TY - JOUR
T1 - Silica bodies of Selaginella erythropus
T2 - Detection, morphology and development
AU - Sheue, Chiou Rong
AU - Liu, Jian Wei
AU - Liu, Ho Yih
AU - Kuo-Huang, Ling Long
AU - Chesson, Peter
AU - Chen, Jiannyeu
AU - Shih, Ming Chih
AU - Kiew, Ruth
N1 - Funding Information:
This article is dedicated to the memory of the late Professor V. Sarafis and the late Dr. C. C. Tsai, both of whom greatly assisted this study. The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and Miss Lu (Kaohsiung Medical University) for assisting TEM imaging. This study is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology [MOST 104-2621-B-005-002-MY3], Taiwan.
Funding Information:
This article is dedicated to the memory of the late Professor V. Sarafis and the late Dr. C. C. Tsai, both of whom greatly assisted this study. The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and Miss Lu (Kaohsiung Medical University) for assisting TEM imaging. This study is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology [MOST 104-2621-B-005-002-MY3 ], Taiwan.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier GmbH
PY - 2020/3
Y1 - 2020/3
N2 - Selaginellaceae (Lycopodiophyta), an early divergent group of vascular plants, are a species-rich and taxonomically challenging family. Here we study silica bodies on the leaves of a prominently studied Selaginella, S. erythropus, with various methods of microscopy and energy disperse X-ray analysis (EDX) to characterize their properties in mature and emerging leaves. To detect silica bodies, a light microscope or a fluorescence microscope can be used to reveal colorless silica body protrusions in the epidermal cell walls. Silica bodies show as light spots with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). However, the recent tabletop SEM featured with low accelerating voltage and backscattered electron detectors provides a better contrast than standard SEM. EDX shows that these protrusions on leaf surfaces are silica bodies and that trichome apices and some stomata also have silica deposits. Atomic force microscopy provides three-dimensional images and quantitative measurements, but with an upper limit on silica body size. Under transmission electron microscopy silica bodies are characterized as compact electron-dense particles, gradually thinning and mingling with the cell wall. These analyses recognized two major forms of silica bodies, conical (small and large subforms) and sinuate-carinate. Distinct forms are found on different types of epidermal cells. Patterns on a leaf surface differ between the four types of leaf surface, dorsal and ventral surfaces of dorsal and ventral leaves, and may have taxonomic value. The silicification process on a young leaf begins from the central part. Large conical silica bodies appear first, along leaf margins and trichomes. Then, small conical silica bodies develop. Sinuate-carinate forms arise from the merger of large conical forms. A full understanding of the functional significance of silica bodies in Selaginella has yet to be developed, but we hope this report can help researchers detect silica bodies, and inspire more studies.
AB - Selaginellaceae (Lycopodiophyta), an early divergent group of vascular plants, are a species-rich and taxonomically challenging family. Here we study silica bodies on the leaves of a prominently studied Selaginella, S. erythropus, with various methods of microscopy and energy disperse X-ray analysis (EDX) to characterize their properties in mature and emerging leaves. To detect silica bodies, a light microscope or a fluorescence microscope can be used to reveal colorless silica body protrusions in the epidermal cell walls. Silica bodies show as light spots with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). However, the recent tabletop SEM featured with low accelerating voltage and backscattered electron detectors provides a better contrast than standard SEM. EDX shows that these protrusions on leaf surfaces are silica bodies and that trichome apices and some stomata also have silica deposits. Atomic force microscopy provides three-dimensional images and quantitative measurements, but with an upper limit on silica body size. Under transmission electron microscopy silica bodies are characterized as compact electron-dense particles, gradually thinning and mingling with the cell wall. These analyses recognized two major forms of silica bodies, conical (small and large subforms) and sinuate-carinate. Distinct forms are found on different types of epidermal cells. Patterns on a leaf surface differ between the four types of leaf surface, dorsal and ventral surfaces of dorsal and ventral leaves, and may have taxonomic value. The silicification process on a young leaf begins from the central part. Large conical silica bodies appear first, along leaf margins and trichomes. Then, small conical silica bodies develop. Sinuate-carinate forms arise from the merger of large conical forms. A full understanding of the functional significance of silica bodies in Selaginella has yet to be developed, but we hope this report can help researchers detect silica bodies, and inspire more studies.
KW - Conical silica bodies
KW - Leaf surface
KW - Lycopodiophyta
KW - Phytolith
KW - Selaginellaceae
KW - Trichome
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U2 - 10.1016/j.flora.2020.151558
DO - 10.1016/j.flora.2020.151558
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85079833084
SN - 0367-2530
VL - 264
JO - Flora
JF - Flora
M1 - 151558
ER -