Diversity and ontogeny of the ligules in Poaceae: a case study in Paspalum L.

• Grant number: 19/10738-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2019
• End date: September 30, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Plant Morphology
• Principal Investigator: Gladys Flávia de Albuquerque Melo de Pinna
• Grantee: Daniela Oliveira Fernandes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The ligules occur in the region between the sheath and the leaf blade in several representatives of Poales, Zingiberales and Alismatales. In Poaceae (Poales), the first studies about ligules are from the ninetheent century and until today there are different hypothesis about its (não é it's?) nature, which are proposed by different authors. However, no more detailed work on the development of the ligule, including different stages and varied metodologies (optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy), have been realized in this group. In this project, we present the proposal to analyse four species of the genre Paspalum L. (P. notatum Flügge, P. maculosum Trinius, P. plicatulum Michx e P. carinatum Humb e Bonpl ex Flügge), representatives that present the morfological types of ligules described in Poaceae (membranous, membranous-ciliated and ciliated). The main goal is to realize an study more detailed from regions close to the apical meristem of the stem til (o q é esse til? Until?) the completely developed leaves, using metodologies like optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, searching for a more robust characterization of the character (caracterização do carácter?) and probable cases of primary structural homology. The results will be compared between the species and their differents types of ligules, being subsequently confronted with the available data in the literature and discussed inside Poaceae.