RESUMO
Plant fertility is a central subject of many questions in plant evolutionary and conservation biology. Pollen availability, abiotic resources, and flowering pattern can limit fruit and seed production. Open pollination and pollen supplementation studies are used to estimate any pollen limitation in natural populations. To study the impact of these factors on the reproductive success of Vriesea gigantea, an epiphytic bromeliad in the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil, its fertility in four natural populations in Itapuã State Park was assessed by considering plant and inflorescence size, flower production, fruit and seed set, flower and fruit set pattern, and seed viability and germination rate. Supplemental pollination in adult plants was used to determine whether fruit production in V. gigantea is limited by reception of pollen. The results showed that V. gigantea has a high production of flowers, fruits, and seeds. Seeds are highly viable in all populations, presenting an average germination rate of 94% (SE ± 3.5). Plants of V. gigantea from Itapuã State Park are highly fertile. The high proportion of fruit and seed set after manual hand pollination indicates that the species is self-compatible. Pollination treatments showed evidence of pollinator limitation in the Itapuã State Park population.
RESUMO
Homogenates of human platelets can mediate the synthesis of phosphatidylinositol from myoinositol and cytidine diphosphate diglyceride. The cytidine diphosphate diglyceride: myoinositol, phosphatidyl transferase activity is particulate-bound, and the highest specific activity is found in the membrane fraction. The production of phosphatidylinositol is decreased by sulfhydryl-binding agents, and the addition of thiols to the platelet homogenates increases the enzymatic activity. The reaction exhibits a pH optimum of 8.5-9.0. Divalent cations stimulate the reaction, and manganous chloride was the most effective of those investigated. The K(m) of the enzyme for myoinositol is 0.27 mM, and the K(m) for cytidine diphosphate diglyceride is 0.53 mM. The enzymatic activity of platelets isolated from patients with several diseases known to interfere with platelet clotpromoting function is similar to the enzymatic activity of platelets from normal donors.
