Spiral phyllotaxis underlies constrained variation in Anemone (Ranunculaceae) tepal arrangement.

ABSTRACT: Stabilization and variation of floral structures are indispensable for plant reproduction and evolution; however, the developmental mechanism regulating their structural robustness is largely unknown. To investigate this mechanism, we examined positional arrangement (aestivation) of excessively produced perianth organs (tepals) of six- and seven-tepaled (lobed) flowers in six Anemone species (Ranunculaceae). We found that the tepal arrangement that occurred in nature varied intraspecifically between spiral and whorled arrangements. Moreover, among the studied species, variation was commonly limited to three types, including whorls, despite five geometrically possible arrangements in six-tepaled flowers and two types among six possibilities in seven-tepaled flowers. A spiral arrangement, on

SUBMITTER: Kitazawa MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5916976 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature