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Serological Investigation of Selected Amentiferous Taxa

1979; American Society of Plant Taxonomists; Volume: 4; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/2418421

1548-2324

Frank Petersen, David E. Fairbrothers,

Plant Diversity and Evolution

Quantitative and qualitative analyses for serological affinities within and among taxa of selected families of the Amentiferae were employed in this research. With only a few exceptions, there was good agreement between protein similarity as measured by the Boyden procedure, and the number of immunoprecipitating systems remaining after presaturation of the experimental sera. The Myricaceae, Juglandaceae, and Fagaceae revealed a degree of serological correspondence sufficient to warrant retaining them in the subclass Hamamelidae. The low levels of serological correspondence among taxa from these three families and the Anacardiaceae indicated a placement of the Anacardiaceae in a position divorced from the others tested. The obtained data provided support for Cronquist's and Takhtajan's classification of these taxa. In addition this investigation indicated that pollen, with its high protein content, provided an excellent source of extractable antigens for systematic serological research. The concept of a natural grouping of plants designated as the Amentiferae is no longer given serious credence, and many of the families included in this grouping have been dispersed in diverse orders (Stern, 1973). The present research includes a comparison of serological characteristics among genera of the following four families: (1) Juglandaceae-Carya, Juglans; (2) Myricaceae-Myrica, Comptonia; (3) FagaceaeQuercus, Fagus; (4) Anacardiaceae-Rhus, Toxicodendron. Table 1 presents a listing of some of the basic trends in the classification of these four families. The first major trend is that of Cronquist (1968, 1979), Takhtajan (1969), and Hutchinson (1959). These three considered the Fagaceae, Myricaceae, and Juglandaceae as being derived from hamamelidaceous stock, while the Anacardiaceae was considered tohave a rosidae or rutalian origin. By virtue of this juxtaposition, one might expect a greater degree of correspondence among the first three families than between them and the Anacardiaceae. A second trend is the grouping of the Juglandaceae, Myricaceae, and Anacardiaceae in the Rutalian complex and the Fagaceae in the Hamamelidian complex. This scheme, as espoused by Thorne (1968, 1976), placed the Anacardiaceae and the Juglandaceae in the order Rutales and the Myricaceae in the Myricales; whereas Dahlgren (1975) placed the three families, respectively, in the orders Sapindales, Juglandales, and the Myricales. Both classifications would postulate greater similarities among the Juglandaceae, Myricaceae, and Anacardiaceae, than between this grouping and the Fagaceae. However, in a publication by Gornall, Bohm 1 Botany, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.