Silene stenophylla
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''Silene stenophylla'' is a species of flowering plant in the
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...
. Commonly called narrow-leafed campion, it is a species in the genus ''
Silene ''Silene'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Containing nearly 900 species, it is the largest genus in the family. Common names include campion and catchfly. Many ''Silene'' species are widely distributed, particularl ...
''. It grows in the Arctic
tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
of far eastern
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
and the mountains of northern Japan. Frozen samples, estimated via radiocarbon dating to be around 32,000 years old, were discovered in the same area as current living specimens, and in 2012, a team of scientists successfully regenerated a plant from the samples.


Habitat and description

''S. stenophylla'' grows in the Arctic tundra of far eastern Siberia and the mountains of northern Japan. It is typically tall, has narrow leaves, and a large calyx. It blooms during the summer and has incised petals that are lilac, light pink, or white in color. It is a
perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
that grows on stony cliffs and sandy shores. ''S. stenophylla'' is one of a few
Beringia Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip ...
n plant species that did not establish itself in North America.


Etymology

The
specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
is derived from the Greek ''stenos'' (narrow) and ''phyllon'' (leaf) to give "narrow-leaved".


Recovery of frozen remains

A team of scientists from Russia, Hungary and the United States recovered frozen ''Silene stenophylla'' seeds and remains from the
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
in 2007, while investigating about 70 ancient ground squirrel (genera ''
Urocitellus ''Urocitellus'' is a genus of ground squirrels. They were previously believed to belong to the much larger genus ''Spermophilus'', but DNA sequencing of the cytochrome ''b'' gene showed that this group was paraphyletic to the prairie dogs and m ...
'' and '' Geomys ssp'') hibernation burrows or caches, hidden in permanently frozen
loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...
-ice deposits located at Duvanny Yar, on the right bank of the lower
Kolyma River The Kolyma ( rus, Колыма, p=kəlɨˈma; sah, Халыма, translit=Khalyma) is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Sakha Republic, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and Magadan Oblast of Russia. The Kolyma is frozen ...
in
Sakha Republic Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far Eas ...
, northeastern Siberia, in the plant's present-day range. Using
radiocarbon Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...
dating, the age of the seeds was estimated at between 20,000 and 40,000 years, dating the seeds to the Pleistocene epoch. The embryos were damaged, possibly by the animals' activity. The research team presented their findings at the Botany & Plant Biology conference in Chicago, Illinois in 2007. The burrows were found below the present-day surface. Usually the rodents would eat the food in their
larder A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use. Originally, it was where raw meat was larded—covered in fat—to be preserved. By the 18th century, the term had expanded. Now a dry larder was where bread, pastry, milk, butter, or cooked m ...
s, but in this case a flood or other weather event buried the whole area. Since the rodents had placed the larders at the level of the
permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...
, the material froze almost immediately, and did not thaw out at any time since. More than 600,000 fruits and seeds were located at the site.


Duvanny Yar

The Duvanny Yar section exposes the
yedoma Yedoma (russian: едома) is an organic-rich (about 2% carbon by mass) Pleistocene-age permafrost with ice content of 50–90% by volume. Yedoma are abundant in the cold regions of eastern Siberia, such as northern Yakutia, as well as in Alas ...
ice complex or suite and is studied by many scientists as it represents a key strategic cross-section of
Late Quaternary The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together ...
East Siberian
stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigrap ...
via Wiley and "an important key section for the palaeo-environmental history of the Late Pleistocene
Beringia Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip ...
Land, the non-glaciated landmass between the
Taymyr Peninsula The Taymyr Peninsula (russian: Таймырский полуостров, Taymyrsky poluostrov) is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of the mainland of Eurasia. Administrati ...
and Alaska." Near Duvanny Yar is the
Pleistocene Park Pleistocene Park (russian: Плейстоценовый парк, Pleystotsenovyy park) is a nature reserve on the Kolyma River south of Chersky in the Sakha Republic, Russia, in northeastern Siberia, where an attempt is being made to re-creat ...
, ( ru , Плейстоценовый парк), a nature reserve on the
Kolyma River The Kolyma ( rus, Колыма, p=kəlɨˈma; sah, Халыма, translit=Khalyma) is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Sakha Republic, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and Magadan Oblast of Russia. The Kolyma is frozen ...
south of Chersky where an attempt is being made to recreate the northern subarctic
steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...
grassland
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
that flourished in the area during the Last Glacial Period.


Regeneration

In February 2012, a team of scientists from the Institute of Cell Biophysics of the
Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
announced they had successfully regenerated specimens from fruit that had been frozen for 31,800 (±300) years according to their radiocarbon dating. The accomplishment surpasses the previous record for the oldest plant material brought back to life, of 2000 years set by
Judean date palm The Judean date palm is a date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') grown in Judea. It is not clear whether there was ever a single distinct Judean cultivar, but dates grown in the region have had distinctive reputations for thousands of years, and the ...
(''Phoenix dactylifera'') seeds. The team led by David Gilichinsky used material recovered in 2007 by Stakhov et al. Gilichinsky, who for many years, was head of the Geocryology Lab in the Institute for Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science at the
Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
in Moscow, died in February 2012, just before the paper was published. He was recognized by the team as a "pioneer in studying microorganisms in Siberian and Antarctic permafrost, his achievement attracted scientists from all over the world to research on permafrost life systems." Initially, the researchers attempted to germinate mature seeds recovered from the fruit. When these attempts failed, they turned to the fruit itself and were able to
culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
adult plants from placental tissue. The team grew 36 specimens from the tissue. The plants looked identical to modern specimens until they flowered, at which time the
petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
s were observed to be longer and more widely spaced than modern versions of the plant. The reasons for the observed variations are not known. Seeds produced by the regenerated plants germinated at a 100% success rate, compared with 90% for modern plants. According to Robin Probert of the
Millennium Seed Bank The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership (MSBP or MSB), formerly known as the Millennium Seed Bank Project, is the largest '' ex situ'' plant conservation programme in the world coordinated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. After being awarded a ...
, the demonstration is "by far the most extraordinary example of extreme longevity for material from higher plants" to date. It is not surprising to find living material this old, but is surprising that viable material could be recovered, she added. The Russian scientists speculated that the tissue cells were rich in
sucrose Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...
which acted as a preservative. They also noted that DNA damage caused by
gamma radiation A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically s ...
from natural ground radioactivity at the site was unusually low for the plant material's age and is comparable to levels observed in 1300-year-old lotus (''
Nelumbo nucifera ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often re ...
'') seeds proven to germinate. Probert hopes that the techniques developed in the resurrection of ''Silene stenophylla'' may one day be used to resurrect
extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
species. Paleontologist Grant Zazula, who has previously disproven claims of ancient regeneration, said: "This discovery raises the bar incredibly in terms of our understanding in terms of the viability of ancient life in the permafrost." The successful regeneration of the ''Silene stenophylla'' plants was cited in 2014 as the inspiration for experiments that discovered a viable
giant virus A giant virus, sometimes referred to as a girus, is a very large virus, some of which are larger than typical bacteria. All known giant viruses belong to the phylum '' Nucleocytoviricota''. Description While the exact criteria as defined in the ...
, '' Pithovirus sibericum'', in 30,000-year-old Siberian permafrost; the virus infects
amoeba An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; plural ''am(o)ebas'' or ''am(o)ebae'' ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of Cell (biology), cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and ret ...
s.


References


External links


''Silene stenophylla'' picture
from Jablonevij pass, Siberia

{{Taxonbar, from=Q310792 stenophylla Flora of Siberia Plants described in 1842