The Distribution of Calcium Oxalate Crystals in Genus Dieffenbachia Schott
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THE DISTRIBUTION OF CALCIUM OXALATE CRYSTALS IN GENUS DIEFFENBACHIA SCHOTT. AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND CRYSTAL QUANTITY AND QUALITY By HUI CAO A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2003 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Before you read my thesis, I would like to let you know how grateful I am to my committee members. Without their help, it would be impossible for me to complete my thesis. First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Dennis B. McConnell for his great mental guidance, his patience, and his warm-heartedness. I learned more than horticultural knowledge from him. He also taught me how to write, taught me so much about America the country, her culture, her history, and the language. As an international student, I am so lucky to have him as my advisor. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Jianjun Chen for all the help and guidance he has provided during the course of these investigations. It would have been impossible to complete these studies in a timely fashion without his support and use of his facilities. I appreciate his tremendous help with experiment design and his continuous advice on my study and research. Of course the research assistantship he granted me made this thesis possible. At the same time, I want to thank Dr. Ray A. Bucklin for his great suggestions on my proposal and thesis and Dr. Richard J. Henny for his supply of experiment material and sharing his knowledge on Dieffenbachia breeding and culture. I wish to thank Dr. Bijan Dehgan and Fe Almira in my lab for their help with my experiment and their friendship. I also want to extend my appreciation to my friends, Francis Kok and Carmen Valero Aracama, for their kind help and encouragements. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. ii LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................1 Dieffenbachia Genus ....................................................................................................1 Calcium Oxalate ...........................................................................................................2 Biomineralization ..................................................................................................2 Functions ...............................................................................................................3 Dieffenbachia Toxicity .................................................................................................5 History ...................................................................................................................5 Symptoms..............................................................................................................8 Related Studies .............................................................................................................9 The Causes of the Toxicity....................................................................................9 Toxicity Comparison...........................................................................................12 Crystal Formation Regulation Mechanisms ........................................................12 CaOx Deposition in Relation to Nutrient Levels ................................................13 2 INVESTIGATIONS ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF CALCIUM OXALATE CRYSTAL WITH NITROGEN LEVELS, IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, AND LIGHT INTENSITIES ...............................................................................................17 Comparison of CaOx Raphide Idioblast Numbers in Dieffenbachia Grown under Different Nitrogen Levels and Irrigation Systems.................................................17 Materials and Methods ........................................................................................17 Results and Discussion........................................................................................19 Comparison of CaOx Raphide Idioblast Number in Leaf Midribs of Dieffenbachia Grown under Different Light Intensities................................................................20 Materials and Methods ........................................................................................21 Results and Discussion........................................................................................21 Conclusions.................................................................................................................22 iii 3 INVESTIGATION ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF CALCIUM OXALATE CRYSTALS IN DIEFFENBACHIA...........................................................................31 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................................31 Results and Discussion ...............................................................................................33 CaOx Crystal Quantity in Relation to Differentiation.........................................36 The Relationship of R/D Ratio with Developmental Stage.................................38 Cultivar Differences in CaOx Crystal Densities .................................................39 4 INVESTIGATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CALCIUM OXALATE CRYSTAL AND RHIZOSPHERIC CALCIUM AND/OR MAGNESIUM LEVELS .....................................................................................................................52 Materials and Methods ...............................................................................................52 Results and Discussion ...............................................................................................53 5 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................62 LITERATURE CITED ......................................................................................................64 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .............................................................................................68 iv LIST OF TABLES Table page 3.1. CaOx raphide and druse idioblast ratios of 3 different stem and leaf developmental stages of 3 Dieffenbachia cultivars..................................................40 3.2. Total CaOx crystal density in stems and leaf blades of 3 Dieffenbachia cultivars..41 4.1. Ca and Mg concentrations used in groups 1-10. ......................................................57 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 1.1. Dieffenbachia production in a commercial foliage nursery. ....................................16 2.1. Distribution of CaOx raphide idioblasts in Dieffenbachia x ‘Tropic Breeze’ leaf midrib free hand cross sections. ........................................................................23 2.2. Number of CaOx raphide idioblasts in basal half of leaf midrib of D. maculata 'Exotic Perfection' at different N levels under ebb-and-flow irrigation system.. .....24 2.3. Number of CaOx raphide idioblasts in basal half of leaf midrib of D. x 'Tropic Breeze' at different N levels under ebb-and-flow irrigation system and 285 µmol•m-2•s-1 light level......................................................................................25 2.4. Number of CaOx raphide idioblasts in basal half of leaf midrib of D. x 'Snow Flake' at different N levels under ebb-and-flow irrigation system and 285 µmol•m-2•s-1 light level......................................................................................26 2.5. Number of CaOx raphide idioblasts in basal half of leaf midrib of D. x 'Snow Flake' at different N levels under overhead irrigation system.......................27 2.6. Performance of D. x ‘Snow Flake’ under 3 N levels. ..............................................28 2.7. Number of CaOx raphide idioblasts in basal half of leaf midrib of D. x 'Tropic Breeze' at different N levels under ebb-and-flow irrigation system and 8 µmol•m-2•s-1 light level..........................................................................................29 2.8. Number of CaOx raphide idioblasts in basal half of leaf midrib of D. x 'Snow Flake' at different N levels under ebb-and-flow irrigation system and 8 µmol•m-2•s-1 light level……..................................................................................30 3.1. Cross section of the third internode of D.x ‘Star Bright’.........................................42 3.2. Density of CaOx druse and raphide idioblasts in stems of 3 Dieffenbachia cultivars. .. ................................................................................................................43 3.3. Cross section of the first internode of D. x ‘Star Bright’. ........................................44 3.4. Crystal sand observed in cross section of the second internode of D. maculata ‘Rebecca’. .................................................................................................................45 vi 3.5. Cross section of D. maculata ‘Carina’ spadix male flower zone.............................46 3.6. Cross section