Microstructure observations of Lemna aequinoctialis ecotype

Abstract

A duckweed from a pond close to Yamuna River in Delhi NCR was collected and its characteristics were studied. The genomic DNA of the frond was used as a template in PCR to amplify the DNA barcodes of duckweed family (i.e., four plastid genes, Maturase K, Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit, RNA Polymerase Beta subunit, RNA Polymerase C and three intergenic spacers, namely, trnH-psbA, atpF-atpH and PsbK-PsbL). Homology analysis of PCR products led to the identification of the frond as an ecotype of Lemna aequinoctialis. The abaxial surface of Lemna aequinoctialis displayed distinctive wax globules by Scanning electron microscopy. Such wax globules have never been reported from angiosperms yet. Intercellular details disclosed by Transmission Electron Microscopy showed extensive deposition of starch granules and lipid droplets in the cytoplasm. The chloroplasts were observed to have extensive lamellae in close association with plastoglobules in the mesophyll cells. The surface of Lemna aequinoctialis ecotype has unique wax globules on the adaxial surface and numerous stomatal apertures on the abaxial surface.

Undergraduate Internship on Yamuna River Exploration: Raising Awareness about SDG6

“…Students expressed that creating reports every two weeks helped them to understand scientific reporting and the concepts they could not understand in class. This internship also led to the discovery of an ecotype by a student that has been published elsewhere [41]. All the students confessed during the bi-weekly discussions that they had not heard of the SDGs or SDG 6.…”