Quantifying floral shape variation in 3D using microcomputed tomography: a case study of a hybrid line between actinomorphic and zygomorphic flowers.

ABSTRACT: The quantification of floral shape variations is difficult because flower structures are both diverse and complex. Traditionally, floral shape variations are quantified using the qualitative and linear measurements of two-dimensional (2D) images. The 2D images cannot adequately describe flower structures, and thus lead to unsatisfactory discrimination of the flower shape. This study aimed to acquire three-dimensional (3D) images by using microcomputed tomography (μCT) and to examine the floral shape variations by using geometric morphometrics (GM). To demonstrate the advantages of the 3D-μCT-GM approach, we applied the approach to a second-generation population of florist's gloxinia (Sinningia speciosa) crossed from parents of zygomorphic and actinomorphic flowers. The flowers in the popul

SUBMITTER: Wang CN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4564768 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature