Natural hybridization is common among oaks. We studied the variability of morphological and ecophysiological variables in the hybrid Quercus subpyrenaica and its assumed parental species Q. faginea and Q. pubescens, which co-occur in NE Spain. To assess the fitness of these taxa we studied several ecophysiological variables (hydraulic conductivity, K h ; hydraulic specific conductivity, K s ; leaf specific conductivity, LSC; water potential corresponding to a 50% loss of conductivity, PLC 50 ; efficiency of light absorption, E a ). We performed a correspondence analysis (CA) to ordinate seedlings, grown under homogeneous environmental conditions, according to their plant and leaf morphology. The CA axis 1 synthesized intra-taxon variability, while the CA axis 2 summarized inter-taxa variability. Q. subpyrenaicashowed a wide spectrum of forms, but they were overall closer to those of Q. faginea. We defined three phenotypes within the hybrid based on morphology, which were: (i) the robur group (Qs-r; auriculate leaf base, rounded lobe apex); (ii) Q. pubescens (Qs-p; rounded leaf base, acute lobe apex); and (iii) Q. faginea (Qs-f; acute leaf base, acute-spiny lobe apex). The mean values of K s and PLC 50 arranged the hybrid groups in the same order as the ordination based on leaf morphology. The Qs-r group showed the highest values of K s and PLC 50 , while the Qsfgroup showed the lowest. Both morphologically and ecophysiologically, the hybrids showed a wide range of values, which spanned and even exceeded the variation of parental taxa.
Manuscript Click here to download Manuscript Choury et al. main text.docx Click here to view linked References 24 We acknowledge the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (project 25
Aim of study: The purpose of our study is the highlighting of phenotypic variability within the natural population of Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels by morphological characterization of fruits and stones and by evaluation germination capacity of stones.Area of study: The Argan tree stand is located in southwest of Algeria (Tindouf).Material and Methods: The fruits were collected on a sample of 30 mother trees for three consecutive years. We carried out the morpho-biometric characterization (shapes, dimensions and weight) of thirty fruits and thirty stones from each mother-tree, and assessed the germination capacity of the different morphotypes.Main results: We found high variability of morphological characters of fruits and stones between trees. Five fruits shapes (oval, avoid, rounded, spherical and very spherical) and three different stones shapes (oval, avoid and spherical) were identified in mother-trees. The rounded, spherical and very spherical shapes of fruits are the most abundant (82%). High variability in the germination capacity of the different Argan tree genotypes and strong correlation were emphasised between capacity germination and stones shape and dimensions. Multivariate analysis showed that trees with small-sized, spherical stones showed better germination (98%) than trees with larger and elongated (oval) stones (51%). However, no significant difference was found between harvest years for any studied trait.Research highlights: Results of this research allows the selection of mother- trees to improve the production of seedlings in nursery, to successful regeneration and to ensure conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of this rare and endangered species.Keywords: Argania spinosa; variability; morphological; fruits; stones; germination capacity.
Les graines d’Arganier perdent rapidement leur faculté germinative lors de la conservation. La fragilité des graines est probablement due à leur richesse en huile dont les produits d’oxydation seraient toxiques pour l’embryon . L'objectif de la présente étude est de tester la capacité germinative des graines et à comprendre les changements biochimiques provoquant sa perte lors de la conservation de graines. Les graines étudiées provenaient du peuplement naturel de la région de Tindouf (Algérie). L’évolution de la faculté germinative, de la teneur en acides gras et en malondialdehyde a été suivie durant la conservation des graines dans des conditions ambiantes et à basse température. Les résultats ont révélé que les graines fraîchement récoltées présentent un taux de germination élevé (92 %). Après trois ans de conservation, une perte significative de la capacité de germination a été observée. Cette perte est fortement corrélée à une diminution de la teneur en acide gras polyinsaturées et à une importante accumulation en malondialdéhyde. Par contre, les graines d’Arganier stockées à basses températures (4 ° C) présentent des baisses du pouvoir germinatif plus faibles et une accumulation du malondialdéhyde moins importante que les graines stockées dans des conditions ambiantes. Le froid permet de limiter la peroxydation des lipides ainsi que la perte de la faculté germinative et la détérioration des graines d’Arganier .
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