Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
State Key Laboratory of Plant Systematics and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
Microsc Microanal. 2024 Jul 4;30(3):594-606. doi: 10.1093/mam/ozae039.
Pollen micromorphological traits with taxonomic implications are first reported from the study area for 50 Asteraceous taxa belonging to nine tribes. Cichorieae (21 taxa), Cardueae (11 taxa), Inuleae (six taxa), and Anthemideae (four taxa) are the leading tribes. The research included Cousinia haeckeliae, Himalaiella afghana, Pterachaenia stewartii (endemic to Afghanistan and Pakistan), and Xylanthemum macropodum (endemic to Baluchistan). Light and scanning electron microscopy were employed for the visualization of pollen photomicrographs. The data was analyzed statistically via SPSS, PAST, and Origin. Significant diagnostic qualitative and quantitative palynological traits were explored for discrimination down to the species level within the tribes. All the investigated taxa possessed radial symmetry, isopolarity, and monad form (characters for distinction at the subdivision level). The aperture types were trizonocolporate, tetrazonocolporate, and tricolporate with number position and character (NPC) formulas N3P4C5, N4P4C5, and N3P4C3. Goniotreme, peritreme, and ptychotreme types of amb were recognized. Echinate, echinate lophate, scabrate, and gemmate sculpturing were present with and without perforated surface patterns. Variations in the shapes in polar and equatorial views and lacuna shapes further assisted the separation of taxa. The observed shape classes were perprolate, prolate spheroidal, prolate, subprolate, oblate spheroidal, suboblate, and oblate. Principal component analysis, correlation, standard probability plots, and ridge line paired features plot for quantitative variables determined the positive correlation between the length and width of colpi in equatorial and polar view with polar axis and equatorial diameter and number of spines between colpi with the number of spines per pollen. The number of spines per pollen was negatively correlated with the width and length of colpi in the polar view. Multiple sample analysis of variance (ANOVA) concluded that a high statistically significant difference exists among the means of analyzed traits. The examined qualitative and quantitative palynological traits revealed noticeable variations, thus providing the source for species discrimination in Asteraceous tribes.
本文首次报道了来自研究区的 50 种菊科植物的花粉形态学特征及其分类学意义，这些植物属于九个族，其中包括菊苣族（21 种）、蓟族（11 种）、旋覆花族（6 种）和春黄菊族（4 种）。研究还包括了糙毛苦荬菜、阿富汗春黄菊、巴基斯坦春黄菊和布氏木菊。利用光学显微镜和扫描电子显微镜观察花粉的显微照片。利用 SPSS、PAST 和 Origin 对数据进行了统计分析。在族内，通过探索具有显著诊断意义的定性和定量花粉形态学特征，对物种进行了区分。所有研究的种都具有辐射对称、等极性和单核形态（亚级分类的特征）。孔的类型为三沟、四射和三沟，孔口位置和特征（NPC）公式为 N3P4C5、N4P4C5 和 N3P4C3。识别了沟环、周环和具环型的环沟。具刺、具刺裂片状、具瘤状和具齿状纹饰以及具穿孔表面纹饰或无纹饰。极面和赤道面形状的变化以及纹饰的凹陷形状进一步有助于种的分离。观察到的形状类群为长球形、长球形、长形、次长形、扁球形、次扁形和扁圆形。主成分分析、相关分析、标准概率图和脊线配对特征图分析定量变量表明，赤道和极面观中沟的长度和宽度与极轴和赤道直径以及沟间刺的数量与花粉中刺的数量呈正相关。花粉中刺的数量与极面观中沟的宽度和长度呈负相关。多组样本方差分析（ANOVA）得出结论，分析的特征均值之间存在高度显著的差异。研究的定性和定量花粉形态学特征显示出明显的变化，因此为菊科族内的物种鉴别提供了依据。
