ArticleAnnals of botany2025
Unveiling the embryo structure in Bromeliaceae Juss. (Poales): morphological diversity, anatomy and character evolution.
Article in Annals of botany, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsRecent studies have documented numerous morphoanatomical variations for the seed coat in Bromeliaceae. However, the structural diversity and character evolution of the embryo within this family remain largely unexplored. Given the significance of the embryo in plant diversification, this research aims to investigate the morphology and key anatomical features of Bromeliaceae embryos, providing insights into character evolution, taxonomic applications and reproductive biology.
methodsWe analysed samples of 88 species from 50 genera representing the major lineages of Bromeliaceae, using standard plant microtechniques adapted for seeds. To determine ancestral traits, parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses were performed in a consensus supertree combining previous phylogenies. KEY
resultsWe identified 14 informative characters, highlighting significant differences among groups, particularly in embryo morphology, differentiation and anatomical traits. Our analysis revealed that undifferentiated embryos with a vestigial cotyledonary hyperphyll are plesiomorphic in Bromeliaceae. They have evolved multiple times into rudimentary or well-differentiated embryos, the latter exhibiting intermediate or large sizes and diverse cotyledonary hyperphyll morphologies. The cotyledonary hypophyll varies in sheath lobes and slit morphologies and is curved or expanded exclusively in representatives of Bromelioideae. Likewise, several patterns of hypocotyl/radicle constriction are unique to Tillandsioideae and plesiomorphic for this clade. Although rudimentary embryos exhibit simpler and more uniform anatomy, they are distinct from undifferentiated embryos, which lack defined organs and internal tissues. In contrast, well-differentiated embryos possess more complex anatomical structures, including a multi-layered shoot apical meristem and root cap, a broad cotyledonary sheath and often leaf primordia, the last of which have evolved independently several times only in large embryos.
conclusionsOur findings reveal a previously unknown morphological diversity for embryos in Bromeliaceae, enhancing our understanding of the morphological evolution of their major lineages. In addition, our findings introduce new informative characters for the systematics of the family and broaden our understanding of the reproductive biology of Bromeliaceae.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.