Anatomical and genetic features of the Cupressus megagametophyte: The diploid pattern in C. sempervirens is an exception for this genus

Abstract

The megagametophyte isoenzymic expression analysed in 15 Cupressus species showed that the lack of isoenzyme segregation for megagametophytes of heterozygous trees is typical of C. sempervirens. The specific diploid isoenzymic expression confirms the evidence of nuclear fusion derived from four different megaspores.

Keywords:

• Cupressus
• isoenzyme
• microscopy
• megagametophyte
• seed

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the support of Claudine Andréoli (INRA, Antibes, France) for providing seed material, and the technical assistance of Bruno Mori (Department of Plant Biology, University of Florence, Italy) and Glenda Catalano (Centre for Forest Biology, University of Victoria, Canada).