Valdivian Andes, Chile

1978

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catastrophic influences on the vegetation of the Valdivian Andes, Chile

1978

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“…In addition to environmental pressures (Seifriz 1950, Ims 1990, Mckone et al 1998, endogenous rhythms, such as the biological clock, can induce flowering (Janzen 1976, Ims 1990). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flowering and fruiting of Aulonemia aristulata: a gynomonoecious woody bamboo species from Atlantic Forest in Brazil

Grombone-Guaratini¹,

Nascimento²,

Santos-Gonçalves³

2011

Rev. bras. Bot.

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-(Flowering and fruiting of Aulonemia aristulata: a gynomonoecious woody bamboo species from Atlantic Forest in Brazil). Aulonemia aristulata (Döll) McClure is a lignified bamboo species endemic to Brazil. This species occurs in southeastern forests and can reach high density at forest edges, dominating the understory of canopy-disturbed forest patches. The goal of this study was to describe the flowering period, floral biology, fruiting and seedling recruitment of A. aristulata in natural conditions in two areas located in a segment of the Atlantic Forest. Data on the morphology of the synflorescences and florets, timing and sequence of the anthesis events and floral visitors were recorded. Natural pollinators (open pollination or control) as well as spontaneous self-pollination were also checked. Pollen viability was estimated using the acetocarmine technique. Aulonemia aristulata is monocarpic (semelparous) with gregarious flowering. All culms in both studied areas blossomed and fruited between August and November 2007, dying subsequently between December 2007 and April 2008. Two types of synflorescences and flowers were observed: terminal with bisexual and protandric florets, with the anthesis lasting for 3-4 days; and axillary, with morphologically bisexual, but functionally female, florets and anthesis lasting for 3-4 days. The latter were also observed in the rhizome of plants whose aerial portion had been removed. The presence of axillary synflorescences with pistillate flowers is described here for the first time in Aulonemia species. Moreover, this is the first report of gynomonoecy in woody bamboo. Fruiting from bisexual florets under natural conditions (35%) was superior to that obtained from bagged synflorescences (11.5%). Fruiting from functional female florets was around 20%. Pollen viability was on the average of 90%. The results suggest that Aulonemia aristulata is anemophilous. The massive bamboo seedling recruitment observed after dieback with the ability to colonize open areas could promote the regeneration of Aulonemia aristulata.Key words -floral biology, gregarious flowering, gynomonoecy, protandry, tropical forest RESUMO -(Floração e frutificação de Aulonemia aristulata: uma espécie de bambu lignificado ginomonoica da Floresta Atlântica no Brasil). Aulonemia aristulata (Döll) McClure é uma espécie de bambu lignificado endêmico do Brasil. Esta espécie ocorre em florestas do sudeste e pode atingir altas densidades em bordas de floresta e dominar o sub-bosque de manchas de floresta que tiveram o dossel perturbado. O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever o período de florescimento, a biologia floral, a frutificação e o recrutamento de plântulas de A. aristulata, em condições naturais, em duas áreas localizadas em um segmento de Floresta Atlântica. Foram registrados dados sobre a morfologia das sinflorescências e das espiguetas, tempo e sequência de eventos de antese e visitantes florais. Foram também verificadas a polinização natural (polinização aberta e controle) e a autopolinização ...

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“…The so-called species clock hypothesis is based on the idea that telomere erosion synchronizes speciation events in many individuals, similar to such biological phenomena as the mass flowering events of bamboo, which occur (up to) every 120 years (Janzen 1976). All plants of the same stock flower just once at the same time, regardless of differences in geographic locations or climatic conditions (Seifriz 1950). Clearly, long-term biological clocks exist in nature, despite the lack of any good Darwinian explanation.…”

Section: Transgenerational Telomere Erosion Triggers Chromosome Fusiomentioning

confidence: 99%

The telomeric sync model of speciation: species-wide telomere erosion triggers cycles of transposon-mediated genomic rearrangements, which underlie the saltatory appearance of nonadaptive characters

Stindl¹

2014

Naturwissenschaften

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Charles Darwin knew that the fossil record is not overwhelmingly supportive of genetic and phenotypic gradualism; therefore, he developed the core of his theory on the basis of breeding experiments. Here, I present evidence for the existence of a cell biological mechanism that strongly points to the almost forgotten European concept of saltatory evolution of nonadaptive characters, which is in perfect agreement with the gaps in the fossil record. The standard model of chromosomal evolution has always been handicapped by a paradox, namely, how speciation can occur by spontaneous chromosomal rearrangements that are known to decrease the fertility of heterozygotes in a population. However, the hallmark of almost all closely related species is a differing chromosome complement and therefore chromosomal rearrangements seem to be crucial for speciation. Telomeres, the caps of eukaryotic chromosomes, erode in somatic tissues during life, but have been thought to remain stable in the germline of a species. Recently, a large human study spanning three healthy generations clearly found a cumulative telomere effect, which is indicative of transgenerational telomere erosion in the human species. The telomeric sync model of speciation presented here is based on telomere erosion between generations, which leads to identical fusions of chromosomes and triggers a transposon-mediated genomic repatterning in the germline of many individuals of a species. The phenotypic outcome of the telomere-triggered transposon activity is the saltatory appearance of nonadaptive characters simultaneously in many individuals. Transgenerational telomere erosion is therefore the material basis of aging at the species level.

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Gregarious Flowering of Chusquea

Cited by 35 publications

References 1 publication

Catastrophic influences on the vegetation of the Valdivian Andes, Chile

Catastrophic influences on the vegetation of the Valdivian Andes, Chile

Flowering and fruiting of Aulonemia aristulata: a gynomonoecious woody bamboo species from Atlantic Forest in Brazil

The telomeric sync model of speciation: species-wide telomere erosion triggers cycles of transposon-mediated genomic rearrangements, which underlie the saltatory appearance of nonadaptive characters

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