Fujian Provincial Key laboratory of Haixia applied plant systems biology, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology and College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Fujian Key Laboratory of Island Monitoring and Ecological Development (Island Research Center, MNR), Fuzhou, 350002, China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2024 Sep 30;24(1):895. doi: 10.1186/s12870-024-05585-5.
Glehnia littoralis F. Schmidt ex Miq., an endangered plant species with significant medicinal, edible, and ecological value, is now a central concern for conservation and sustainable utilization. Investigating the physiological and ecological mechanisms leading to its endangerment and elucidating its genetic background constitutes the foundation for conducting in-depth research on G. littoralis.
Our observations have revealed a significant degree of floral sterility in wild populations of G. littoralis. The inflorescences of G. littoralis are classified into three types: completely fertile, completely sterile, and partially fertile compound umbels. Moreover, the flowers of G. littoralis can be categorized into fertile and sterile types. Sterile flowers exhibited abnormalities in the stigma, ovary, and ovules. This study is the first to discover that the presence or absence of a giant cell at the funiculus during the initiation of ovule primordium determines whether the flower can develop normally, providing cytological evidence for female sterility in G. littoralis. Conversely, both fertile and sterile flowers produced normally developed pollen. Field observations have suggested that robust plants bear more fertile umbels, while weaker ones have fewer or even no fertile umbels, indicating a close relationship between flower fertility and plant nutritional status. Our model correctly predicted that the eastern coastal regions of China, as well as prospective areas in Neimenggu and Sichuan, are suitable environments for its cultivation. Additionally, Using flow cytometry and genome survey, we estimated the genome size of G. littoralis to be 3.06 Gb and the heterozygosity to be 4.58%.
The observations and findings presented in this study were expected to provide valuable insights for further conserving its genetic resources and sustainable utilization of G. littoralis.
条叶龙胆（Glehnia littoralis F. Schmidt ex Miq.）是一种濒危植物，具有重要的药用、食用和生态价值，现已成为保护和可持续利用的重点关注对象。研究导致其濒危的生理和生态机制，阐明其遗传背景，是深入研究条叶龙胆的基础。
我们的观察表明，野生条叶龙胆种群存在明显的花不育现象。条叶龙胆的花序分为完全可育、完全不育和部分可育的复合伞形花序三种类型。此外，条叶龙胆的花可分为可育和不育两种类型。不育花的柱头、子房和胚珠存在畸形。本研究首次发现，珠柄起始时巨型细胞的存在与否决定了胚珠原基能否正常发育，为条叶龙胆的雌性不育提供了细胞学证据。相反，可育和不育花都能正常产生花粉。田间观察表明，强壮的植株具有更多的可育伞形花序，而较弱的植株则具有较少甚至没有可育伞形花序，这表明花的育性与植物的营养状况密切相关。我们的模型正确预测了中国东部沿海地区以及内蒙古和四川的潜在地区适合其栽培。此外，我们利用流式细胞术和基因组调查估计条叶龙胆的基因组大小为 3.06Gb，杂合度为 4.58%。
本研究的观察和发现有望为进一步保护其遗传资源和可持续利用条叶龙胆提供有价值的见解。
