Hiroshi Tobe

Bio: Hiroshi Tobe is an academic researcher from Kyoto University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Ovule & Gynoecium. The author has an hindex of 23, co-authored 121 publications receiving 1762 citations.

The embryology of angiosperms: Its broad application to the systematic and evolutionary study

Abstract: Embryology allows one to work with a wide array of characters (more than 50 in general) for each taxon of angiosperms. This paper, while providing a brief review of recent studies on Myrtales and associated families by me and my co-workers, discusses evidence for the general utility of embryological characters for the study of plant systematics. In particular, evidence is given that characters of seed coat anatomy may be best applied to the study of specific and sectional (and even familial) relationships, those of seed appendages as well as of integumentary morphology and histogenesis to the study of generic relationships, and other major characters to the study of familial relationships. Embryology thus provides many features that are complex and, when properly applied along with evidence from other sources, offers good indications of relationships at various taxonomic level, from the ordinal to the specific level. Despite its evident systematic value and increasing need, however, information on embryological characters is still lacking for a majority of genera, and even at the family level, data is lacking or insufficiently available for more than 30% of families.

Phylogenetic analyses of Malpighiales using plastid and nuclear DNA sequences, with particular reference to the embryology of Euphorbiaceae sens. str.

Abstract: We present phylogenetic analyses of Malpighiales, which are poorly understood with respect to relationships within the order, using sequences from rbcL, atpB, matK and 18SrDNA from 103 genera in 23 families. From several independent and variously combined analyses, a four-gene analysis using all sequence data provided the best resolution, resulting in the single most parsimonious tree. In the Malpighiales [bootstrap support (BS) 100%], more than eight major clades comprising a family or group of families successively diverged, but no clade containing more than six families received over 50% BS. Instead, ten terminal clades that supported close relationships between and among families (>50% BS) were obtained, between, for example, Balanopaceae and Chrysobalanaceae; Lacistemataceae and Salicaceae; and Phyllanthaceae and Picrodendraceae. The monophyly of Euphorbiaceae sens. str. were strongly supported (BS 100%), but its sister group was unclear. Euphorbiaceae sens. str. comprised two basally diverging clades (BS 100%): one leading to the Clutia group (Chaetocarpus, Clutia, Pera and Trigonopleura), and the other leading to the rest of the family. The latter shared a palisadal, instead of a tracheoidal exotegmen as a morphological synapomorphy. While both Acalyphoideae (excluding Dicoelia and the Clutia group) and Euphorbioideae are monophyletic, Crotonoideae were paraphyletic, requiring more comprehensive analyses.

An embryological analysis of Myrtales : its definition and characteristics

Abstract: A combination of embryological characteristics clearly defines Myrtales as comprising Combretaceae, Lythraceae (including Punicaceae and Sonneratiaceae), Melastomataceae, Myrtaceae, Onagraceae, Oliniaceae, Penaeaceae, and Trapaceae, a circumscription that agrees with that of the "core" Myrtales given by Dahlgren and Thorne (1983). The ordinal characteristics are: 1) anther tapetum glandular, 2) ovule crassinucellate, 3) inner integument 2-layered (except in Syzygium), 4) micropyle formed by both integuments (except in Syzygium and Trapa), 5) antipodal cells ephemeral or absent, 6) endosperm formation Nuclear type and 7) seed exalbuminous. Haloragaceae, Lecythidaceae, and Thymelaeaceae definitely should be excluded from Myrtales on the basis of differences in three or more of these primary defining characteristics. On the other hand, embryological evidence does not contradict the possibility of a relatively close relationship between Elatinaceae and Myrtales, even though an overall consideration of their features seems to make such a relationship seem less likely. Embryological evidence indicates a considerable degree of heterogeneity in Rhizophoraceae, a family or group of families that is clearly not assignable to Myrtales.

Is Cycas revoluta (Cycadaceae) wind- or insect-pollinated?

Abstract: Among the Cycadales (Cycadaceae and Zamiaceae), the Zamiaceae are known to be insect-pollinated. In contrast, the Cycadaceae are still considered wind-pollinated, although some doubt has been cast on several species, including Cycas revoluta. Using a large population of C. revoluta on Yonaguni Island (Okinawa, Japan), we performed exclusion experiments, documented insects from male and female cones, and analyzed the morphology of the apical part of the ovule to determine the pollination method of this species. Insect exclusion resulted in a notable reduction in seed set, except in a few individuals growing near male cones. The amount of airborne pollen was abundant within a 2-m radius of male cones but decreased markedly beyond this distance. Pollen grains of C. revoluta were found on the body of Carpophilus chalybeus (Nitidulidae, Coleoptera), one of a few species of insects collected from both male cones and female cones far from males. We conclude that C. revoluta relies on both wind (anemophily) and insect pollination (entomophily), although such anemophily is restricted to female trees growing within a 2-m radius of male trees. The nitidulids are not host specific to this cycad and primarily feed on plant tissue but serve as pollinators during pollen release. Cycas revoluta appears to be in an initial mode of animal pollination, as opposed to the host-specific insect pollination observed in most Zamiaceae.

Ovules and seeds in Euphorbioideae (Euphorbiaceae): structure and systematic implications.

Abstract: Ovule and seed structure in Euphorbioideae, one of the five euphorbiaceous subfamilies, is surveyed to evaluate its systematic implications on the basis of 79 species representing four of five tribes. All Euphorbioideae, like two other "uniovulate" subfamilies Acalyphoideae and Crotonoideae, but unlike most of two "biovulate" subfamilies Oldfieldioideae and Phyllanthoideae, consistently have a persistent and palisadal exotegmen composed of radially elongate, sclerotic, and pitted cells. Within Euphorbioideae, the tribe Stomatocalyceae (also with the palisadal exotegmen) is unusual in having vascular bundles in outer integument and clearly distinct from the remaining Euphorbioideae and the other "uniovulate" subfamilies. With the exclusion of Stomatocalyceae, Euphorbioideae are not anatomically divided into major groups such as a pseudanthial and a non-pseudanthial clade, but instead have some remarkable diversity within a tribe, a subtribe, and even a genus in the three ovule and seed characters: (1) the thickness of the inner integument, (2) the thickness of the outer integument, and (3) the presence or absence of an aril. Groups of genera and species wrapped by different combinations of their characteristics, however, are not necessarily harmonized with tribal or subtribal classifications available. Anatomical similarities and dissimilarities presented in this paper, as well as relationships among taxa presented in the classifications available, will be critically evaluated in the light of results of ongoing molecular phylogenetic analyses.

The Families And Genera Of Vascular Plants

Abstract: Perp. punya vol. X. Flowering plant, eudicots : sapindales, cucurbitales, myrtaceae. Perp.punya: 1eks.

Distribution and biological activities of the flavonoid luteolin.

Abstract: Epidemiological evidence suggests that flavonoids may play an important role in the decreased risk of chronic diseases associated with a diet rich in plant-derived foods. Flavonoids are also common constituents of plants used in traditional medicine to treat a wide range of diseases. The purpose of this article is to summarize the distribution and biological activities of one of the most common flavonoids: luteolin. This flavonoid and its glycosides are widely distributed in the plant kingdom; they are present in many plant families and have been identified in Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Pinophyta and Magnoliophyta. Dietary sources of luteolin include, for instance, carrots, peppers, celery, olive oil, peppermint, thyme, rosemary and oregano. Preclinical studies have shown that this flavone possesses a variety of pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anticancer activities. The ability of luteolin to inhibit angiogenesis, to induce apoptosis, to prevent carcinogenesis in animal models, to reduce tumor growth in vivo and to sensitize tumor cells to the cytotoxic effects of some anticancer drugs suggests that this flavonoid has cancer chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic potential. Modulation of ROS levels, inhibition of topoisomerases I and II, reduction of NF-kappaB and AP-1 activity, stabilization of p53, and inhibition of PI3K, STAT3, IGF1R and HER2 are possible mechanisms involved in the biological activities of luteolin.

Molecular Systematics of Plants

Abstract: Preface. Part I: Molecules and genomes in plant systematics. Chloroplast DNA and the study of plant phylogeny: present status and future prospects - M T Clegg and G Zurawski Use of chloroplast DNA rearrangements in reconstructing plant phylogeny - S R Downie and J D Palmer Mitochondrial DNA in plant systematics: applications and limitations - J D Palmer Ribosomal RNA as a phylogenetic tool in plant systematics - R K Hamby and E A Zimmer Evolution of the NOR and 5S DNA loci in the Triticeae - R Appels and B Baum Part II: Molecular approaches to plant evolution Intraspecific chloroplast DNA variation: systematic and phylogenetic implications - D E Soltis, P S Soltis and B G Milligan Molecular data and polyploid evolution in plants - P S Soltis, J J Doyle and D E Soltis Molecular systematics and crop evolution - J Deobley Part III: Model studies of phylogenetic relationships Contributions of molecular data to polyploid evolution in plants - P S Soltis, J J Doyle and D E Soltis Molecular systematics and crop evolution - J Deobley Contributions of molecular data to papilionoid legume systematics - J J Doyle, M Levin and A Bruneau Chloroplast DNA variation in the asteraceae: phylogenetic and evolutionary implications - R K Jansen, H J Michaels, R S Wallace, K-J Kim, S C Keeley, L E Watson and J D Palmer Chloroplast DNA restriction site variation and the evolution of the annual habit in North American Coreopsis (Asteraceae) - D J Crawford, J D Palmer and M Kobayashi Molecular systematics of onagraceae: examples from Clarkia and Fuschia - K J Systema and J E Smith Floral morphology and chromosome number in the subtribe oncidiinae (Orchidaceae): evolutionary insights from a phylogenetic analysis of the chloroplast DNA restriction site variation - M W Chase and J D Palmer Part IV: Theoretical perspectives The suitability of molecular and morphological evidence in reconstructing plant phylogeny -M J Donaghue and M J Sanderson Character-site weighting for restriction site data in phylogenetic reconstruction, with an example from chloroplast DNA - V A Albert, B D Mishler and M W Chase Polymorphism, hybridization and variable evolutionary rate in molecular phylogenies - K Ritland and J E Eckenwalder Index.