2022-12-08
Jan J. Rybczyński, Małgorzata Podwyszyńska, Wojciech Tomaszewicz, Anna Mikuła
In nature, the tree fern Cyathea smithii lacks meristem multiplication; therefore, a system of vegetative propagation in vitro is required to protect the species’ gene resources. Experiments were carried out on the apical dome of C. smithii J. D. Hooker (soft tree fern, Katote) to determine its morphogenic potential using 1/2 strength of Murashige and Skoog medium containing various concentration of thidiazuron [TDZ; 1-phenyl-3-(1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl)-urea)] (0.01, 0.1, 1.0, and 5.0 µM) supplemented with naphthalene acetic acid (0.25 µM). The success of the treatments was determined by the number of regenerants per explant, level of regenerant development, and nuclear DNA content in the green mesophyll cells. The highest number of regenerants was achieved in the presence of 5.0 µM TDZ and the lowest at 0.01 µM TDZ. The quality of development of the regenerants was expressed as the number of formed leaves and their growth per individual plantlet. The highest growth and development of regenerants occurred at the lowest concentration of TDZ (0.01 µM), and the lowest growth and development of regenerants occurred at the highest TDZ concentration (5.0 µM); however, the number of regenerants showed the opposite. In gametophytes, the nuclear DNA content ranged from 4.74–4.78 pg representing haploid level, whereas in sporophytes it ranged from 8.45–9.13 pg and was diploid. These results prove the stability of the regenerant genome after TDZ treatment of meristematic cells.
2022-12-05
Grzegorz Pacyna, Maria Barbacka
During the Palaeozoic Era, plants conquered the land and covered greater and greater areas from coastal lowlands to highlands. Palaeobotanical data based on macroremains from Polish Palaeozoic strata complete and enrich the picture of these processes. Knowledge about Polish Palaeozoic macrofloras developed significantly in the last hundred years but is very unevenly distributed among successive geological periods. Ordovician and Silurian macrofossils are single finds. Cores from deep boreholes provided significant material for recognition of Early Devonian plants. Carboniferous floras, especially from coal measures, are best known, as they are most numerous in taxa and specimens. Permian floras are very rare. Based on Devonian and Carboniferous fossils, many new, evolutionarily important taxa were proposed and have entered world science.
2022-11-10
Elena V. Bulakh, Myroslav V. Shevera, Piotr Szkudlarz, Petro Ye. Bulakh, Zbigniew Celka
This paper presents the results of micromorphological studies of Portulaca oleracea aggregate seeds deposited at the Herbarium of the Department of Systematic and Environmental Botany (POZ), Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland, based on scanning electron microscopy. The seed surface ultrastructure was studied and the following seven morphotypes (species) were noted: P. daninii , P. granulatostellulata , P. macrantha , P. nitida , P. oleracea s. str., P. papillatostellulata , and P. trituberculata . New alien taxa for the flora of Poland, P. daninii , P. macrantha , and P. papillatostellulata , were recorded. The original photos of the seed surface ultrastructure of the studied morphotypes are included.
2022-11-10
Jan Szopa, Anna Kulma
This review was designed to summarize the present state of research around the genetic and epigenetic modification of selected plant species and the potential for their application in industry. This review summarizes the activity of research groups from the University of Wrocław completed over the last 3 decades which tends to focus on potatoes and flax likely as a result of their centuries-old tradition of cultivation, processing, and use in Poland. The aims of these studies were various and included the creation of pathogen-resistant plants, increased antioxidant production, improved flax fiber quality, and improved oil properties. New plant breeds initially produced using genetic engineering technology provide an excellent basis for improving our understanding of the genes involved in potato and flax productivity and the quality of their products. These results have been published in many papers and have given rise to new methods for plant breeding and product prototypes which have been patented. However, none of the prototypes have been commercialized because of their GMO origins. In addition, later development of a novel, epigenetic method has led to the creation of more diverse products based on the newly obtained variety of flax called Silesia. These developments have facilitated the production of a range of new raw materials from these epigenetically modified plants. These include a modified oil for improved nutrition and regeneration of skin cells, seed- cake extracts that act as anti-infection agents, improved fiber production for use as bandages for chronic wounds, improved fibers for application as bio composite materials for the development of biodegradable packaging materials and scaffolds for tissue engineering, and micronized fiber for drug delivery. These modifications mean that flax has become a more useful and valuable source of a wide range of raw materials applicable in industry, allowing for the application of these materials in zero waste applications.
2022-11-03
Karolina Tomiczak, Adela Adamus, Teresa Cegielska-Taras, Agnieszka Kiełkowska, Paulina Smyda-Dajmund, Katarzyna Sosnowska, Laurencja Szała
Interspecific hybridization is a significant plant evolutionary process and, concomitantly, a frequently used method to broaden the genetic variability of species and genetically improve crops. However, in distant crosses, many prezygotic and postzygotic barriers are encountered that prevent free, uncontrolled gene flow between species. Therefore, various experimental methods exploiting tissue culture, such as in vitro fertilization, embryo rescue, and protoplast fusion, have been developed to raise hybrids that cannot be obtained naturally through conventional approaches. Professor Maciej Zenkteler of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań pioneered the use of tissue culture in Poland to overcome barriers to sexual crossing. In the mid-1960s, he employed in vitro pollination in which pollen grains were directly applied onto the surface of exposed ovules as the primary method to bypass prezygotic barriers and in vitro culture of isolated ovules and developing embryos (embryo rescue) to overcome post-zygotic barriers. These approaches proved effective for species possessing numerous ovules and large placentas, such as representatives of the families Caryophyllaceae, Solanaceae, and Brassicaceae. Soon thereafter, these methods were extended to other Polish institutes and universities and applied for crop improvement, such as for the production of intergeneric hybrids between Salix and Populus species, resynthesis and broadening of the genetic variability of oilseed rape ( Brassica napus L.), and the generation of new interspecific hybrids of Allium . In the late 1970s, Professor Zenkteler was the first to undertake protoplast fusion. At that time, it appeared that no incompatibility could exist at the fusion level and that somatic hybridization would supersede the possibilities offered by sexual hybridization; however, the reality turned out to be slightly harsh. Nonetheless, successful regeneration of different interspecific hybrids of potato, tomato, or gentians has been achieved by Polish research groups thus far.
2022-10-19
Beata Zagórska-Marek
Among periodic patterns having origin in cambium and recorded in figured wood, the tangential waviness has been the first to be discovered and thoroughly characterized. Yet another pattern, manifested in the rippled surface of some tree trunks, has remained basically undescribed. This work is the first attempt to provide information on its morphology, dynamics, and relation to the tangential waviness. Developmental analysis of the annual ring widths on the transverse surface of the stem showed that crests and throughs forming a ripple pattern result from a highly controlled proliferation of cambial cells. These cells’ activity regularly oscillates in time and space between an increased and a reduced state at approximately 10-year intervals, independently of the environmental cues considered in dendrochronological studies. This rhythm leads to the development of radial waviness and is a major factor affecting wood ring width. Radial waviness is dynamic; it propagates along the stem axis and is often synchronized with tangential waviness in a nonrandom manner. Possible causes of radial pattern emergence based on auxin waves, the role of other phytohormones, and recent discoveries of MADS-box genes that regulate cambial cell proliferation are discussed.
2022-10-05
Piotr Górski
Marsupella subemarginata Bakalin & Fedosov is a semi-cryptic Eurasian species. Recently, it has been found in the Far East (Kamchatka and Japan) and Swiss Alps, as well as the Giant Mountains (Sudetes, Czech Republic). The plant was also observed in the Carpathians for the first time. A revision of the herbarium collections of M. emarginata (Ehrh.) Dumort. consisting of 102 specimens from the Polish and Slovak Tatra Mountains revealed the occurrence of M. subemarginata at 24 localities, eight of which were in the Polish Tatras. Most of the localities of this species were concentrated in the High Tatras, and only four sites were discovered in the Western Tatras. Marsupella subemarginata has been briefly characterized morphologically and illustrated. The habitat requirements of the species have been described in detail, and the floristic composition of its phytocoenoses has been shown in a phytosociological table consisting of 10 relev’s. Marsupella subemarginata is a valuable addition to the liverwort flora of Poland and Slovakia, which currently consist of 241 and 232 species, respectively. Currently, the liverwort flora of the Tatras comprises 195 species, including 185 species in Poland and 186 species in Slovakia.
2022-09-22
Agnieszka Płażek, Franciszek Dubert
Over the last 40 years, in vitro tissue culture has developed dynamically and has become a popular technique for scientific research in the field of biology. Initially, studies were carried out to develop procedures to obtain callus cultures, cell suspensions, and protoplasts of various plant species. Over time, these cultures have been used to analyze the course of processes and mechanisms that occur at the cellular level, including the course of embryological development, formation of cellular structures, polyploidization, signal transduction, gene expression, and responses to various stress factors. In a minireview, different nutritional, hormonal, atmospheric, and light conditions occurring in in vitro cultures, which are stressful conditions compared to those in ex vitro plant culture, were discussed. In this review, some examples of physiological studies conducted on in vitro culture by Polish scientists are presented, including studies carried out to optimize the composition of media that induce callus and plant regeneration; determine the use of in vitro culture for the preservation of endangered plant species; understand the mechanisms of resistance responses to pathogens, salinity, nutritional stress, and low temperatures; and determine the potential production of plants with different chemical compositions. The potential of sterile plant culture is large and beyond the scope of its current use. Therefore, the number and variety of applications of these cultures will be significantly greater in the future.
2022-09-14
Aynur Demir, Fulya Aydin-Kandemir
Fritillaria imperialis is a bulbous plant that has increased commercial value and contributes to rural development in Turkey. It is widely utilized in traditional medicine and pharmacy, and has great potential for use in modern pharmaceuticals in the future. As the effects of climate change on this plant have not been documented, this study aimed to understand how climate change might affect F. imperialis . The methodology of the study was divided into three steps: ( i ) database development, including the current distribution zones of F. imperialis and climatic parameters such as temperature and precipitation data; ( ii ) determination of the plant’s temperature and precipitation requirements; and ( iii ) Ecocrop’s plant climate suitability modeling (PCSM). As a result of the study, it was determined that climatic suitability would decrease below 20% in the plant’s current distribution area between 2,000 m and 3,000 m altitude. For the zones between 500–1,000 m altitude, the climatic suitability will be as high as 100%. Although there are zones where climatic suitability will increase by 2070, the general trend shows that suitability will decrease. This change in the plant ecosystem is explained by the decreased winter precipitation and snowfall but increased temperature and evaporation at higher altitudes. Fritillaria imperialis is expected to shift its geographic distribution to lower altitudes because of climate change.
2022-09-08
Agnieszka Pietrosiuk, Anna Budzianowska, Jaromir Budzianowski, Halina Ekiert, Małgorzata Jeziorek, Anna Kawiak, Małgorzata Kikowska, Mirosława Krauze-Baranowska, Aleksandra Królicka, Łukasz Kuźma, Maria Łuczkiewicz, Janusz Malarz, Adam Matkowski, Anna Stojakowska, Katarzyna Sykłowska-Baranek, Agnieszka Szopa, Wojciech Szypuła, Barbara Thiem, Sylwia Zielińska
Plant cell and organ cultures are potential sources of valuable secondary metabolites that can be used as food additives, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. Phytochemical biosynthesis in various in vitro plant cultures, in contrast to that in planta, is independent of environmental conditions and free from quality fluctuations. Pharmaceutical application of plant biotechnology is of interest to almost all departments of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmacology in Poland with a botanical profile (Pharmaceutical Botany, Pharmacognosy, and Pharmacology). This study discusses the advances in plant biotechnology for the production of known metabolites and/or biosynthesis of novel compounds in plant cell and organ in vitro cultures in several scientific centers in Poland.
2022-07-14
Małgorzata Podwyszyńska, Teresa Orlikowska, Anna Trojak-Goluch, Agnieszka Wojtania
This work focuses on the achievements of Polish researchers in the field of vegetative reproduction of plants under in vitro conditions. For more than 50 years, micropropagation methods have been used in Poland whenever vegetative reproduction is necessary. Most perennial horticultural crops, such as fruit plants, the majority of ornamental geophytes, and some vegetables (e.g., rhubarb and horseradish), require clonal reproduction owing to their high heterozygosity, i.e., their offsprings when reproduced from seeds, do not repeat the parental characteristics. Various goals have been pursued in the development of regenerative and in vitro propagation systems for each of the aforementioned groups of plants, such as pathogen elimination, reproduction of healthy plants, rapid multiplication of newly obtained valuable breeding lines and cultivars, and breeding to obtain polyploids, haploids, and doubled haploids. Owing to the growing interest of researchers and plant producers in environmentally friendly technologies, one of the sections is devoted to the issue of biotization of micropropagated plants.
2022-06-15
Jiangwen Li, Guodong Han, Saruul Kang, Xiaoxi Zhang, Cai Li
The Stipa breviflora desert steppe is an important component of the Eurasian steppe, and its ecosystem functions are directly affected by changes in the individual functional traits of S. breviflora . Based on 14 years of data from the grazing experiment in S. breviflora desert steppe, we investigated changes in the individual tillering traits of S. breviflora in response to four levels (none, light, moderate, heavy) of long-term grazing. The results showed that: ( i ) long-term grazing resulted in a greater decrease in species richness and increased biomass contribution of S. breviflora in the communities; ( ii ) long-term grazing resulted in significant differences in aboveground/belowground plant tillering functional traits and their relationships under different grazing intensities; ( iii ) the leaf biomass of S. breviflora tillering individuals was strongly dependent on leaf number, while the change in root biomass was strongly dependent on the total root length, specific root length, root furcation number, and root crossing number. The response of S. breviflora biomass to grazing intensity and its relation to tillering individual traits revealed that long-term grazing leads to vast tillering in S. breviflora tussock and significant changes in S. breviflora tillering traits, which will have a profound influence on the function of the desert grassland ecosystem.