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Abstract In this paper we present an overview of the abstracts, scientific and social programs, field trips, and achievements in terms of participant number, represented countries, sponsorships, and themes treated during the Sixth International Conference on the Comparative Biology of Monocotyledons that took place in Natal, Brazil, October 7th -12th 2018. Some comments received by the organizers and a few suggestions for organizers of the next meeting, in Costa Rica, are also provided. The conference’s complete abstract book was published and provide additional information.

There is a very large diversity in plant architecture in nature. Over the past few years, novel theoretical concepts and analytical methods have emerged as powerful tools to understand important aspects of plant architecture. Plant architecture depends on the relative arrangement of three types of organs: leaves, shoots, and flowers. During plant development, the architecture is modulated by the balance of two homologous proteins: FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1). The FT/TFL1 balance defines the plant growth habit as indeterminate or determinate by modulating the pattern of formation of vegetative and reproductive structures in the apical and axillary meristems. Here, we present a summarized review of plant architecture and primarily focus on the FT/TFL1 balance and its effect on plant form and development. We also propose passion fruit as a suitable model plant to study the effect of FT/TFL1 genes on plant architecture.

A differentiated structure called aril has been described in seeds of several plant species during the course of evolution and might be considered as a supernumerary integument. Besides its ecological function in seed dispersal, the structure also represents a relevant character for systematic classification and exhibits important properties that impart agronomic value in certain species. Little is known about the molecular pathways underlying this morphological innovation because it is absent in currently used model species. A remarkable feature of the seeds of Passiflora species is the presence of a conspicuous aril. This genus is known for the ornamental, medicinal, and food values of its species. In view of the molecular resources and tools available for some Passiflora species, we highlight the potential of these species as models for developmental studies of the aril.

The objective of this work was to study the in vitro organogenesis of Citrullus lanatus, by the induction of adventitious buds in cotyledon segments cultured in medium supplemented with cytokinin. Explants were collected from one, three and five-day-old in vitro germinated seedlings, considering the distal and proximal cotyledon regions. The data obtained showed that in vitro organogenesis of watermelon occurred with higher efficiency, when cotyledon segments from the proximal region collected from three-day-old seedlings were cultivated in medium MS, supplemented with BAP (1 mg L-1) and coconut water (10%). The histological study showed that the organogenesis occurs directly, without callus formation, on epidermal and subepidermal layers of the explants. Adventitious shoots were characterized by the development of shoot apical meristem and leaf primordia. The formation of protuberances, that do not develop into adventitious buds, was also observed.O objetivo do trabalho foi estudar a organogênese in vitro de C. lanatus, pela indução de gemas adventícias, em segmentos de cotilédones, cultivados em meio de cultura suplementado com citocinina. Os explantes consistiram de segmentos das regiões distal e proximal de cotilédones, coletados de plantas germinadas in vitro com um, três e cinco dias de idade. Os dados obtidos mostram que a organogênese de melancia, in vitro, ocorre com maior eficiência em segmentos da região proximal dos cotilédones, coletados de plântulas com três dias de idade e cultivados em meio de cultura MS, suplementado com a combinação BAP (1 mg L-1) e água de coco (10%). Pelo estudo histológico, verificou-se que a organogênese ocorre diretamente, sem a formação de calo, na epiderme e subepiderme do explante. As gemas adventícias foram caracterizadas pela presença de meristema apical e primórdios foliares. Observou-se, também, o desenvolvimento de protuberâncias que não se desenvolvem em gemas adventícias.

In angiosperms, flower formation is controlled by meristem identity genes, one of which, FLORICAULA (FLO)/LEAFY (LFY), plays a central role. It is not known if the formation of reproductive organs of pre-angiosperm species is similarly regulated. Here, we report the cloning of a conifer (Pinus caribaea var. caribaea) FLO/LFY homolog, named PcLFY. This gene has a large C-terminal region of high similarity to angiosperm FLO/LFY orthologs and shorter regions of local similarity. In contrast to angiosperms, conifers have two divergent genes resembling LFY. Gymnosperm FLO/LFY proteins constitute a separate clade, that can be divided into two divergent groups. Phylogenetic analysis of deduced protein sequences has shown that PcLFY belongs to the LFY-like clade. Northern hybridization analysis has revealed that PcLFY is preferentially expressed in developing female cones but not in developing male cones. This expression pattern was confirmed by in situ hybridization and is consistent with the hypothesis of PcLFY being involved in the determination of the female cone identity. Additionally, mutant complementation experiments have shown that the expression of the PcLFY coding region, driven by the Arabidopsis LFY promoter, can confer the wild-type phenotype to lfy-26 transgenic mutants, suggesting that both gymnosperm and angiosperm LFY homologs share the same biological role.

The objective of this work was to evaluate leaf epidermis morphological characteristics of three citrus somatic hybrids, compared to their parents. Parental and somatic hybrid young leaves were collected and processed for scanning electron microscope observations. Citrus polyploid hybrids have fewer stomata per area and these are larger compared to their diploid parental parents. No differences in internal arrangement of the stomatal cells were detected between parental plants and somatic hybrids. Additional studies may determine if these differences will influence physiological behavior of the plants in the field.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as características morfológicas de três híbridos somáticos de citros, comparando-as com as de seus respectivos parentais. Folhas jovens dos híbridos somáticos e seus respectivos parentais foram coletadas e preparadas para observações em microscópio eletrônico de varredura. Híbridos poliplóides de citros apresentam menor número de estômatos por área, com maior tamanho individual quando comparados com aqueles das plantas diplóides parentais. Não foram observadas diferenças no arranjo interno das células estomáticas entre as plantas parentais e os híbridos somáticos. Investigações adicionais poderão determinar se essas diferenças poderão influenciar o comportamento fisiológico dessas plantas no campo.

Genetic transformation allows the release of improved cultivars with desirable characteristics in a shorter period of time and therefore may be useful in citrus breeding programs. The objective of this research was to establish a protocol for genetic transformation of Valencia and Natal sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) and Rangpur lime (Citrus limonia L. Osbeck). Epicotyl segments of germinated in vitro plantlets (three weeks in darkness and two weeks in a 16-h photoperiod) were used as explants. These were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA-105 and different experiments were done to evaluate the transformation efficiency: explants were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium for one, three or five days; explants were incubated with Agrobacterium suspension for 5, 10, 20 or 40 minutes; co-cultivation medium was supplemented with acetosyringone at 0, 100 or 200 µmol L-1; Explants ends had a longitudinal terminal incision (2-3 mm); co-cultivation temperatures of 19, 23 or 27°C were imposed. The experimental design was completely randomized in all experiments with five replications, each consisted of a Petri dish (100 x 15 mm) with 30 explants and resulted in a total of 150 explants per treatment. Longitudinal terminal incision in the explant ends did not improve shoot regeneration. However, transgenic plants of all three cultivars were confirmed from explants that had been subjected to inoculation time of 20 minutes, co-culture of three days at 23-27°C, in the absence of acetosyringone.

A embriogênese somática pode ser uma alternativa para o melhoramento de espécies vegetais, quando associada à transformação genética. A regeneração de plântulas a partir de embriões somáticos é dependente de vários fatores, entre eles, a qualidade do embrião somático. Neste trabalho embriões somáticos com diferentes características morfológicas são descritos. Embriogênese somática de bananeira, cv. Grand Nain e Nanicão Jangada foi induzida a partir de inflorescências funcionalmente masculinas, em meio de indução (MI) seguido de subcultivo em meio de germinação (MG), em ausência de luz. A presença de luz na indução, não favoreceu a resposta embriogênica. Em ausência de luz, os explantes da cv. Nanicão Jangada, durante os seis meses de cultivo, sofreram diversas alterações, como a formação de calos embriogênicos e não embriogênicos, formação de embriões somáticos, continuidade no desenvolvimento do botão floral ou oxidação do explante. A freqüência de resposta embriogênica foi baixa, com apenas 6% dos explantes formando embriões somáticos e 23% com formação de calos embriogênicos. O acompanhamento histológico e morfológico das alterações ocorridas nos explantes permitiu a identificação de embriões somáticos com características morfológicas distintas: com maior freqüência observou-se um tipo de embrião com morfologia semelhante ao embrião zigótico de Musa acuminata; em menor freqüência desenvolveram-se embriões somáticos semelhantes a embriões zigóticos de outras monocotiledôneas, indicando que em um único protocolo de embriogênese somática, é possível ocorrer a formação de diferentes padrões morfológicos de embriões somáticos.

A regeneração in vitro de plantas de Passiflora suberosa foi obtida a partir de discos foliares. Folhas foram retiradas de plantas germinadas em casa de vegetação, imersas em solução comercial de hipoclorito de sódio (3:1), durante 20 minutos. Discos foliares de 0,5 cm de diâmetro, com a face adaxial em contato com o meio de cultura, foram introduzidos em placa de petri. Organogênese foi obtida utilizando-se meio MS acrescido de 0,5 ou 1,0 mg L-1 de BAP (6-benzilaminopurina). Após 4 a 8 semanas, observou-se formação de calos nas bordas dos discos foliares. Os calos formados foram transferidos para meio MSM, acrescido de 1,0 mg L-1 de GA3 (ácido giberélico), sob fotoperíodo de 16 horas. Desenvolvimento de gemas adventícias foi obtido a partir dos calos, sendo estas alongadas e enraizadas no mesmo meio de cultura, após periódicas repicagens, e aclimatadas em casa de vegetação.

ABSTRACT Flowers with heterodynamous stamens can present differences in the pollen grains of each stamen size group. Species of Aeschynomene L. present didynamous stamens (five long and five short) but little is known about their pollen dimorphism. The objective of this study was to increase the knowledge about the pollen characteristics in Aeschynomene and emphasize the possible morphological differences between the pollen grains of long and short stamens in order to contribute to ecological and taxonomic studies. Pollen grains from the two groups of stamens size of ten species were analyzed separately, according to the standard methodology for studies of pollen morphology. In addition, analyses of variance, comparison of means and base index were performed. The results showed that the amb, shape, endoaperture type and sexine ornamentation did not vary in the pollen grains of the long and short stamens in the same specimen, but they varied among the species. However, in relation to the size of the pollen grains of the two groups of stamens, four species presented significant differences regarding the size of the polar and equatorial axes. The pollen morphological data obtained considering the heteromorphism of the stamens can contribute to the knowledge of the repro ductive dynamics of the genus, and to the systematic studies.

The rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) is an important source of natural rubber in tropical regions and, as with many woody species, shows a long juvenile phase. To understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying the reproductive process in rubber trees, H. brasiliensis RRIM600 flower and inflorescence development have been characterized, the rubber tree FLORICAULA/LEAFY (FLO/LFY) orthologue, HbLFY, cloned, and its expression patterns were analysed during vegetative and reproductive development. The rubber tree, similar to other Euphorbiaceae species, produces lateral inflorescences containing male, female, and bisexual flowers. HbLFY is expressed in lateral meristems that give rise to inflorescences and in all flower meristems, consistent with a role in reproductive development. Complementation studies using Arabidopsis lfy mutants indicated that the biological function of LFY might be conserved among Brassicaceae and Euphorbiaceae species. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) is an important source of natural rubber in tropical regions and, as with many woody species, shows a long juvenile phase. To understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying the reproductive process in rubber trees, H. brasiliensis RRIM600 flower and inflorescence development have been characterized, the rubber tree FLORICAULA/LEAFY (FLO/LFY) orthologue, HbLFY, cloned, and its expression patterns were analysed during vegetative and reproductive development. The rubber tree, similar to other Euphorbiaceae species, produces lateral inflorescences containing male, female, and bisexual flowers. HbLFY is expressed in lateral meristems that give rise to inflorescences and in all flower meristems, consistent with a role in reproductive development. Complementation studies using Arabidopsis lfy mutants indicated that the biological function of LFY might be conserved among Brassicaceae and Euphorbiaceae species. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background and Aims Floral development of Cedrela and Toona, the genera comprising the basal tribe Cedreleae of the sub-family Swietenioideae of Meliaceae, is described. The focus was on three endangered, ecologically and economically important species: Cedrela fissilis, Cedrela odorata and Toona ciliata. The aims of the study were to characterize the patterns of floral development in the tribe and to establish apomorphic and plesiomorphic floral characters in relation to other taxa within the family based on the current molecular phylogeny of Meliaceae. Methods A detailed floral structural and developmental study was completed using both scanning electron microscopy and visualization of microtome sections with a light microscope. Key Results Twelve floral developmental stages were identified. The initial development of the pentamerous flowers of both Toona and Cedrela is strikingly similar. The morphological differences observed between them are due to differential patterns of organ elongation and adnation/connation occurring late in development. Additionally, the formation of functionally male and female flowers was found to occur at specific positions within the inflorescence. Conclusions Due to the basal position of the tribe Cedreleae in the phylogeny of Meliaceae, functionally either male or female pentamerous flowers and the presence of (at least partially) free stamens may be considered plesiomorphic traits within the family. In contrast, sympetaly and the absence of nectaries in Cedrela species are synapomorphies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exogenous genes can be introduced in plants by genetic transformation techniques. However, an efficient tissue culture system with high rates of plant recovery is necessary for gene introduction. This work aimed to define organogenesis and plant regeneration protocols for sweet orange varieties Natal, Valencia and Hamlin (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) and Rangpur lime (Citrus limonia L. Osbeck) which can be used in plant transformation experiments. Seeds of which teguments were removed, were germinated in vitro and maintained in the dark for three weeks, followed by one week at 16-h photoperiod (40 µmol m-2 s-1) and 27 ± 2°C. Organogenesis induction was done by introducing epicotyl segments in MT medium with 25 g L-1 sucrose and different BAP concentrations. After adventitious bud growth, the shoots were transferred to MT medium with either NAA or IBA (1 mg L-1), or absence of auxin, for rooting. The best results were obtained with 1 mg L-1 BAP for bud induction and 1 mg L-1 IBA for rooting for all three sweet orange cultivars. The use of 0.5-2.5 mg L-1 BAP, followed by 1 mg L-1 IBA were the best growth regulator combinations for bud induction and rooting, respectively, for 'Rangpur' lime. The protocols presented in this work are suitable for associations with genetic transformation experiments for these cultivars.