Induced apogamy in Tmesipteris (Psilotaceae)

Gametophytes of Tmesipteris lanceolata Dang., which are mycorrhizal in nature, were grown in axenic culture. If cultured in the light on a nutrient medium containing minerals and 0.5% glucose, they did not become photosynthetic; however, about 15% of them produced apogamous sporophytes with stems and microphylls. The gametophyte–sporophyte junction had a direct connection between the gametophyte and sporophyte tissues and lacked a foot, which is typical for apogamy. Gametangia were limited to the gametophyte portions of these gametophyte–sporophyte growths, and the vascular tissue was present only in the sporophyte regions. The apogamous aerial stems had the normal anatomy for a sporophyte, with vascular tissue, epidermal cells, stomata, and chlorenchyma. The origin of the apogamous sporophytes was different from the origin in fern gametophytes. The Tmesipteris sporophytes arose terminally from the gametophyte apices. It appears that the apical meristem of the gametophyte is converted to a shoot apical meristem to form the apogamous aerial shoot.Key words: Tmesipteris, Psilotaceae, apogamy, sporophyte, gametophyte.