A new report of phytomelanin in cypselae of Vernonieae: the case of the type species of Lychnophora Mart

Abstract Phytomelanin is a mechanically hard, blackish, and inert substance rarely found in plants. In Asteraceae, this substance was historically associated with the Heliantheae alliance, but recent studies have observed it in unrelated groups as Heterocoma and Wunderlichia. During a taxonomic inve...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 2021-01, Vol.93 (suppl 4), p.e20210204-e20210204
Main Authors: MARQUES, DANILO, MARZINEK, JULIANA, DE-PAULA, ORLANDO C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
calcium oxalate crystals
Compositae
fruit anatomy
Lychnophorinae
micromorphology
MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES
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Summary:Abstract Phytomelanin is a mechanically hard, blackish, and inert substance rarely found in plants. In Asteraceae, this substance was historically associated with the Heliantheae alliance, but recent studies have observed it in unrelated groups as Heterocoma and Wunderlichia. During a taxonomic investigation, we found phytomelanin in cypselae of Lychnophora salicifolia an unusual feature in Vernonieae previously found only in Heterocoma. Furthermore, phytomelanin fills the intercellular spaces of the sclerenchymatic outer mesocarp in L. salicifolia. Our results doubt the (syn)apomorphy status in Heterocoma, suggest the phytomelanin may have not the same evolutionary significance in Lychnophorinae as in other tribes and proposes new perspectives for evolutionary studies in Asteraceae.
ISSN:0001-3765
1678-2690
1678-2690
DOI:10.1590/0001-3765202120210204