Please wait a minute...
Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2011, Vol. 10 Issue (9): 1365-1373    DOI: 10.1016/S1671-2927(11)60129-6
PHYSIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY · TILLAGE · CULTIVATION Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Flower Development and Anatomy of Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis (Leighton) Leighton
ZHANG  Di, SHEN  Xiao-hui , ZHUO  Li-huan
1. Department of Ornamental Plant and Horticulture, College of Landscape Architecture, Northeast Forestry University
2. Department of Landscape Science and Engineering, School of Agriculture and Biology
Download:  PDF in ScienceDirect  
Export:  BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      
摘要  Floral buds of Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis were observed under dissecting and optical microscope to characterizefloral organs development and to study relationships between anther development and microsporogenesis. Floral organsdifferentiation was comprised of 6 distinct stages including nought differentiation, inflorescence bud differentiation,floret primordia differentiation, tepal primordia differentiation, stamen primordia differentiation, and pistil primordiadifferentiation. Six tepals differentiated almost simultaneously which cross arranged in space and appeared in hexagonaldistribution pattern. Six stamens were differentiated inside the tepals at the same time. Finally, 3 carpel primordiadifferentiated and formed syncarpous pistil. The whole process of floral bud differentiation took approximately 40 d withthe first 3 stages developing more slowly than the later 3 stages. Morphology and color of the anther underwent obviouschanges during the period between stamen primordia differentiation and anther maturation. Microspores also underwentsignificant development during this same interval. The relationship between the process of microsporogenesis andanther development has already been made clear by the squash technique.

Abstract  Floral buds of Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis were observed under dissecting and optical microscope to characterizefloral organs development and to study relationships between anther development and microsporogenesis. Floral organsdifferentiation was comprised of 6 distinct stages including nought differentiation, inflorescence bud differentiation,floret primordia differentiation, tepal primordia differentiation, stamen primordia differentiation, and pistil primordiadifferentiation. Six tepals differentiated almost simultaneously which cross arranged in space and appeared in hexagonaldistribution pattern. Six stamens were differentiated inside the tepals at the same time. Finally, 3 carpel primordiadifferentiated and formed syncarpous pistil. The whole process of floral bud differentiation took approximately 40 d withthe first 3 stages developing more slowly than the later 3 stages. Morphology and color of the anther underwent obviouschanges during the period between stamen primordia differentiation and anther maturation. Microspores also underwentsignificant development during this same interval. The relationship between the process of microsporogenesis andanther development has already been made clear by the squash technique.
Keywords:  Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis      floral organs      floral bud differentiation      microsporogenesis  
Received: 19 March 2010   Accepted:
Fund: 

This study enjoyed generous supports from the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (200802250010), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30571475), and the Key Project of the Shanghai Agricultural Committee (2010-6-2, 2006-4-9). We also thank Prof. Edward Langston, Shanghai Vocational and Technical College of Agriculture and Forestry, USA, for English revision of this manuscript.

Corresponding Authors:  Correspondence ZHUO Li-huan, Professor, Mobile: 13002121390, Fax: +86-21-57813895, E-mail: zhuolihuan@263.net, zhuolh@shafc.edu.cn     E-mail:  zhuolihuan@263.net

Cite this article: 

ZHANG Di, SHEN Xiao-hui , ZHUO Li-huan. 2011. Flower Development and Anatomy of Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis (Leighton) Leighton. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 10(9): 1365-1373.

[1]Bloor S J, Falshaw R. 2000. Covalently linked anthocyaninflavonolpigments from blue Agapanthus flowers.Phytochemistry, 53, 575-579.

[2]Chao Y H, Thomas M, Heinz S. 2004. The origin of floralmorphological novelties. FEBS Letters, 567, 147-151.

[3]van Dijk H. 2004. Agapanthus for Gardeners. Timber Press,Portland.Duncan G D. 1985. Agapanthus species-their potential, and theintroduction of ten selected forms. Veld and Flora, 71, 122-125.

[4]Duncan A C, Jager A K, Staden J. 1999. Screening of Zulumedicinal plants for angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)inhibitors. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 68, 63-70.

[5]Feijó J A, Malhó R, Pais M S S. 1992. Acytochemical study onthe role of ATPases during pollen germination in Agapanthusumbelatus L’ Her. Sex Plant Reprod, 5, 138-145.

[6]Johri B M. 1984. Embryology of Angiosperms. Springer-Verlag,Berlin.Kaido T L, Veale D J H, Havlik I, Rama D B K. 1997. Preliminaryscreening of plants used in South Africa as traditional herbalremedies during pregnancy and labour. Journal ofEthnopharmacolog, 55, 185-191.

[7]Kamara B I, Manong D T, Brandt E V. 2005. Isolation andsynthesis of a dimeric dihydrochalcone from Agapanthusafricanus. Phytochemistry, 66, 1126-1132.

[8]Kanno A, Saeki H, Kameya T, Saedler H, Theissen G. 2003.Heterotopic expression of class B floral homeotic genessupports a modified ABC model for tulip (Tulipa gesneriana).Plant Molecular Biology, 52, 831-841.

[9]Leighton F M. 1965. The genus Agapanthus L’ Héritier. Journalof South African Botany, 4(Suppl.), 1-50.

[10]Lima-de-Faria A. 1953. The regions of special cycle of divisionof Agapanthus chromosomes. Chromosoma, 6, 33-44.

[11]Lima-de-Faria A. 1954. Chromosome gradient and chromosomefield in Agapanthus. Chromosoma, 6, 330-370.

[12]Lima-de-Faria A. 1965. Labeling of the cytoplasm and the meioticchromosomes of Agapanthus with H3-thymidine. Hereditas,53, 1-11.

[13]Liu X R. 2008. Study on the pollen morphology and pollendevelopment of Liliaceae. Ph D thesis, Capital NormalUniversity, Beijing, China. (in Chinese)Liu X R, Chen Z K, Su L J, Zhao Y Y, Liu J X. 2008.Microsporogenesis and development of male gametophytein Allium senescens L. (Liliaceae). Journal of Tropical andSubtropical Botany, 16, 153-159. (in Chinese)

[14]Liu Z W, Xiao D X, Zhang L, Lian F Q, Tu S P. 2006.Microsporgenesis and development of male gametophyte inLycoris radiate Herb. Acta Agriculturae UniversitatisJiangxiensis, 28, 234-238. (in Chinese)

[15]Mor Y, Halevy A H, Kofranek A M, Reid M S. 1984. Postharvesthandling of lily of the Nile flowers. Journal of the AmericanSociety for Horticultural Science, 109, 494-497.

[16]Nakano M, Tanaka S, Oota M, Ookawa E, Suzuki S, Saito H.2003. Regeneration of diploid and tetraploid plants fromcallus-derived protoplasts of Agapanthus praecox ssp.orientalis (Leighton) Leighton. Plant Cell Tissue and OrganCulture, 72, 63-69.

[17]Nakamura O, Mimaki Y, Sashida Y, Nikaido T, Ohmoto T. 1993.Agapanthussaponins A-D, new potent cAMPphosphodiesterase inhibitors from the underground parts ofAgapanthus inapertus. Chemical & Pharmaceutical Bulletin(Tokyo), 41, 1784-1789.

[18]Nakamura T, Fukuda T, Nakano M, Hasebe M, Kameya T,Kanno A. 2005. The modified ABC model explains thedevelopment of the petaloid perianth of Agapanthus praecoxssp. orientalis (Agapanthaceae) flowers. Plant MolecularBiology, 58, 435-445.

[19]Shen J H, ShenY, Wang Y J, Yuan Q H, Yu C G. 2006.Megasporogenesis, microsporogenesis and development offemale and gametophyte of Hemerocallis citrine Baroni. ActaHorticulturae Sinica, 33, 38-45. (in Chinese)

[20]Singh D N, Verma N, Raghuwanshi S, Shukla P K, KulshreshthaD K. 2008. Antifungal activity of Agapanthus africanusextractives. Fitoterapia, 79, 298-300.

[21]Snoeijer W. 2003. Cultivars and Species of Agapanthus. TimberPress, Portland.Sun Y. 2009. The studies on reproductive biology of Agapanthuspraecox ssp. orientalis ‘BigBlue’. Ph D thesis, NortheastForestry University, China. p. 11. (in Chinese)

[22]Suzuki S, Supaibulwatana K, Mii M, Nakano M. 2001. Productionof transgenic plants of the Liliaceous ornamental plantAgapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis (Leighton) Leighton via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of embryogenic calli.Plant Science, 161, 89-97.

[23]Teng N J, Huang Z H, Mu X J, Jin B, Hu Y X, Lin J X. 2005.Microsporogenesis and pollen development in Leymuschinensis with emphasis on dynamic changes in callosedeposition. Flora, 200, 256-263.

[24]Theissen G, Becker A, Di Rosa A, Kanno A, Kim J T, MünsterT, Winter K U, Saedler H. 2000. A short history of MADSboxgenes in plants. Plant Molecular Biology, 42, 115-149.

[25]van Tunen A J, Eikelboom W, Angenent G C. 1993. Floralorganogenesis in Tulipa. Flowering Newsletter, 16, 33-37.

[26]Veale D J H, Havlik I, Oliver D W, Dekker T G. 1999.Pharmacological effects of Agapanthus africanus on theisolated rat uterus. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 66, 257-262.

[27]Zhang D, Zhuo LH, Shen X H. 2010. Sporogenesis andgametogenesis in Agapanthus praecox Willd. orientalis(Leighton) Leighton and their systematic implications. PlantSystematics and Evolution, 288, 1-11.

[28]Zonneveld B J M, Duncan G D. 2003. Taxonomic implicationsof genome size and pollen colour and vitality for species of Agapanthus L’ Héritier (Agapanthaceae). Plant Systematicsand Evolution, 241, 115-123.
No related articles found!
No Suggested Reading articles found!