Plantago lanceolata L. Seed Coat Variation and Its Implications on the Usage of Seed Micromorphology Among Widespread Taxa

Abstract

Seed coat micromorphology has been great help in systematic studies over the past century. It is useful in most plant groups, including the widespread taxa. Although phenotypic plasticity in plants is a well-known phenomenon, there are not many micromorphological studies investigating whether plants with wide distribution areas show variation in seed coat characteristics. Plantago lanceolata L. (Plantaginaceae), as one of the most widespread Plantago taxa, is used in this study to investigate the presence of seed microsculpture variation among different populations. The seeds of 50 populations from across Turkey were analyzed using Stereomicroscope and SEM. Some seed surface characters of P. lanceolata were found to be consistent (cell shapes and anticlinal wall shapes), whereas others were variable (anticlinal walls, periclinal walls and surface sculpture). Irregularly wrinkled surface is reported in P. lanceolata seeds for the first time in this study. No correlation between geographical differences and seed characters were found. These results indicate that caution should be taken when dealing with widespread taxa with high levels of variation.

Keywords

• Micromorphology
• Plantago
• SEM
• Seed coat

Plantago lanceolata L. Taksonunda Tohum Kabuk Varyasyonu ve Bunun Yaygın Bitki Taksonlarında Tohum Yüzey Karakterlerinin Kullanımına Etkileri

Abstract

Tohum kabuğu mikromorfolojisi, geçtiğimiz yüzyılda sistematik çalışmalara çok yardımcı olmuştur. Yaygın taksonlar dahil olmak üzere, çoğu bitki grubunda faydalı karakterler vermektedir. Bitkilerde fenotipik plastisite iyi bilinen bir kavram olmasına rağmen, geniş yayılış alanlarına sahip bitkilerin, tohum kabuğu karakterleri özelinde değişiklik gösterip göstermediğini araştıran çok fazla mikromorfolojik çalışma bulunmamaktadır. En yaygın sinirliot türlerinden biri olan Plantago lanceolata L. (Plantaginaceae), bu çalışmada farklı popülasyonlar arasında tohum mikromorfolojisinde varyasyonun varlığını araştırmak için seçilmiştir. Türkiye genelinden 50 popülasyonun tohumları ışık mikroskobu ve tarama elektron mikroskobu kullanılarak analiz edildi. P. lanceolata'nın bazı tohum yüzey karakterlerinin tutarlı olduğu (hücre ve antiklinal duvar şekilleri), diğerlerinin ise değişken olduğu (antiklinal duvarlar, periklinal duvarlar ve yüzey özellikleri) tespit edilmiştir. P. lanceolata tohumlarında düzensiz buruşuklara sahip yüzey özelliği, ilk kez bu çalışmada rapor edilmiştir. Coğrafi farklılıklar ile tohum karakterleri arasında bir ilişkiye ise rastlanmamıştır. Bu sonuçlar, yüksek düzeyde varyasyona sahip yaygın taksonlarla tohum mikromorfolojisi çalışılırken dikkatli olunması gerektiğini göstermektedir.

Keywords

• Mikromorfoloji
• Plantago
• SEM
• Tohum kabuğu

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