Biodiv Sci ›› 2019, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (11): 1228-1235.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2019111

Special Issue: 物种形成与系统进化

• Original Papers • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Ancestral state reconstruction reveals the diversity and evolution of spore ornamentation in Adiantum (Pteridaceae)

Guohua Zhao1,2,Ying Wang2,Hui Shang2,Xile Zhou3,Aihua Wang4,Yufeng Li5,Hui Wang1,Baodong Liu6,Yuehong Yan2,*()   

  1. 1 Fairylake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen & Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518004;
    2 Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai Chenshan Plant Science Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602
    3 Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Forest Resources Monitoring Center, Jishou, Hunan 416000
    4 Key Laboratory of Beibu Gulf Environment Change and Resources Use of Ministry of Education, Nanning Normal University, Nanning 530001
    5 School of Life Science, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, Hunan 411201
    6 Harbin Normal University, Key Laboratory of Plant Biology, College of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin 150025
  • Received:2019-03-29 Accepted:2019-10-08 Online:2019-11-20 Published:2020-01-17
  • Contact: Yan Yuehong

Abstract:

Spore morphology is diverse and complex in ferns, thus serving as an important indicator of taxonomy. In conjunction, morphological traits and phylogeny are used to study taxonomy and recent character evolution. This study analyzes the evolution of spore ornamentation in once-pinnate maidenhair ferns (Adiantum) using scanning electron microscopy and ancestral state reconstruction. Our results show that there are five ornamental types in once-pinnate maidenhair ferns: psilate, scabrate, granulate, verrucate and tuberculate. The ancestral state of spore ornamentation in Adiantum is probably tuberculate, with verrucate ornamentation possibly deriving from tuberculate. We suggest that spore ornamentation evolved from simple to complex in Adiantum. In other words, the more evolutionary species, will with a more complex spore ornamentation.

Key words: fern, spore ornamentation, phylogenetic, character evolution