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Forests
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Wood Growth and Structure
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Wood Growth and Structure

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Wood Science and Forest Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (17 June 2022) | Viewed by 11817

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Kei'ichi Baba

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
RISH, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto, Japan
Interests: wood formation; annual rhythms; vascular system; tissue structure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wood is a useful material formed from tree trunks and is a major product of forests. Depending on the tree species, wood shows different colors, structures, and physical properties, and a usage suitable for each species has been developed. On the other hand, even with the same species, different properties and/or textures of wood are formed depending on the forest area, environmental conditions, and so on. In the process of wood growth and structure within the tree trunk, there exists a combination of genetically programmed parts and parts that are a response to environmental factors. The biological mechanism of how trees control wood growth, cell type, cell size, cell wall thickness, etc., is important to understanding the differences of the properties of the wood for each tree species, to care for forest trees, to restore the paleoenvironment, etc. The aim of this issue is to provide recent topics on the growth and structure of wood in tree trunks.

Dr. Kei'ichi Baba
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • cambium
  • xylem
  • annual ring
  • annual cycle
  • dormancy
  • environment
  • tissue structure
  • gene expression
  • circadian rhythms
  • cell wall

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 5569 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study of Intra-Ring Anatomical Variation in Populus alba L. with Respect to Changes in Temperature and Day-Length Conditions
by Kei’ichi Baba, Yuko Kurita and Tetsuro Mimura
Forests 2022, 13(7), 1151; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13071151 - 21 Jul 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1962
Abstract
There are various studies on annual ring structural variations in plants grown in the field under varying meteorological statistics. However, related experimental approach is limited, hitherto. In this study, complete artificial conditions with growth chambers were adopted to evaluate the influence of day [...] Read more.
There are various studies on annual ring structural variations in plants grown in the field under varying meteorological statistics. However, related experimental approach is limited, hitherto. In this study, complete artificial conditions with growth chambers were adopted to evaluate the influence of day length and temperature on intra-ring structure formation. The basic artificial growing conditions have been previously reported as “shortened annual cycle system”, which consisted of the following three stages mimicking seasons approximately: Stage 1, spring/summer; Stage 2, autumn; and Stage 3, winter. This system shortens an annual cycle of Populus alba to 5 months. In this study, Stage 2 was modified in two ways: one was a condition in which the temperature was fixed and the day length was gradually shortened, and the other was a condition with a fixed day length and gradually lowered temperature. In the former condition, the cell wall of fibers thickened from the middle of the ring, and the vessel diameter became smaller from the same position. The wood in the latter condition appeared more natural in terms of wall thickness and vessel shape; however, the thickness of the wall reduced in the starting position of Stage 2. It may have been caused by the shortage of material for cell production under a high temperature but a short day length. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wood Growth and Structure)
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20 pages, 12350 KiB  
Article
Tissue Structure Changes of Aquilaria sinensis Xylem after Fungus Induction
by Yuxin Liu, Mengji Qiao, Yunlin Fu, Penglian Wei, Yingjian Li and Zhigao Liu
Forests 2022, 13(1), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13010043 - 1 Jan 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2321
Abstract
In this study, we analyzed the mechanism and the process of fungal-induced agarwood formation in Aquilaria sinensis and studied the functional changes in the xylem structure after the process. The microscopic structure of the white zone, transition zone, agarwood zone, and decay zone [...] Read more.
In this study, we analyzed the mechanism and the process of fungal-induced agarwood formation in Aquilaria sinensis and studied the functional changes in the xylem structure after the process. The microscopic structure of the white zone, transition zone, agarwood zone, and decay zone of 12-and 18-months of inoculation A. sinensis xylem was studied. The distribution of nuclei, starch grains, soluble sugars, sesquiterpenes, fungal propagules, and mycelium in xylem tissues was investigated by histochemical analysis. The results show that the process of agarwood formation was accompanied by apoptosis of parenchyma cells such as interxylary phloem, xylem rays, and axial parenchyma. Regular changes in the conversion of starch grains to soluble sugars, the production of sesquiterpenoids, and other characteristic components of agarwood in various types of parenchyma cells were also observed. The material transformation was concentrated in the interxylary phloem, providing a structural and material basis for the formation of agarwood. It is the core part of the production of sesquiterpenoids and other characteristic products of agarwood. Compared with the A. sinensis inoculated for 12 months, the xylem of the A. sinensis inoculated for 18 months was more vigorous. There were no significant differences between the 12 and 18 months of inoculation in terms of sugars and agarwood characteristic products. In production, harvesting after 12 months of inoculation can improve harvesting efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wood Growth and Structure)
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17 pages, 104499 KiB  
Article
3D Visualization of Bamboo Node’s Vascular Bundle
by Shan Li, Shumin Yang, Lili Shang, Xinge Liu, Jianfeng Ma, Qianli Ma and Genlin Tian
Forests 2021, 12(12), 1799; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12121799 - 17 Dec 2021
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4912
Abstract
The vascular bundle is an important structural unit that determines the growth and properties of bamboo. A high-resolution X-ray microtomography (μCT) was used to observe and reconstruct a three-dimensional (3D) morphometry model of the vascular bundle of the Qiongzhuea tumidinoda node due to [...] Read more.
The vascular bundle is an important structural unit that determines the growth and properties of bamboo. A high-resolution X-ray microtomography (μCT) was used to observe and reconstruct a three-dimensional (3D) morphometry model of the vascular bundle of the Qiongzhuea tumidinoda node due to its advantages of quick, nondestructive, and accurate testing of plant internal structure. The results showed that the morphology of vascular bundles varied significantly in the axial direction. In the cross-section, the number of axial vascular bundles reached a maximum at the lower end of the sheath scar, and the minimum of it was at the middle of the diaphragm. The frequency of axial vascular bundles decreased from the lower end of the node to the nodal ridge, and subsequently increased until the upper end of the bamboo node. The proportion of parenchyma, fibers, and conducting tissue was 65.7%, 30.5%, and 3.8%, respectively. The conducting tissues were intertwined to form a complex 3D network structure, with a connectivity of 94.77%. The conducting tissue with the largest volume accounted for 60.26% of the total volume of the conducting tissue. The 3D-distribution pattern of the conducting tissue of the node and that of the fibers were similar, but their thickness changed in the opposite pattern. This study revealed the 3D morphometry of the conducting tissue and fibers of the bamboo node, the reconstruction of the skeleton made the morphology more intuitive. Quantitative indicators such as the 3D volume, proportion, and connectivity of each type of tissue was obtained, the bamboo node was enlarged mainly caused by the particularly developed fibers. This work laid the foundation for a better understanding of the mechanical properties and water transportation of bamboo and revealed the mystery of bamboo node shedding of Q. tumidinoda. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wood Growth and Structure)
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14 pages, 3885 KiB  
Article
Functional Characterisation of the Poplar Atypical Aspartic Protease Gene PtAP66 in Wood Secondary Cell Wall Deposition
by Shenquan Cao, Cong Wang, Huanhuan Ji, Mengjie Guo, Jiyao Cheng, Yuxiang Cheng and Chuanping Yang
Forests 2021, 12(8), 1002; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12081002 - 28 Jul 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1842
Abstract
Secondary cell wall (SCW) deposition is an important process during wood formation. Although aspartic proteases (APs) have been reported to have regulatory roles in herbaceous plants, the involvement of atypical APs in SCW deposition in trees has not been reported. In this study, [...] Read more.
Secondary cell wall (SCW) deposition is an important process during wood formation. Although aspartic proteases (APs) have been reported to have regulatory roles in herbaceous plants, the involvement of atypical APs in SCW deposition in trees has not been reported. In this study, we characterised the Populus trichocarpa atypical AP gene PtAP66, which is involved in wood SCW deposition. Transcriptome data from the AspWood resource showed that in the secondary xylem of P. trichocarpa, PtAP66 transcripts increased from the vascular cambium to the xylem cell expansion region and maintained high levels in the SCW formation region. Fluorescent signals from transgenic Arabidopsis plant roots and transiently transformed P. trichocarpa leaf protoplasts strongly suggested that the PtAP66-fused fluorescent protein (PtAP66-GFP or PtAP66-YFP) localised in the plasma membrane. Compared with the wild-type plants, the Cas9/gRNA-induced PtAP66 mutants exhibited reduced SCW thickness of secondary xylem fibres, as suggested by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) data. In addition, wood composition assays revealed that the cellulose content in the mutants decreased by 4.90–5.57%. Transcription analysis further showed that a loss of PtAP66 downregulated the expression of several SCW synthesis-related genes, including cellulose and hemicellulose synthesis enzyme-encoding genes. Altogether, these findings indicate that atypical PtAP66 plays an important role in SCW deposition during wood formation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wood Growth and Structure)
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