Antheridiogen activity ofAnemia mexicana

摘要

Gametophytes of two populations ofAnemia mexicanaKlotzsch exhibited antheridiogen activity. All gametophytes grown as monospore cultures produced organized meristems and only archegonia, although spore size and days from sowing until germination, meristem organization, and archegonia formation varied. In multispore cultures, gametophytes were either antheridiate or archegoniate, indicating that gametophyte interactions are necessary for antheridia formation. When old media extracts from multispore cultures ofA. mexicanagametophytes were incorporated into new media, precocious antheridia were formed byA. mexicanaandLygodium japonicumbut not byA. phyllitidis, Pteridium aquilinum, orCeratopteris thalictroides. Few antheridia were initiated byA. mexicanagametophytes under red light, suggesting that antheridiogen could not completely overcome a block to antheridium formation. Spores ofA. mexicana, A. phyllitidis, andL. japonicum, but notP. aquilinumandC. thalictroides, germinated in the dark in response to old media extracts incorporated into the basal medium. Thus, antheridiogen activity ofA. mexicanais limited to schizaeaceous species of ferns.