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Morphological characterisation of silica phytoliths in Neotropical Marantaceae leaves

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Abstract

The Marantaceae family is composed of 550 species of pantropical distribution, with a strong clustering in the Neotropics. Although the family forms a monophyletic group, the circumscription of genera and consequently its phylogenetic relationships are not sufficiently understood. Its species produces silica phytoliths in varied forms, ornamentation and distribution in leaves, and these silica deposits are considered important in vegetable physiology and taxonomy. We have conducted the morphological characterisation of phytoliths and their distribution in foliar blades of Neotropical Marantaceae genera, evaluating the use of such characters to support the morphological delimitation of the genera and the physiological aspects of the family’s adaptation to rainforests. Phytoliths of 22 species of 12 genera, namely Calathea, Ctenanthe, Goeppertia, Hylaeanthe, Ischnosiphon, Koernickanthe, Maranta, Monotagma, Myrosma, Saranthe, Stromanthe and Thalia, were analysed using light and scanning electron microscopes. When comparing Neotropical species to those of the old world, one can observe the family’s homogeneity by the presence of two morphotypes in the foliar blade, the globular and the irregular, as well as stegmata associated with the fibres. However, two distinguishing features have been identified in these Neotropical species: (1) a new morphotype, the cylindroid, located in the mesophyll, (2) intra- and extracellular amorphous silica deposits associated with the stomata, which play an important role in the restriction of transpiration. In addition, the form, size and distribution of the silica deposits appear conservative in all analysed samples, which makes them useful in the morphological characterisation of the genera and species, and consequently, in the taxonomic circumscription of the Marantaceae.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Abdelaziz ElSaid ElBayoumi (Qatar University) and Dr. Ellen Cortezzi (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro) for the helpful suggestions. Thanks are also extended to André Luis de Alcântara Guimarães, Renato Pamplona Cardozo Costa and Joyce Cabral Rodrigues of Laboratório de Farmacobotânica of Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro for preparing many of the slides and photos used in the paper.

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  1. Faculdade de Farmácia, Departamento de Produtos Naturais e Alimentos, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil

    Elaine Santiago Brilhante de Albuquerque

  2. Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão, 915, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22460-030, Brazil

    João Marcelo Alvarenga Braga

  3. Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Brigadeiro Trompowsky, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-590, Brazil

    Ricardo Cardoso Vieira

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  1. Elaine Santiago Brilhante de Albuquerque
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  3. Ricardo Cardoso Vieira
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Correspondence to Elaine Santiago Brilhante de Albuquerque.

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de Albuquerque, E.S.B., Braga, J.M.A. & Vieira, R.C. Morphological characterisation of silica phytoliths in Neotropical Marantaceae leaves. Plant Syst Evol 299, 1659–1670 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-013-0823-9

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