Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Echinocystis lobata; Tendrils;
Abstract
Tendrils are generally defined as coiling organs used as mechanical supports and for climbing. The morphological nature of the tendril and the branching pattern of the axillary bud complex (ABC) in the family Cucurbitaceae have been the subject of investigation for over a hundred years and as of yet there is no unifying interpretation of their morphological values. The tendril in the Cucurbitaceae has been hypothesized to be homologous to a leaf, a flower, a stem, and a combination of stem and leaf. Echinocystis lobata (Michaux) Torrey and Gray was used as a model to study the ontogeny of the ABC. The techniques of epi-illumination microscopy and serial resin sectioning were employed to document the early developmental stages of the axillary structures. The ABC produces 4 structures (proximal to distal relative to the subtending leaf): (1) an inflorescence of staminate flowers, (2) a solitary pistillate flower, (3) an axillary bud, and ( 4) a tendril. There are 2 bifurcation events of the ABC that result in the above structures. The 1st event separates the tendril primordium from the ABC, and the 2nd event separates the staminate inflorescence and the ABC. It was not clear when and from what the pistillate flower develops. A subtending leaf is not involved at any time during these bifurcations and thus the tendril and possibly the inflorescence were concluded to be a stems (axillary branches) of the value N + 1.
Year of Submission
2001
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Department of Biology
First Advisor
Jean Gerrath
Second Advisor
Virginia S. Berg
Third Advisor
Paul D. Whitson
Date Original
2001
Object Description
1 PDF file (82 leaves)
Copyright
©2001 Theodore Bowen Guthrie
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Guthrie, Theodore Bowen, "Developmental Tendril Morphology in Echinocystis lobata (Michaux) Torrey and Gray (Cucurbitaceae)" (2001). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2811.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2811
Comments
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