Abstract
The presence of mucilage cells in plants, studied mainly in vegetative organs, is a condition shared by several taxonomic groups and aspects related to their diversity have been discussed with systematic purposes. This study explores the flower distribution and classification of mucilage cells in Rosales species, with inferences about flower functions. Floral buds from fifty-seven species representing seven of nine families recognized in the Rosales were sampled and processed for light and transmission electron microscopy. Mucilage cells were found in about 40% of the studied species of Cannabaceae, Rhamnaceae, Ulmaceae, and Urticaceae families, whereas no floral mucilage cells were found in species of Elaeagnaceae, Moraceae, and Rosaceae. Mucilage cells were found in the epidermis and internal tissues of many organs of different floral morph types. There is a great diversity of forms of presentation of mucilage in cells, from smaller individualized single cells to very bulky cells and to completely filled mucilage reservoirs. In some cases, cells with mucilage apparently in the cell wall and others with mucilage in the vacuole seem to occur side by side. This diversity challenges the existing classifications of mucilage cells and reinforces the importance of ontogenetic and ultrastructural studies following the path of mucilage in cells in order to propose a more natural classification and to elucidate the evolution of mucilage cells in plants.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Maria Dolores Seabra Ferreira, José Augusto Maulin (FMRP/USP), and Edimárcio da Silva Campos (FCFRP/USP) for the technical assistance, Elettra Greene for the English revision of the text, and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments. This research was funded by FAPESP (process number 2018/03691-8), Capes (001), and CNPq (302806/2019-9).
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FAPESP 2018/03691–8.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by all authors. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Thais Cury de Barros and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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De Barros, T.C., Leite, V.G., Pedersoli, G.D. et al. Mucilage cells in the flower of Rosales species: reflections on morphological diversity, classification, and functions. Protoplasma 260, 1135–1147 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-023-01836-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-023-01836-8