Comparative morphology of reproductive structures in heterosporous water ferns and a reevaluation of the sporocarp

dc.contributor.author

Nagalingum, NS

dc.contributor.author

Schneider, H

dc.contributor.author

Pryer, KM

dc.date.accessioned

2020-12-05T17:31:43Z

dc.date.available

2020-12-05T17:31:43Z

dc.date.issued

2006-07-01

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2020-12-05T17:31:41Z

dc.description.abstract

Heterosporous water ferns (Marsileaceae and Salviniaceae) are the only extant group of plants to have evolved heterospory since the Paleozoic. These ferns possess unusual reproductive structures traditionally termed "sporocarps." Using an evolutionary framework, we critically examine the complex homology issues pertaining to these structures. Comparative morphological study reveals that all heterosporous ferns bear indusiate sori on a branched, nonlaminate structure that we refer to as the sorophore; this expanded definition highlights homology previously obscured by the use of different terms. By using a homology-based concept, we aim to discontinue the use of historically and functionally based morphological terminology. We recognize the sorophore envelope as a structure that surrounds the sorophore and sori. The sorophore envelope is present in Marsileaceae as a sclerenchymatous sporocarp wall and in Azolla as a parenchymatous layer, but it is absent in Salvinia. Both homology assessments and phylogenetic character-state reconstructions using the Cretaceous fossil Hydropteris are consistent with a single origin of the sorophore envelope in heterosporous ferns. Consequently, we restrict the term "sporocarp" to a sorophore envelope and all it contains. Traditional usage of "sporocarp" is misleading because it implies homology for nonhomologous structures, and structures historically called sporocarps in Salviniaceae are more appropriately referred to as sori. © 2006 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

dc.identifier.issn

1058-5893

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1537-5315

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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21856

dc.language

en

dc.publisher

The University of Chicago Press

dc.relation.ispartof

International Journal of Plant Sciences

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10.1086/503848

dc.subject

Science & Technology

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Life Sciences & Biomedicine

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Plant Sciences

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morphology

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ferns

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homology

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Marsileaceae

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Salviniaceae

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sporocarp

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SALVINIA LEAVES

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MARSILEA VESTITA

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AZOLLA-PINNATA

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PHYLOGENY

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SEQUENCES

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DIFFERENTIATION

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MORPHOGENESIS

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EVOLUTION

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SPORES

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LEAF

dc.title

Comparative morphology of reproductive structures in heterosporous water ferns and a reevaluation of the sporocarp

dc.type

Journal article

duke.contributor.orcid

Pryer, KM|0000-0002-9776-6736

pubs.begin-page

805

pubs.end-page

815

pubs.issue

4

pubs.organisational-group

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

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Biology

pubs.organisational-group

Duke Science & Society

pubs.organisational-group

Duke

pubs.organisational-group

Initiatives

pubs.organisational-group

Institutes and Provost's Academic Units

pubs.publication-status

Published

pubs.volume

167

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