Spirodela polyrhiza
| Spirodela polyrhiza | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Alismatales |
| Family: | Araceae |
| Subfamily: | Lemnoideae |
| Genus: | Spirodela |
| Species: | S. polyrhiza |
| Binomial name | |
| Spirodela polyrhiza (L.) Schleid. | |
Spirodela polyrhiza (orth. var. S. polyrrhiza) is a species of duckweed known by the common names greater duckweed, common duckweed, and duckmeat. It can be found nearly worldwide in many types of freshwater habitat. It is a perennial aquatic plant usually growing in dense colonies, forming a mat on the water surface. Each plant is a smooth, round, flat disc one half to one centimeter wide. It produces several minute roots. It also produces a pouch containing male and female flowers. The top part dies in the fall and the plant often overwinters as a turion.
Spirodela polyrhiza is an ideal system for biofuels, bioremediation and carbon cycling due to their aspects of fast-growing, direct contact with media and smallest genome size (~150 Mb).[1]
Spirodela polyrhiza, living in pond, differs in their development from terrestrial plants in their morphology and physiology. They do mainly vegetative growth called fronds in spring and summer time, while they switch into a dormant phase represented by turions in autumn and winter due to nutrition starvation and freezing temperature. Turions could also be induced by plant hormone ABA in the lab. Researchers reported that turions were rich in anthocyanin pigmentation and had a density that submerged them to the bottom of liquid medium. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of turions showed in comparison to fronds shrunken vacuoles, smaller intercellular space, and abundant starch granules surrounded by thylakoid membranes. Turions accumulated more than 60% starch in dry mass after two weeks of ABA treatment.[2]
External links
- Spirodela polyrhiza genomics
- Jepson Manual Treatment
- USDA Plants Profile
- Flora of North America
- Washington Burke Museum
References
- ↑ Wang W, Kerstetter RA, Michael TP (2011) Evolution of Genome Size in Duckweeds (Lemnaceae). Journal of Botany 2011.
- ↑ Wang W, Messing J (2012) Analysis of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase expression during turion formation induced by abscisic acid in Spirodela polyrhiza (greater duckweed). BMC Plant Biology 12: 5.