Comparative floral spur anatomy and nectar secretion in four representatives of Ranunculaceae

Protoplasma
Sebastian Antoń, Magdalena Kamińska

Abstract

Nectaries are common in Ranunculaceae. These secretory structures, however, have not been studied in detail despite their importance in plant-animal interactions, and data relating to the structure of nectary spurs, which are so characteristic of several genera of this family, remain scarce. In order to redress this imbalance, we sought, in the present paper, to analyze the anatomical and ultrastructural organization of the nectary spurs of four representatives of Ranunculaceae, i.e., Aconitum lycoctonum L., Aquilegia vulgaris L., Consolida regalis Gray, and Delphinium elatum L. Nectary spurs were examined using light, fluorescence, scanning electron, and transmission electron microscopy. The floral nectaries of A. lycoctonum and A. vulgaris are situated at the apices of the spurs, whereas in C. regalis and D. elatum, the nectary is located along the floor surface of the spurs. Nectar in C. regalis and D. elatum is exuded through micro-channels in the cuticle, whereas in A. lycoctonum and A. vulgaris, it is released by means of cell wall disruption, indicating that the method of nectar secretion here is holocrine. Structurally, the nectary of all four investigated species is quite similar, and its cells are typical of nectar-pr...Continue Reading

References

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Citations

Aug 27, 2018·The New Phytologist·Ya MinElena M Kramer
Jun 9, 2020·Frontiers in Plant Science·José Neiva Mesquita-NetoClemens Schlindwein

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
light
transmission
scanning electron microscopy
fluorescence microscopy

Software Mentioned

Elements
NIS
Elements Br

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