Micro-morphological and Morphometric Attributes Analysis of Brachysclereids (Stone Cells) on Fruit Mesocarp Cells of Six Selected Taxa of Diospyros L. in the Family Ebenaceae Based on Analytical Microscopy: A Systematic Approach

Abstract

Micro-attributes have an important systematics tool for plant identification and classification now-a-days. Brachysclereid (Stone Cell) was studied in six species belonging to genus Diospyros (D. ebenum, D. sylvatica, D. melanoxylon, D. kaki, D. blancoi, D. peregrina) under the family Ebenaceae.  Light Microscope and Scanning Electron Microscope was used for anatomy and ultrastructural study of brachysclereid. Phenetic relationships of Diospyros species were studied by cluster analysis through UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Groups Method with Arithmetic Average). The species are grouped in two groups, 'A' and 'B', and a cluster labelled 'X' on the phylogenetic tree. The important characteristics of the brachysclereid include some quantitative characters (Shape, Sclereid cell layers, Sclereid cell cluster number, Cluster crystal, Porosity of the stone cells, Lumen shape, Sclereids arrangement) and some quantitative characters (Sclereid cell length, Sclereid cell width, Sclereid index and Sclereid cell lumen diameter). Within a species, almost all of the traits under study showed little variation. Principal Componant Analysis (PCA) was applied using all polymorphic characteristics. The PCA revealed that sclereid index, Sclereid cell layer, Sclereid cell width, Sclereid cell lumen diameter. Sclereid index and Sclereid cell layer strongly influence Principal Component-1 (PC1). Principal componant1 (PC-1) and Principal Componant-2 (PC-2) jointly explain 77.41%.