Lack of conspecific visual discrimination between second-year males and females in the Saffron Finch.

Sexually dichromatic birds often show delayed plumage maturation, but second-year (SY) males may or may not be distinguishable from females. In competitive contexts, SY males receive a reduced amount of adult males' aggression, either by mimicking females or through signaling their sex and inexperience as subordinate males. To the human eye, reproductive dull SY male Saffron Finches are indistinguishable from females, whereas after second-year (ASY) males are golden yellow. Our aim is to establish whether SY males are sexually dichromatic with females to the eye of conspecifics. We describe plumage variation in females, SY and ASY males and, in particular, analyze assortative mating by color by comparing a previously disregarded yellow feather patch shared by the three groups. We measured plumage reflectance of the forehead, breast, belly, and axillaries, and used a two-step avian visual model analysis to estimate the ability of Saffron Finches to distinguish between SY males and females. We find that those groups are indistinguishable to conspecifics by color. Furthermore, we find non-significant evidence of assortative mating directly related to the coloration of comparable feather patches between females and each type of male, though body condition of SY males is associated to that of their mates. Our results are compatible with both the female-mimicry and the status signaling hypotheses of evolution and maintenance of delayed plumage maturation. However, the singing behavior of males reveals their presence within the breeding site; the combined effect of song and dull coloration suggest that SY males are honestly revealing their sex and status to conspecifics.

Anti-inflammatory properties of drugs from saffron crocus.

The medicinal uses of saffron (Crocus sativus Linnaeus) have a long history beginning in Asian countries since the Late Bronze Age. Recent studies have validated its potential to lower the risk of several diseases. Some metabolites derived from saffron stigmas exert numerous therapeutic effects due to hypolipidemic, antitussive, antioxidant, antidiabetic activities and many others. Water and ethanol extracts of Crocus sativus L. are cardioprotective and counteract neurodegenerative disorders. Many of these medicinal properties of saffron can be attributed to a number of its compounds such as crocetin, crocins and other substances having strong antioxidant and radical scavenger properties against a variety of radical oxygen species and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Botany, worldwide spreading of cultivars, biochemical pathways, active constituents and chemical detection methods are reviewed. Therapeutic uses of saffron principles with particular regard to those exhibiting antioxidant and thus anti-inflammatory features are discussed. To date, very few adverse health effects of saffron have been demonstrated. At high doses (more than 5 g/die day), it should be avoided in pregnancy owing to its uterine stimulation activity.

In vitro cormlet production of saffron (Crocus sativus L. Kashmirianus) and their flowering response under greenhouse.

A complete protocol for the saffron cormlet production under in vitro conditions and subsequent flowering under greenhouse conditions is described. Highest number of cormlets (70.0 ± 0.30) per corm slice (explant) could be regenerated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) half strength medium supplemented with thidiazuron (TDZ) (20 µM), Indole acetic acid (IAA) (10 µM), and sucrose (40 g/l). Maximum germination (90%) of these cormlets could be achieved on MS medium containing 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP) (20 µM) and α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) (15 µM). In order to increase the size of the in vitro raised cormlets, these were cultured on MS medium containing TDZ (15 µM) and IAA in the range of 1.5-30 µM. Maximum increase in cormlet size could be attained on TDZ (15 µM) + IAA (12.5 µM) + sucrose (30 g/l), and the average size of cormlets was 2.5g. In another experiment, apical vegetative buds of actively growing corms were cultured for cormlet development, and corms of size 2.5g could be developed on MS medium with NAA (15 µM), BAP (20 µM), and sucrose (30 g/l). The in vitro developed cormlets were dried under shade at 25 ± 2°C for 7 d. These were then planted in small cups containing clay loam soil and kept in green house at 20 ± 2°C. In vitro developed cormlets with mean weight 2.5 g showed maximum flowering (25%) as well as vegetative growth (55%), while only 19% cormlets of 2.0 g flowered. To our knowledge this is the first report on successful flowering from in vitro raised cormlets under greenhouse.

The study of the E-class SEPALLATA3-like MADS-box genes in wild-type and mutant flowers of cultivated saffron crocus (Crocus sativus L.) and its putative progenitors.

To further understand flowering and flower organ formation in the monocot crop saffron crocus (Crocus sativus L.), we cloned four MIKC(c) type II MADS-box cDNA sequences of the E-class SEPALLATA3 (SEP3) subfamily designated CsatSEP3a/b/c/c_as as well as the three respective genomic sequences. Sequence analysis showed that cDNA sequences of CsatSEP3 c and c_as are the products of alternative splicing of the CsatSEP3c gene. Bioinformatics analysis with putative orthologous sequences from various plant species suggested that all four cDNA sequences encode for SEP3-like proteins with characteristic motifs and amino acids, and highlighted intriguing sequence features. Phylogenetically, the isolated sequences were closest to the SEP3-like genes from monocots such as Asparagus virgatus, Oryza sativa, Zea mays, and the dicot Arabidopsis SEP3 gene. All four isolated C. sativus sequences were strongly expressed in flowers and in all flower organs: whorl1 tepals, whorl2 tepals, stamens and carpels, but not in leaves. Expression of CsatSEP3a/b/c/c_as cDNAs was compared in wild-type and mutant flowers. Expression of the isolatedCsatSEP3-like genes in whorl1 tepals together with E-class CsatAP1/FUL subfamily and B-class CsatAP3 and CsatPI subfamilies of genes, fits the ABCE "quartet model," an extended form of the original ABC model proposed to explain the homeotic transformation of whorl1 sepals into whorl1 tepals in Liliales and Asparagales plants such as C. sativus. This conclusion was also supported by the interaction of the CsatSEP3b protein with CsatAP1/FUL and CsatAP3 proteins. In contrast, expression of both B-class CsatAP3 and CsatPI genes and the C-class CsatAGAMOUS genes together with E-class CsatSEP3-like genes in carpels, without any phenotypic effects on carpels, raises questions about the role of these gene classes in carpel formation in this non-grass monocot and requires further experimentation. Finally, taking advantage of the size and sequence differences in amplified genomic sequences of the triploid C. sativus and comparing them with the respective sequences from C. tomasii, C. hadriaticus and C. cartwrightianus, three putative wild-type diploid progenitor species, we examined the origin of CsatSEP3a sequence.

Changes of antioxidant enzyme activities and isoenzyme profiles during in vitro shoot formation in saffron (Crocus sativus L.).

Among the different concentrations of Thidiazuron (TDZ) and between the two media Gamborg (B5) and Murashige and Skoog (MS), the highest frequency of shoot formation could be seen in the MS medium with TDZ concentration of 4.54 microM. Among the different concentrations of Naphtalene acetic acid (NAA) and Benzyl adenine (BA) in the two aforementioned media, the maximum proliferation and rooting of saffron shoots were obtained in a B5 medium containing 2.22 microM NAA and 2.68 microM BA. Peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), esterase (EST) and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) measurements proved that all the enzymes had a similar pattern of changes, according to which their concentrations increased in the first stages of development and then decreased. The same pattern was observed for polyphenoloxidase in a B5 medium while in the MS medium a reverse pattern was observed. The enzyme concentration decreased and then increased during shoot formation. The results show the principal role of antioxidant enzymes in the complicated process of organogenesis.