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Despite increasing interest in the molecular mechanisms of floral diversity, few studies have investigated the developmental and genetic bases of petaloid bracts. This study examined morphological patterns of bract initiation and expression patterns of B-class MADS-box genes in bracts of several Cornus species. We suggest that petaloid bracts in this genus may not share a single evolutionary origin. Developmental pathways of bracts and spatiotemporal expression of B-class genes in bracts and flowers were examined for four closely related dogwood species. Divergent morphological progressions and gene expression patterns were found in the two sister lineages with petaloid bracts, represented by Cornus florida and Cornus canadensis. Phylogeny-based analysis identified developmental and gene expression changes that are correlated with the evolution of petaloid bracts in C. florida and C. canadensis. Our data support the existence of independent evolutionary origins of petaloid bracts in C. canadensis and C. florida. Additionally, we suggest that functional transference within B-class gene families may have contributed to the origin of bract petaloidy in C. florida. However, the underlying mechanisms of petaloid bract development likely differ between C. florida and C. canadensis. In the future this hypothesis can be tested by functional analyses of Cornus B-class genes.

TFL1-, AP1- and LFY-like genes are known to be key regulators of inflorescence development. However, it remains to be tested whether the evolutionary modifications of inflorescence morphology result from shifts in their expression patterns. We compared the spatiotemporal expression patterns of CorTFL1, CorAP1 and CorLFY in six closely related Cornus species that display four types of closed inflorescence morphology using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and RNA in situ hybridization. Character mapping on the phylogeny was conducted to identify evolutionary changes and to assess the correlation between changes in gene expression and inflorescence morphology. Results demonstrated variation of gene expression patterns among species and a strong correlation between CorTFL1 expression and the branch index of the inflorescence type. Evolutionary changes in CorTFL1 and CorAP1 expression co-occurred on the phylogeny with the morphological changes underpinning inflorescence divergence. The study found a clear correlation between the expression patterns of CorTFL1 and CorAP1 and the inflorescence architecture in a natural system displaying closed inflorescences. The results suggest a role for the alteration in CorTFL1 and CorAP1 expression during the evolutionary modification of inflorescences in Cornus. We propose that a TFL1-like and AP1-like gene-based model may explain variation of closed inflorescences in Cornus and other lineages.

Camptotheca is endemic to China and there are limited data about the breeding system and morphogenesis of the flowers. Camptotheca is thought to be related to Nyssa and Davidia in Nyssaceae, which has sometimes been included in Cornaceae. However, molecular phylogenetic studies confirmed the inclusion of Camptotheca in Nyssaceae and its exclusion from Cornaceae. The aim of this study was to reveal developmental features of the inflorescence and flowers in Camptotheca to compare with related taxa in Cornales. Inflorescences and flowers of Camptotheca acuminata at all developmental stages were collected and studied with a scanning electron microscope and stereo microscope. Camptotheca has botryoids which are composed of several capitate floral units (FUs) that are initiated acropetally. On each FU, flowers are grouped in dyads that are initiated acropetally. All floral organs are initiated centripetally. Calyx lobes are restricted to five teeth. The hypanthium, with five toothed calyx lobes, is adnate to the ovary. The five petals are free and valvate. Ten stamens are inserted in two whorls around the central depression, in which the style is immersed. Three carpels are initiated independently but the ovary is syncarpous and unilocular. The ovule is unitegmic and heterotropous. Inflorescences are functionally andromonoecious varying with the position of the FUs on the inflorescence system. Flowers on the upper FU often have robust styles and fully developed ovules. Flowers on the lower FU have undeveloped styles and aborted ovules, and the flowers on the middle FU are transitional. Camptotheca possesses several traits that unify it with Nyssa, Mastixia and Diplopanax. Inflorescence and floral characters support a close relationship with Nyssaceae and Mastixiaceae but a distant relationship with Cornus. Our results corroborate molecular inferences and support a separate family Nyssaceae.

Atherosclerosis is the major cause of morbidities and mortalities worldwide. In this study we aimed to review the mechanism of atherosclerosis and its risk factors, focusing on new findings in atherosclerosis markers and its risk factors. Furthermore, the role of antioxidants and medicinal herbs in atherosclerosis and endothelial damage has been discussed and a list of important medicinal plants effective in the treatment and prevention of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis is presented. The recently published papers about atherosclerosis pathogenesis and herbal medicines effective in the treatment and prevention of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis were searched. Inflammation has a crucial role in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The disease is accompanied by excessive fibrosis of the intima, fatty plaques formation, proliferation of smooth muscle cells, and migration of a group of cells such as monocytes, T cells, and platelets which are formed in response to inflammation. The oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) to Ox-LDL indicates the first step of atherosclerosis in cardiovascular diseases. Malondialdehyde factor shows the level of lipoperoxidation and is a sign of increased oxidative pressure and cardiovascular diseases. In special pathological conditions such as severe hypercholesterolemia, peroxynitrite concentration increases and atherosclerosis and vascular damage are intensified. Medicinal plants have shown to be capable of interacting these or other pathogenesis factors to prevent atherosclerosis. The pathogenesis factors involved in atherosclerosis have recently been cleared and the discovery of these factors has brought about new hopes for better prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.

Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc. is part of the genus Cornus of the family Cornaceae . Ripening and dry fruits ( Corni Fructus ) are recognized as an essential herb medicine in the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and have been widely used for over 2000 years. This review provides a comprehensive summary of Corni Fructus (CF), including the botany, phytochemistry, traditional use, and current pharmacological activities. According to the basic theory of TCM, CF usually participates in various Chinese medicinal formulae to exert the essential roles in replenishing liver and kidney, arresting seminal emission and sweat. Based on modern pharmacological studies, about 90 compounds have been isolated and identified from CF. In vivo and in vitro experimental studies indicate that CF exhibits extensive pharmacological activities including hypoglycemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, and nephroprotective activities. However, only about 18% of chemical constituents in CF were tested. It means the potential pharmacological activities and clinical values of CF need to be further investigated.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The basal asterid clade Cornales radiated during the Late Cretaceous. However, our understanding of early evolutionary patterns and relationships remain obscure. New data from five permineralized fruits in calcareous concretions from the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian-Santonian) Haborogawa Formation, Hokkaido, Japan provide anatomical details that aid our knowledge of the group. METHODS: Specimens were studied from cellulose acetate peels, and three-dimensional reconstructions were rendered using AVIZO. KEY RESULTS: Fruits are drupaceous, roughly pyriform, 2.9-4.3 mm in diameter, with a fleshy mesocarp, transition sclereids, and a stony endocarp of four to five locules, with the septa forming a cross or star-like pattern in transverse section, distinct germination valves, and one apically attached anatropous seed per locule. Vascular tissue occurs in zones between the mesocarp and exocarp, in two rows within the septa, and prominent seed bundles can be traced throughout the fruit sections. Seeds have a single integumentary layer of radially flattened square to rectangular cells and copious cellular endosperm. A fully formed, straight, cellular dicotyledonous embryo, with closely appressed, spathulate cotyledons, is present within each seed. CONCLUSIONS: The unique combination of characters shown by these fruits is found in Comaceae, Curtisiaceae, and Davidiaceae and allows us to describe a new taxon of Cornales, Eydeia hokkaidoensis gen. et sp. nov., with many similarities to extant Davidia involucrata. These fossils underscore the phylogenetic diversification of Cornales that was underway during the Late Cretaceous and support the hypothesis that a Davidia-Wke fruit morphology is plesiomorphic within Cornales.

Climate change has led to major changes in the phenology (the timing of seasonal activities, such as flowering) of some species but not others. The extent to which flowering-time response to temperature is shared among closely related species might have important consequences for community-wide patterns of species loss under rapid climate change. Henry David Thoreau initiated a dataset of the Concord, Massachusetts, flora that spans [almost equal to]150 years and provides information on changes in species abundance and flowering time. When these data are analyzed in a phylogenetic context, they indicate that change in abundance is strongly correlated with flowering-time response. Species that do not respond to temperature have decreased greatly in abundance, and include among others anemones and buttercups [Ranunculaceae pro parte (p.p.)], asters and campanulas (Asterales), bluets (Rubiaceae p.p.), bladderworts (Lentibulariaceae), dogwoods (Cornaceae), lilies (Liliales), mints (Lamiaceae p.p.), orchids (Orchidaceae), roses (Rosaceae p.p.), saxifrages (Saxifragales), and violets (Malpighiales). Because flowering-time response traits are shared among closely related species, our findings suggest that climate change has affected and will likely continue to shape the phylogenetically biased pattern of species loss in Thoreau's woods.

We isolated a new ellagitannin, davicratinic acid A (5), together with four known ellagitannins, davidiin (1), granatin A (2), pedunculagin (3), and 3-O-galloylgranatin A (4), from an aqueous acetone extract of dried Davidia involucrata leaves. The known ellagitannins were identified based on spectroscopic data. The structure of davicratinic acid A (5), a monomeric ellagitannin possessing a unique, skew-boat glucopyranose core, was established based on spectroscopic data. Additionally, we examined the effects of several tannins with good yields from this plant on drug-resistant bacteria and human oral squamous cell carcinomas, and found that davidiin (1) exhibited the most potent antibacterial and antitumor properties among the tannins examined.

Key message A multi-parallel approach gauging the mass spectrometry-based metabolite fingerprinting coupled with bioactivity and pathway evaluations could serve as an efficacious tool for inferring plant taxonomic orders. Thirty-four species from three plant families, namely Cornaceae (7), Fabaceae (9), and Rosaceae (18) were subjected to metabolite profiling using gas chromatography–time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (GC–TOF-MS) and ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography–linear trap quadrupole-ion trap-mass spectrometry (UHPLC–LTQ-IT-MS/MS), followed by multivariate analyses to determine the metabolites characteristic of these families. The partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) revealed the distinct clustering pattern of metabolites for each family. The pathway analysis further highlighted the relatively higher proportions of flavonols and ellagitannins in the Cornaceae family than in the other two families. Higher levels of phenolic acids and flavan-3-ols were observed among species from the Rosaceae family, while amino acids, flavones, and isoflavones were more abundant among the Fabaceae family members. The antioxidant activities of plant extracts were measured using ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP assays, and indicated that extracts from the Rosaceae family had the highest activity, followed by those from Cornaceae and Fabaceae. The correlation map analysis positively links the proportional concentration of metabolites with their relative antioxidant activities, particularly in Cornaceae and Rosaceae. This work highlights the pre-eminence of the multi-parallel approach involving metabolite profiling and bioactivity evaluations coupled with metabolic pathways as an efficient methodology for the evaluation of plant phylogenies.

Big-bracted dogwoods are popular ornamental trees known for their beautiful spring blooms with showy bracts and four-season appeal. The two most widely grown species are Cornus florida and Cornus kousa , native to Eastern North America and East Asia. Despite their horticultural prominence, there is little information available regarding genetic diversity, population structure, relatedness, and subspecies origins of dogwood cultivars. In this study, 313 cultivars, wild-collected plants, and Rutgers University breeding selections, focusing on C . florida , C . kousa , and interspecific hybrids, were genotyped using restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) generating thousands of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and insertion deletion (Indel) markers. The research results showed high genetic diversity among C . florida and C . kousa wild-collected plants and cultivars. For C . florida , pink-bracted plants formed a distinct clade from those with white-bracts with the Mexican C . florida ssp. urbiniana forming an outgroup. For C . kousa , Chinese-collected plants (ssp. chinensis ) were a distinct subspecies with clear separation from Japanese and Korean accessions (ssp. kousa ) and cultivars were designated as ssp. chinensis , ssp. kousa , or ssp. hybrid. Using this information, a Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) assay genotyping panel was designed to determine C . kousa trees’ subspecies makeup. Results revealed many cases of genetically identical cultivars being sold under different names, especially for pink-bracted cultivars of both species. Additionally, reported parent-progeny relationships were evaluated and either validated or discredited. Finally, the hybrid germplasm analysis validated pedigrees of interspecific F1 hybrids and found many of the recent Rutgers breeding selections contain small regions of pacific dogwood ( C . nuttallii ) DNA introgressed into C . kousa backgrounds. This diversity study elucidates origins, diversity, and relationships of a large population of big-bracted dogwoods. The results can inform plant breeders, arboreta, and the ornamental plant industry, as most modern cultivars and popular historic cultivars are represented.