Conifer Reproductive Biology Claire G. Williams Conifer Reproductive Biology Claire G. Williams USA ISBN: 978-1-4020-9601-3 e-ISBN: 978-1-4020-9602-0 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9602-0 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2009927085 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Cover Image: Snow and pendant cones on spruce tree (reproduced with permission of Photos.com). Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Foreword When it comes to reproduction, gymnosperms are deeply weird. Cycads and coni- fers have drawn out reproduction: at least 13 genera take over a year from pollina- tion to fertilization. Since they don’t apparently have any selection mechanism by which to discriminate among pollen tubes prior to fertilization, it is natural to won- der why such a delay in reproduction is necessary. Claire Williams’ book celebrates such oddities of conifer reproduction. She has written a book that turns the context of many of these reproductive quirks into deeper questions concerning evolution. The origins of some of these questions can be traced back Wilhelm Hofmeister’s 1851 book, which detailed the revolutionary idea of alternation of generations. This alternation between diploid and haploid generations was eventually to become one of the key unifying ideas in plant evolution. Dr. Williams points out that alterna- tion of generations in conifers shows strong divergence in the evolution of male and female gametes, as well as in the synchronicity of male and female gamete development. How are these coordinated to achieve fertilization? Books on conifer reproduction are all too rare. The only major work in the last generation was Hardev Singh’s 1978 Embryology of Gymnosperms, a book that summarized the previous century’s work. Being a book primarily about embryol- ogy, it stopped short of putting conifer reproduction in a genetic or evolutionary context. There have also been reviews in particular orders and families, but these tend to be oriented towards orchard management problems and practical concerns of seed production. There are few works that are comprehensive and yet acces- sible to graduate students and researchers. Professor Williams’ book provides new avenues to explore in our thinking. The book also comes along at a opportune moment. The last 40 years have wit- nessed many advances in our understanding of conifer reproduction. These have proven of practical value to both experimentalists and seed orchard managers. Advanced breeding programs have developed in many countries to the benefit of the forest industry. Genetically improved trees are widely planted, providing sources of fiber and timber. In addition, these breeding methodologies have spread to many developing countries. Although we are only beginning to understand some of the cell biology that controls and regulates the properties of economically important traits in trees, we have developed many practical and effective methodologies that allow us to produce seed at scale for purposes of reforestation and afforestation. v vi Foreword With such an abundance of genotypes selected and tested for various charac- teristics, it is not surprising that conifer reproduction studies are poised to enter another era. But what era is it? Conifer genomics and metabolomics are expanding; conifer proteomics is still in its infancy. It appears that the original sin of coni- fers is to have too much DNA. We are forced to be wait for a published genome. This is compounded by our inability to see where things are going in the future. Arabidopsis, poplar and other model plants are providing new information on herbs and trees. Turning this to our advantage rests on our scientific imagination. In this regard, Dr. Williams’ book takes stock of interesting questions for the benefit of future forest biologists and geneticists. The book works at a number of levels. It introduces conifers in their proper evolutionary context. It begins by putting a modern relic – Wollemi Pine – in per- spective. From the Golden Age of conifers in the Mesozoic when they were the world’s first truly successful and widespread seed plants, Claire Williams leads us to modern conifers, including those that are rare and threatened. She then turns to reproduction, in particular of the Pinaceae. She sets the stage by describing the Bauplan of the life cycle from meiosis to mature seed. The book then changes gear when it considers the consequences of heterospory. This is of great value for train- ing graduate students and for providing researchers with new questions concerning karyotypes, large genomes, and the consequences of crossing. Generally, in the previous compendia of conifer reproduction, emphasis has been on family-by- family differences in the details of reproduction. Not since Willson and Burley’s 1983 book entitled Mate Choice in Plants has there been a book in which the effects of conifer organization on reproduction and genetics are presented as unsolved problems. From the historical perspective, many things remain as true today as when they were first unveiled. As the author writes, “Robert Brown’s (1828) discovery of the gametophyte and its multiple archegonia are more profound than he knew”. We still have little idea how these large female gametophytes regulate their own lives separately from those of the surrounding sporophyte, whether in terms of defense or signaling or regulation of development. Furthermore, we have little understand- ing of the female gametophyte’s role in regulating its own abortion or that of young embryos. The male side of reproduction poses other problems, starting with pollen dispersal. The description of Erdtman’s trip across the Atlantic in the 1930s during which he sampled the air for pollen provides a nice context in which to consider pollen dispersal. In this chapter, we get a fresh consideration of features that allow pine pollen to fly long distances. Synchronizing pollination, female development and fertilization in these repro- ductive plodders remains a great mystery. Claire Williams lays it out carefully, providing many new and testable ideas. What are the forces that converge to syn- chronize male and female development and result in pollination drop secretion? How does the female gametophyte eventually exert its influence in reproduction, given that for so long it was subsidiary to the sporophyte in all previous pollination- related events? Her years of study of events that regulate embryo development and death, particularly those due to selfing, show clearly in the later chapters on seed Foreword vii development and mating system dynamics, culminating in a thought-provoking discussion of embryo lethal systems. This is a book that should be used by researchers who want new perspectives on conifer reproduction. It is an excellent book for a graduate course or to put new life into a discussion group or journal club. Since the 1970s, there has been an explo- sion in our understanding of the details of reproduction, but it is now time to take stock and think about what this means. This book will help young and old research- ers frame new questions, re-frame old ones using new genomic tools, and finally, it encourages readers to ask good questions that will contribute to our knowledge of the evolution, ecology and development of conifers. Victoria, BC, Canada Patrick von Aderkas Prologue This book on conifer reproductive biology is intended as a text s upplement for plant biology courses. Knowledge of model flowering plants is expanding so fast that each new plant biology text has less written on conifers than the last. Conifer Reproductive Biology seems needed as a specialized botany reference for life science professionals, graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Its content, chosen for its relevance to those working in the life sciences including ecology, evolution, genomics, environmental sciences, genetics, forestry, conservation and even immuno- logy, is shaped by a trend towards the integrative study of conifer reproduction. Book content. Integrative reproductive biology rests on a concept put forth by Johann Goethe (1749–1832) who argued that each of the various parts of a plant – including its reproductive organs and seeds – could be understood as variations on a basic body plan. His Bauplan concept for the Die Urpflanze (“the original plant”)1 enables one to predict selection space for plant morphology or to infer plant forms no longer living. Although the Bauplan concept was first adopted as a central tenet in metazoan biology, the seed plant biology community is only now adopting this useful concept. One must consider the possibility that conifers might not share a Bauplan distinct from other seed plants. After all, the grouping of conifers is a taxonomic classification based on the absence of a carpel and other angiosperm reproductive characters. An integrative biology perspective is provided here for the few conifer lineages that survived after the Mesozoic era. Conifers and other gymnosperms are the only living links to early seed plant reproduction so Conifer Reproductive Biology has evolutionary relevance. This perspective includes the Bauplan concept. It will come into sharper focus now once the huge conifer genomes are completely sequenced but until then, seed plant biology (inclusive of conifers) will continue to move through a reductionist phase where whole-organism studies are less valued. But such reduction- ism is only temporary. Next will be the need to integrate all sources of information, 1 The Bauplan concept was published in 1790 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in his Metamorphose der Pflanzen as cited by Kaplan, D. (2001). The science of plant morphology: definition, history, and role in modern biology. American Journal of Botany 88: 1711–1741. ix x Prologue from phenotypic data to DNA code so this book should provide a foundation for conifer reproduction relevant to integrative hypothesis construction. Two other ideas shaped the book’s content. First is the question of extinction. Although they are Mesozoic relics, conifers as a group are not going extinct. A few are aggressive colonizing species such as Pinus taeda which are actually favored by human disturbance but other species face a high risk of extinction requiring inter- vention. The book’s anecdotes focus more on the latter group but the reader should not take away the idea that all conifers are going extinct. The second idea is that conifer reproduction research has been historically funded in the twentieth century because of its commodity significance. Three or four genera within the Pinaceae have been more closely studied than all of other conifers and gymnosperms put together. It is unfortunate that such uneven research funding skews this book’s content and organization; more basic research is sorely needed. Book organization. The book is framed around the diplohaplontic life cycle. Section I provides an overview of conifers and their life cycle. Section II presents each of the different working parts to the mating system. Divergence – and yet syn- chrony – of female and male reproductive structures is the basic message. Here it also becomes apparent that this book’s title should really be “Conifer Reproductive Biology: With Emphasis on the Pinaceae” because here each topic starts with what is known about Pinus, moves to the Pinaceae and the Cupressaceae and then finally ends with functional and morphological variants observed in other conifers. In a few cases, Ginkgo biloba and a few other gymnosperms are mentioned. The reader should note that Hardev Singh’s book Embryology of Gymnosperms provides a far more comprehensive treatment of gymnosperm reproduction, par- ticularly for those taxa indigenous to the Southern Hemisphere. Section III shows the sum of the working parts: how this dynamic mating system relies more on form than chance to produce a viable seed. The last chapter is the special case of how selfing and the embryo lethal system shape mate choice in a sessile life form. Available literature on conifer reproduction is vast, spanning more than 3 centuries so all contributions could not be included in this book. The reader is encouraged to view this book as only a starting place for reading all of the original literature on a given topic. History for conifer reproduction worldwide goes well beyond scientific contri- butions or even recorded history. Humans have relied on conifer forests for food, medicine, shelter, adornment, travel and warfare for millennia. Such value extends to reproductive characters too. Edible pine seeds have been part of the human diet – and even sacred rites – for thousands of years.2 Even today, pine pollen from Asia is bottled and sold as an anti-aging health tonic3 a practice which contrasts with 2 Zach B. (2002) Vegetable offerings on the Roman sacrificial site in Mainz Germany – short report on the first results. Vegetation History and Archaebotany 11: 101–106. Also see Mirov 1967 The Genus Pinus. Ronald Press, New York. 602 p. and The Gymnosperm Database at http://www. botanik.uni-bonn.de/conifers/topics/index.htm 3 Yunamite® pine pollen beverage is a pure and natural pine product from the mountains of Yunnan, China http://www.pharmeast.com/id8.htm 11/11/02 Prologue xi pollen from a few members of the Cupressaceae4 which induces a medical condi- tion known as cedar fever. Conifer reproduction has been the subject of mythology, art and religious practices and this continues unabated. Today, conifers still inspire poetry, state flags, township names and postage stamps. The book includes a few anecdotes which go to this point but the reader is encouraged to explore further. Acknowledgements. Composing this book would not have been possible with- out the resources of many world-class library collections: Oxford University’s Radcliffe Library; Harvard University’s Botany libraries and the Arnold Arboretum Horticultural library, Duke University’s Biology and Environmental Sciences Library and the University of British Columbia’s Life Science Libraries. Primary financial support came from the John S. Guggenheim Foundation. Other sponsors include the U.S. Forest Service’s Southern Forest Experiment Station, the Canada–U.S. Fulbright Program, Harvard’s Bullard Fellows Program, Oxford University’s Christ Church College, NATO, Winrock International, University of Victoria’s Forest Biology Centre, British Columbia’s Ministry of Forestry, American Association for Advancement of Science, U.S. State Department and Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City. Completion of this book would not have been possible without this support nor without the tenured full professor- ship once held at Texas A&M University. My special thanks are due to Floyd Bridgwater, USDA-Forest Service (retired) for his photographs, protocols and comprehensive editorial efforts. I want to thank other reviewers: Patrick von Aderkas, Thomas Blush, Eric Brenner, William Carlson, Gabriel Katul, Patricia Gensel, Michael Greenwood, James Grob, Ben LePage, Anne Raymond, David Remington, John Russell, Frank Sorensen and Barry Tomlinson. Even though their corrections have been numerous, I accept full responsibility for the book’s content. I also thank anonymous reviewers acting on behalf of the following scientific journals: Canadian Journal of Botany, Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Forest Ecology and Management, Genetics, Genome, Heredity, Nature Biotechnology, New Phytologist and Molecular Ecology. January 24, 2009 Claire Williams 4 Canini A. et al. 2004. Localisation of a carbohydrate epitope recognised by human IgE in pollen of Cupressaceae. Journal of Plant Research 117: 147.