Pollen morphology and evolutionary history of Sapindales

Abstract

In Brazil, Sapindales is represented by six families Anacardiaceae, Burseraceae, Meliaceae, Rutaceae, Sapindaceae, and Simaroubaceae. Palynological studies on its members are varied, including few detailed descriptions as well as palynotaxonomic analyses or brief diagnoses in floras or ecological, paleopalynological, or melissopalynological investigations. This study aimed to compile the main pollen characters of Sapindales families occurring in Brazil through a thorough review of the literature including national or foreign taxa and to present new information on the palynology of representatives of the families. Acetolyzed pollen grains from representatives of the six families were also analyzed, measured, and illustrated under light microscope. Unacetolyzed pollen grains were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. An evolutionary approach to pollen morphology in Sapindales was carried out by mapping and reconstructing the ancestral states of the pollen grains attributes on the existing phylogenetic proposal. Phylogenetic trees were generated by parsimony analysis and used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of each character state of the analyzed taxa. This study represents a first attempt to establish the phylogeny of the order Sapindales using pollen data. Future palynological studies should focus on species not included in the current phylogenetic tree as well as phylogenetic relationships within the nine Sapindales families.

Dillenia (Dilleniaceae) pollen heteromorphy and presentation, and implications for pollination by bats

“…In this family, the pollens of most genera did not have a consistent number of apertures, with most being 3–4 or 4–5 colporate. Interestingly, many Sapotaceae are pollinated or likely to be pollinated by bats (Aziz et al., 2021; Harley, 1991), including in Fiji (Scanlon, Petit, Tuiwawa, & Naikatini, 2014), as are some species in the Sapindales (Fleming et al., 2009), a group known to have genera with heteromorphic pollen (Gonçalves‐Esteves et al., 2022). Harley (1991) found that the ratio within a sample of one aperture number to the other was generally 0.25–0.30 to 0.65–0.75.…”

Optimization of culture medium for in vitro germination and storage conditions of Exochorda racemosa pollen

“…The pollen morphological characteristics are typically stable, showing the common characteristics at the family, genera or specie level ( Stafford and Knapp, 2006 ; Jia et al., 2015 ; Goncalves-Esteves et al., 2021 ). Walker (1974) reported that the sculptural types of primitive type pollen are simple, and the pollen sculptural types of advanced species are complex.…”

Grimmipollis burmanica gen. et sp. nov.: New genus of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) from the late Eocene of central Myanmar

“…Muller and Leenhouts (1976) classified the apertural types of extant Sapindaceae pollen into 12 groups and regarded the spherical tricolporate type A with long colpi and small endoapertures as a basic type. Gonçalves-Esteves et al (2021) concluded that tri(tetra)-colporate, which is most common, tri(tetra)-colporate, parasyncolporate, syncolporate or hemisyncolporate apertural types were found in Sapindaceae. Syncolporate and parasyncolporate types only occur in the subfamily Sapindoideae, and most commonly in the tribe Cupanieae (Acevedo-Rodríguez et al, 2011).…”