“Amniotic fluid” in womb-like flower bracts protects floral development and promotes drought resistance in karst habitats
Water serves diverse functions in plant growth and reproduction. Here, we report a novel strategy in the terrestrial karst plant <i>Hemiboea magnibracteata</i> analogous to amniotic fluid in mammals. Developing flower buds enclosed in 'womb-like' bracts are completely immersed in fluids and protected against excessive temperature and desiccation. The reservoir of water also likely limits drought and calcium stress in the highly specialized abiotic conditions of karst habitats.
Authors
- Yichun Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7318-1066)
- Yongquan Ren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0129-435X)
- Spencer C. H. Barrett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7762-3455)
- Yongpeng Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7725-3677)
- Detuan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2295-3799)
- Wei Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1854-6995)
- Gang Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3628-7088)
- Bo Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0211-1375)
- Hang Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5127-4579)
- Yuanting Shen
Institutions
- Kunming Institute of Botany (CN)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Guizhou Minzu University (CN)
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- National Science Review
- Published
- 2025-05-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaf195
- Primary Topic
- Plant Molecular Biology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Center for Advanced Study, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign