More than 200 articles in WoS registered journals and up to dozens of chapters in monographs or monographs are published by the authors from the IB every year. Here, we present only a selection of some interesting results.
2023 l 2022 l 2021 l 2020 l 2019 l 2018 l 2017 l 2016 l 2015 l 2014 l 2013 l 2012 l 2011 l 2010 | 2009 l 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2001-2005
2024
1/ The finalization of the Flora of the Czech Republic completes a fifty-year botanical project
Under the coordination of the Institute of Botany, the final volume of the compendium Flora of the Czech Republic was published, thus completing a monumental, more than 50-year project of detailed revision of plant diversity. This nine-volume monograph represents the most comprehensive encyclopaedic work on the flora of this area. It includes not only all native species, but also naturalized, temporarily introduced, escaped from cultivation and frequently grown plants. In addition to the detailed descriptions of each species, it also focuses on their ecology, habitats, changes in distribution and practical importance. With its overall concept and depth of treatment, the Flora of the Czech Republic ranks among the most detailed floras in the world. It is a basic botanical monograph of Central Europe and an essential source of information also for foreign countries. The Czech Republic thus becomes one of the few countries globally that have a complete modern flora based on the monographic treatment of each genus by a taxonomic expert.
- Štěpánková J., Chrtek J. jun. & Kaplan Z. [eds] (2024): Květena České republiky. Vol. 9 [Flora of the Czech Republic. Vol. 9]. – Academia, Praha.
2/ DNA methylation in the wild: epigenetic transgenerational inheritance can mediate adaptation in clones of wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
Understanding how clonal plants adapt to rapid climate change is vital, yet studies addressing this question using wild populations and high-resolution molecular methods are lacking. Our research on Fragaria vesca, a predominantly clonal herb, bridges this gap by analysing genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptomic variation across 21 natural populations from distinct climatic regions and their clones grown in a common garden. We found that epigenetic variation, particularly in non-CG contexts, was partly linked to climate of origin and largely heritable across clonal generations. Notably, some epigenetic changes influenced gene expression related to growth and stress responses. These findings suggest that environmentally induced, heritable DNA methylation may enable clonal plant populations to adapt to changing conditions without genetic adaptation.
- Sammarco I., Díez Rodríguez B., Galanti D., Nunn A., Becker C., Bossdorf O., Münzbergová Z. & Latzel V. 2024: DNA methylation in the wild: epigenetic transgenerational inheritance can mediate adaptation in clones of wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca). New Phytologist 241, 1621 – 1635. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19464
A collection of 21 Fragaria vesca populations from Italy, Czechia, and Norway was grown in a standardized environment within the common garden of the Institute of Botany. These standardized plants were subjected to epigenetic and transcriptomic screening and compared to the epigenetic profiles of their parental populations from their sites of origin.
2023
1/ Plant community stability is associated with a decoupling of prokaryote and fungal soil networks
Soil microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining plant community stability. We found that plant communities on former agricultural soil promoted destabilising properties and were associated with coupled prokaryote and fungal soil networks. Conversely, plant communities on natural grassland soil exhibited high stability, associated with decoupled prokaryote and fungal soil networks. Therefore, plant community stability is associated with the decoupling of prokaryote and fungal soil networks.
- in ‘t Zandt D., Kolaříková Z., Cajthaml T. & Münzbergová Z. 2023: Plant community stability is associated with a decoupling of prokaryote and fungal soil networks. Nature Communications 14, 1-14, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39464-8
Conceptual framework reconciling the decoupling of prokaryote and fungal responses in buffering the propagation of local perturbation effects resulting in stable and unstable communities.
2/ Small genome size supports the naturalization of plants but constrains their invasive spread
By testing the effects of genome size and ploidy levels on plant naturalization and invasion, using ~11,000 species, we found that large genome constrains naturalization but favours invasion. A small genome is an advantage during naturalization, being linked to traits favouring adaptation to local conditions, but for invasive spread, traits associated with a large holoploid genome, where the impact of polyploidy may act, facilitate long-distance dispersal and competition with other species.
- Pyšek P., Lučanová M., Dawson W., Essl F., Kreft H., Leitch I., Lenzner B.., Meyerson L. A., Pergl J., van Kleunen M., Weigelt P., Winter M. & Guo W.-Y. 2023: Small genome size and variation in ploidy levels support the naturalization of vascular plants but constrain their invasive spread. New Phytologist 239, 2389 – 2403. doi:10.1111/NPH.19135
Small genome supports successful naturalization but constrains invasion where plants with large genome are most successful.
3/Hormonal imbalance is behind the advantageous but rare ability of root sprouting
Root sprouting is an advantageous but rare ability allowing clonal growth and regeneration after injury, even after fragmentation of the root system. This ability is typical of perennial weeds of arable land. In experiments with pairs of related plants differing in this ability, we confirmed the hypothesis that root sprouting species have a lower ratio of auxin to cytokinin than their relatives. However, most plants avoid this low ratio in order to avoid the risk of developmental deformations.
- Martínková J., Klimeš A., Motyka V., Adamec L., Dobrev P. I., Filepová R., Gaudinová A., Lacek J., Marešová I. & Klimešová J. 2023: Why is root sprouting not more common among plants? Phytohormonal clues and ecological correlates. Environmental and Experimental Botany 205, 1 – 11. doi:10.1016/j.envexpbot.2022.105147
- Martínková J., Motyka V., Bitomský M., Adamec L., Dobrev P. I., Filartiga A., Filepová R., Gaudinová A., Lacek J. & Klimešová J. 2023: What determines root-sprouting ability: Injury or phytohormones? American Journal of Botany 110, 1 – 12. doi:10.1002/ajb2.16102
Related plants differing in their ability to resprout from roots after disturbance. Above, a plant capable of branching from the roots, and below, a plant without this ability. A, D – plants before disturbance; B, E – plants in which the above-ground biomass was removed; C, F – plants regenerating after disturbance.
2022
Evolution of the plant body in relation to drought
Natural selection by drought led plant vascular form to diversify in early evolution, as plants grew larger and spread on dry land. Network analysis of the conducting tissues of living, fossil, and idealised plants shows that drought acts to increase vascular complexity with plant size. This major reinterpretation of a key episode in plant evolution also answers the hundred-year-old question of their vascular complexity. It may find applications in breeding resistant crops.
- Bouda, M. Huggett, K. Prats, J. Wason, J. Wilson, C. Brodersen. (2022) Hydraulic failure as a primary driver of xylem network evolution in early vascular plants. Science. 378(6620): 642-646. doi: 10.1126/science.add2910
Fossilised stem of Dernbachia brasiliensis, a tree fern of the Permian (250-300 million years ago). Water-conducting tissue highlighted in blue. [© Ludwig Luthardt, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. CC-BY licence.]
