Utricularia gibba
Utricularia gibba | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Lentibulariaceae |
Genus: | Utricularia |
Subgenus: | Utricularia subg. Utricularia |
Section: | Utricularia sect. Utricularia |
Species: | U. gibba
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Binomial name | |
Utricularia gibba | |
Synonyms | |
Utricularia exoleta R. Br.[2] |
Utricularia gibba, commonly known as the humped bladderwort or floating bladderwort, is a small, mat-forming species of
It is found on all continents except Antarctica.U. gibba has an exceptionally small
Description
Utricularia gibba is an
Inflorescences are erect and typically emerge from the water to about 20 cm (8 in) tall, though in some cases they can be submerged and produce cleistogamous flowers. Inflorescences can produce anywhere from one to twelve flowers but it is unusual to see anything other than two to six flowers per inflorescence. Individual flowers are yellow, often with reddish-brown nerves, and are split into two lips: the upper lip is almost circular and weakly separated into three lobes while the lower lip is slightly smaller, also circular, and has a rounded, bilobed swelling in the center. The spur is narrowly conical or cylindrical and curves down below the flower, varying in length from being just shorter than to noticeably longer than the lower lip. Utricularia gibba will flower throughout the year whenever conditions are favorable.[6] Flowers, specifically the corolla, vary in size across this species' large distribution from 0.8 to 1.5 cm (0.3 to 0.6 in).[7]
The diploid chromosome number for U. gibba is 2n = 28.[6]
Distribution and habitat
Utricularia gibba has a vast geographic range and is native to the eastern United States, southeastern Canada, Central America, the Caribbean, the western Mediterranean, Southern Africa and southern India.[8][9] It is considered an invasive species in Hawai'i, Australia, Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, Singapore, Serbia, Hungary and the United Kingdom.[8][9][10]
It grows in ponds and lakes or shallow water in ditches, pools, bogs, swamps, and marshes that may be still or slowly flowing. It can sometimes be found growing in deep water but will not flower unless the inflorescences are supported near the surface by living or dead vegetation.[6] The waters in which it grows are typically poor in available phosphorus and nitrogen.
Genetic efficiency
In 2013, the
Utricularia gibba and the
Compared to Arabidopsis, the introns of Utricularia gibba are somewhat fewer in number per gene, and conserved cis-acting elements of its promoters are compressed.[4] Most critical genes have returned to single copy status.[4] However, the mitochondrial and plastid genomes of U. gibba do not appear to be compressed relative to those of other angiosperms.[4] The compression of its nuclear DNA is thought to have occurred via both numerous microdeletions and some large-scale recombinant deletions.[4] The presence of numerous GC-rich sequences throughout the nuclear genome of U. gibba is considered to have created a molecular mechanistic bias in favor of deletions, but this does not preclude the presence of a selection pressure to preserve such deletions.[4]
Trap formation is induced in U. gibba by low phosphorus but not low nitrogen,[4] indicating that phosphorus availability is more limiting in its environment. It had also been previously proposed that an increased mutation rate due to greater environmental mutagen exposure could have increased natural selection for loss of unneeded DNA, but no evidence for this was found in the relative mutational diversities of U. gibba and Arabidopsis.[4]
It is possible that the genome duplication events and low-phosphorus environment acted in concert with one another: that the three whole genome duplications that occurred in U. gibba enabled the selective pressure of a phosphorus-poor environment to reduce total DNA without the deletion of important genes.[12]
Cultivation
Utricularia gibba has the reputation of being one of the easier aquatic bladderworts to grow, often being described as a weed in cultivation. In his 1998 book The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants, Peter D'Amato advised that successful cultivation could be achieved with U. gibba floating in a small cup or bowl, within waterlogged peat, or even among the water-filled trays of other plants. It can also easily be grown in aquaria.[7][13]
See also
References
- . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ a b R. Rowe & E. A. Brown. "New South Wales Flora Online: Utricularia gibba". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Utricularia gibba". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- ^ PMID 23665961.
- ^ Bruce Salmon (2001) "Carnivorous Plants of New Zealand" Ecosphere Publications
- ^ ISBN 978-0-947643-72-0
- ^ ISBN 0-88192-540-3
- ^ a b "Humped Bladderwort". IUCN Redlist.
- ^ a b "Utricularia gibba". www.cabi.org. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
- ^ "Utricularia gibba L." www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
- ^ a b c Gabrielsen, Paul (12 May 2013). "ScienceShot: Carnivorous Plant Ejects Junk DNA". Science NOW. AAAS. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ISBN 978-0544859937.
- ISBN 0-89815-915-6