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Female gametophyte and embryo development in Helleborus bocconei Ten. (Ranunculaceae)

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Abstract

In this study, we investigated cytohistochemistry, cycle progression, and relative DNA content of the female gametophyte cells of Helleborus bocconei Ten. before and after fertilization process. The early stages of embryo development were also investigated. H. bocconei possesses a monosporic seven-celled/eight-nucleate Polygonum type female gametophyte, characterized by a morpho-functional polarity. The cells of the embryo sac showed abundant reserves of polysaccharides, strongly increasing in the egg cell just before fertilization. With different timing in DNA replication during cell cycle progression, synergids, egg cells, and polar nuclei showed a haploid DNA content at the end of their differentiation, while antipodes underwent three DNA endoreduplication cycles. Programmed cell death symptoms were detectable in synergid and antipodal cells. After double fertilization, the central cell quickly underwent many mitotic cycles forming the endosperm, which exhibited a progressive increase in protein bodies and starch grains. Close to the develo** embryo, the endosperm differentiated a well-defined region rich in a fibrillar carbohydrate matrix. The zygote, that does not start immediately to divide after double fertilization, developed in to an embryo that reached the heart stage at fruit maturation time. A weakly differentiated embryo at this time indicates a morpho-physiological dormancy of seeds, as a survival strategy imposed by the life cycle of this plant with seed dispersal in spring and their germination in the following winter.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Professors Anna Maria Tagliasacchi and Laura Forino for their helpful discussion and critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by local funding of the University of Pisa (ex 60 %).

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Pisa, via Ghini 13, Pisa, I-56126, Italy

    Giacomo Bartoli, Cristiana Felici & Monica Ruffini Castiglione

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  1. Giacomo Bartoli
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  2. Cristiana Felici
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Correspondence to Monica Ruffini Castiglione.

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Bartoli, G., Felici, C. & Ruffini Castiglione, M. Female gametophyte and embryo development in Helleborus bocconei Ten. (Ranunculaceae). Protoplasma 254, 491–504 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-016-0969-8

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