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Research article
Hongwei Hou
Institute of Hydrobiology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4823-0270
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: The plant body of duckweed species has undergone reduction and simplification from the ancient Spirodela species towards more-derived Wolffia species. Among the five duckweed genera, Wolffia members are rootless and represent the smallest and most-reduced species. However, we lack detailed knowledge about their structure.
Results: We conducted a comprehensive study of the morphology and anatomy of Wolffia globosa, the only Wolffia species in China. We first used X-ray microtomography imaging to reveal the three-dimensional and internal structure of the W. globosa frond. This showed that new fronds rapidly budded from the hollow reproductive pocket of the mother fronds and that several generations at various developmental stages could coexist in a single W. globosa frond. Using light microscopy, we observed that the meristem area of the W. globosa frond was located at the base of the reproductive pocket and composed of undifferentiated cells that continued to produce new buds. A single epidermal layer surrounded the W. globosa frond, and the mesophyll cells varied from small and dense palisade-like parenchyma cells to large, vacuolated cells from the ventral to the dorsal part. Furthermore, W. globosa fronds contained all the same organelles as other angiosperms; the most prominent organelles were chloroplasts with abundant starch grains.
Conclusions: Our study revealed that the reproductive strategy of W. globosa plants enables the rapid accumulation of biomass and the wide distribution of this species in various habitats. Despite their reduced body plan and size, the simplicity of the W. globosa frond might be overestimated. We propose that W. globosa plants are not only suitable for the study of structural reduction in higher plants, but also an ideal system to explore fundamental developmental processes of higher plants that cannot be addressed using other model plants.
Keywords
Wolffia globosa, Morphology, Three-dimensional structure, Light microscopy, Ultrastructure
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
- MoviesS1.avi
Additional file 1：Movies S1. The 3D volumes of W. globosa frond.
- figure1rawdata.pptx
Additional file 2： The raw data of figure 1.
- figure2rawdata.pptx
Additional file 3： The raw data of figure 2.
- figure3rawdata.pptx
Additional file 4： The raw data of figure 3.
- figure4rawdata.pptx
Additional file 5： The raw data of figure 4.
- figure5rawdata.pptx
Additional file 6： The raw data of figure 5.
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CURRENT STATUS: Published
View the published article at BMC Plant Biology.
Version 1
Posted 22 Jan, 2021
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 19 Apr, 2021
Review #2 received
Received 06 Apr, 2021
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 21 Mar, 2021
Review #1 received
Received 06 Mar, 2021
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 23 Feb, 2021
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 22 Feb, 2021
Editor assigned
On 31 Jan, 2021
Submission checks complete
On 19 Jan, 2021
Editor invited
On 18 Jan, 2021
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Subject Areas
Plant Molecular Biology and Genetics
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A new preprint design is coming!
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See the published version of this preprint at BMC Plant Biology.
This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Hongwei Hou
Institute of Hydrobiology Chinese Academy of Sciences
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4823-0270
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
View the published article at BMC Plant Biology.
Version 1
Posted 22 Jan, 2021
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 19 Apr, 2021
Review #2 received
Received 06 Apr, 2021
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 21 Mar, 2021
Review #1 received
Received 06 Mar, 2021
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 23 Feb, 2021
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 22 Feb, 2021
Editor assigned
On 31 Jan, 2021
Submission checks complete
On 19 Jan, 2021
Editor invited
On 18 Jan, 2021
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Plant Molecular Biology and Genetics
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published article at BMC Plant Biology.
Background: The plant body of duckweed species has undergone reduction and simplification from the ancient Spirodela species towards more-derived Wolffia species. Among the five duckweed genera, Wolffia members are rootless and represent the smallest and most-reduced species. However, we lack detailed knowledge about their structure.
Results: We conducted a comprehensive study of the morphology and anatomy of Wolffia globosa, the only Wolffia species in China. We first used X-ray microtomography imaging to reveal the three-dimensional and internal structure of the W. globosa frond. This showed that new fronds rapidly budded from the hollow reproductive pocket of the mother fronds and that several generations at various developmental stages could coexist in a single W. globosa frond. Using light microscopy, we observed that the meristem area of the W. globosa frond was located at the base of the reproductive pocket and composed of undifferentiated cells that continued to produce new buds. A single epidermal layer surrounded the W. globosa frond, and the mesophyll cells varied from small and dense palisade-like parenchyma cells to large, vacuolated cells from the ventral to the dorsal part. Furthermore, W. globosa fronds contained all the same organelles as other angiosperms; the most prominent organelles were chloroplasts with abundant starch grains.
Conclusions: Our study revealed that the reproductive strategy of W. globosa plants enables the rapid accumulation of biomass and the wide distribution of this species in various habitats. Despite their reduced body plan and size, the simplicity of the W. globosa frond might be overestimated. We propose that W. globosa plants are not only suitable for the study of structural reduction in higher plants, but also an ideal system to explore fundamental developmental processes of higher plants that cannot be addressed using other model plants.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
- MoviesS1.avi
Additional file 1：Movies S1. The 3D volumes of W. globosa frond.
- figure1rawdata.pptx
Additional file 2： The raw data of figure 1.
- figure2rawdata.pptx
Additional file 3： The raw data of figure 2.
- figure3rawdata.pptx
Additional file 4： The raw data of figure 3.
- figure4rawdata.pptx
Additional file 5： The raw data of figure 4.
- figure5rawdata.pptx
Additional file 6： The raw data of figure 5.
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