Growing evening primroses (Oenothera)

Abstract

The model plant Oenothera has contributed significantly to the biological sciences and it dominated the early development of plant genetics, cytogenetics, and evolutionary biology. The great advantage of using Oenothera as a model system is a large body of genetic, cytological, morphological, and ecological information collected over more than a century. The Oenothera system offers a well-studied taxonomy, population structure, and ecology. Cytogenetics and formal genetics at the population level are extensively developed, providing an excellent basis to study evolutionary questions. Further, Oenothera is grown as an oil seed crop for the production of essential fatty acids (gamma-linoleic acid) and is considered to be a medicinal plant due to its many pharmaceutically active secondary metabolites, such as ellagitannins. Although Oenothera has been cultivated as a laboratory organism since the end of the 19th century, there is a substantial lack of literature dealing with modern greenhouse techniques for the genus. This review compiles an overview about the growth requirements for the genus Oenothera, with a special focus on its genetically best-studied subsections Oenothera and Munzia. Requirements for greenhouse, field, and agronomic cultures are presented, together with information on substrate types, pest control, as well as vegetative and seed propagation, cross pollination, harvest, and seed storage. Particular aspects like germination, bolting, and flowering induction in taxonomically diverse material are reviewed. Methods recommended are supported by ecological and experimental data. An overview of the possibilities for wide hybridization and polyploidy induction in the genus is given. Germplasm resources are referenced. In summary, a comprehensive guideline for successful laboratory cultivation of Oenothera species is provided.

Spontaneous Chloroplast Mutants Mostly Occur by Replication Slippage and Show a Biased Pattern in the Plastome of Oenothera

“…Plant material used here is derived from the Oenothera germplasm collection harbored at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm, Germany (Greiner and Köhl, 2014). Part of this collection is represented by the 51 spontaneous plastome mutants that were collected systematically during the past century in Germany (Kutzelnigg and Stubbe, 1974;Stubbe and Herrmann, 1982;Stubbe, 1989;Supplemental Table 1).…”

“…Chloroplast mutants, the wild type, and introgression strains were cultivated as described previously (Greiner and Köhl, 2014). In Oenothera, photosynthetically incompetent chloroplast mutants can be kept as variegated plants, containing green wild-type as well as mutated chloroplasts ( Figure 1A).…”

Translocations of Chromosome End-Segments and Facultative Heterochromatin Promote Meiotic Ring Formation in Evening Primroses

“…To induce flowering, rosettes of 10-cm diameter were vernalized for 7 to 10 d at 4 to 8°C (for details, see Greiner and Köhl, 2014). For preparation of root meristems and cotyledon tissue, Oenothera seeds were germinated in Petri dishes on blotting paper wetted with tap water under a 16-h-light/8-h-dark period at 22°C.…”

No evidence that sex and transposable elements drive genome size variation in evening primroses

“…Seeds of O. elata (sex) and O. biennis (PTH), two species with relatively large genome sizes, and of O. villaricae (PTH), one of relatively small genome size (Supplementary Table 1), were imbibed at 4°C overnight in the dark with 3% Plant Preservative Mixture (Plant Cell Technology Store, Washington, DC, USA). Seeds were then sown on the substrate surface and grown until the early rosette stage (for details see Greiner and Köhl, 2014). For DNA isolation, 50 mg of leaf material was frozen in liquid N 2 and ground using a mixer mill.…”