Effects of temperature increase and water suspension on androgametophyte development and seed production of Nidularium minutum Mez. (Bromeliaceae)

• Grant number: 19/19611-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2019
• End date: October 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Pant Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Catarina Carvalho Nievola
• Grantee: Guilherme Rodrigues Vasconcelos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Botânica. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/50341-0 - Challenges for biodiversity conservation facing climate changes, pollution, land use and occupation (PDIp), AP.PDIP

Abstract

Climatic parameter measurements performed in the last decades in forest remnants that are part of the Reserva da Biosfera do Cinturão Verde de São Paulo (RBCV-SP) indicates the occurrence of rising temperatures and longer drought periods, and there is a need for studies on the impact these stressors have been having on native plants in this region. It has been demonstrated the influence of these changes on the growth and metabolism of some Broeliaceae species, which are considered indicators of environmental alterations, among them Nidularium minutum, native species of the Atlantic Forest of Paranapiacaba (São Paulo, Brazil), an area included in RBCV-SP. However, studies relating the effects of temperature and drought on pollen viability in bromeliads are lacking. Considering that the establishment and/or maintenance of native species depends on the seed's germination, which production is associated with successful pollination with viable pollen grains, the aim of this project is to characterize the development of male gametophyte and possible changes in the distribution patterns of cellular components due to alterations in temperature and lack of water in N. minutum plants, which will also be evaluated for seed germination capacity. For this purpose, about 100 adult individuals kept in a green house of the Instituto de Botânica de São Paulo that were induced to flowering will be transferred to two growth chambers, one adjusted for the higher temperature conditions and another regulated for current thermal conditions. Part of the plants from both lots will not be watered and will be compared to others irrigated. Structural cellular observation will encompass cytochemical and immuncytochemical methods using photonic microscopy and confocal spectral laser. After manual pollination, seedling emergence will be evaluated from seeds derived from the individuals kept under simulated conditions.