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Morphological characterization of domatium development in Callicarpa saccata.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND AND AIMS:Domatia are plant structures within which organisms reside. Callicarpa saccata (Lamiaceae) is the sole myrmecophyte, or 'ant plant', that develops foliar (leaf-borne) myrmeco-domatia in this genus. In this work we examined domatium development in C. saccata to understand the developmental processes behind pouch-like domatia. METHODS:Scanning electron microscopy, sectioning and microcomputed tomography were carried out to compare the leaves of C. saccata with those of the closely related but domatia-less myrmecophyte Callicarpa subaequalis, both under cultivation without ants. KEY RESULTS:Callicarpa saccata domatia are formed as a result of excess cell proliferation at the blade/petiole junctions of leaf primordia. Blade/petiole junctions are important meristematic sites in simple leaf organogenesis. We also found that the mesophyll tissue of domatia does not clearly differentiate into palisade and spongy layers. CONCLUSIONS:Rather than curling of the leaf margins, a perturbation of the normal functioning of the blade/petiole junction results in the formation of domatium tissue. Excess cell proliferation warps the shape of the blade and disturbs the development of the proximal-distal axis. This process leads to the generation of distinct structures that facilitate interaction between C. saccata and ants.

SUBMITTER: Sarath E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7061170 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Morphological characterization of domatium development in Callicarpa saccata.

Sarath Emma E Ezaki Kazune K Sasaki Takenori T Maekawa Yu Y Sawada Yuji Y Hirai Masami Yokota MY Soejima Akiko A Tsukaya Hirokazu H

Annals of botany 20200301 3

<h4>Background and aims</h4>Domatia are plant structures within which organisms reside. Callicarpa saccata (Lamiaceae) is the sole myrmecophyte, or 'ant plant', that develops foliar (leaf-borne) myrmeco-domatia in this genus. In this work we examined domatium development in C. saccata to understand the developmental processes behind pouch-like domatia.<h4>Methods</h4>Scanning electron microscopy, sectioning and microcomputed tomography were carried out to compare the leaves of C. saccata with th ...[more]

PMID: 31768517

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Dataset Information

Morphological characterization of domatium development in Callicarpa saccata.

Publications

Morphological characterization of domatium development in Callicarpa saccata.

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