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Introduction to BotanyIntroduction to BotanyRead also: Banack et al. 2006. J Ethnopharmacology 106: 97-104.
I. Cycads Stories
I. Cycads StoriesA. Morphology
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©CR Hardy
2. Terminal cluster of
pinnate lvs
3. Unbranchedstem
1. Trees & shrubs
2. Terminal cluster of
pinnate lvs
3. Unbranchedstem
1. Trees & shrubs
©CR Hardy
2. Terminal cluster of
pinnate lvs
3. Unbranchedstem
1. Trees & shrubs
©CR Hardy
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Megasporophyll
Ovule (seed)
©CR Hardy
4. Gymnospermous
a. Seeds loosely clustered
b. or in strobilus
4. Gymnospermous
I. Cycads StoriesB. Systematics
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Spermatophytes
Angiosperms~300K spp
(e.g., magnolias, lilies, oaks, orchids)
Gymnosperms~881 spp
(cycads, ginkgoes, conifers)
I. Cycads StoriesB. Systematics
1. Gymnosperms
Spermatophytes
Angiosperms~300K spp
(e.g., magnolias, lilies, oaks, orchids)
Gymnosperms~881 spp
(cycads, ginkgoes, conifers)
I. Cycads StoriesB. Systematics
~250 spp
1 sp
~630 spp
1. Gymnosperms
2. Ancienta. Among the oldest of spermatophytes
I. Cycads StoriesB. Systematics
Jurassic Diorama. Credit: Alfred F. Harrell , 1977 (Smithsonian Institution)
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2. Ancienta. Among the oldest of spermatophytesb. Predated & outlasted the dinosaurs
I. Cycads StoriesB. Systematics
2. Ancienta. Among the oldest of spermatophytesb. Predated & outlasted the dinosaursc. Help tell story of changing Earth
I. Cycads StoriesB. Systematics
2. Ancienta. Among the oldest of spermatophytesb. Predated & outlasted the dinosaursc. Help tell story of changing Earth
I. Cycads StoriesB. Systematics
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I. Cycads StoriesB. Systematics
2. Ancienta. Among the oldest of spermatophytesb. Predated & outlasted the dinosaursc. Help tell story of changing Earth
Gondwana
I. Cycads StoriesC. Ecology
1. Pollination
I. Cycads StoriesC. Ecology
1. Pollination• Dioecious (no selfing)• Strobili are fruit-scented• Beetles pollinate
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I. Cycads StoriesC. Ecology
1. Pollination2. Seed dispersal
• Fleshy & colorful seed coat attracts various vertebrates.
I. Cycads StoriesC. Ecology
1. Pollination2. Seed dispersal3. Herbivory defense
•Various toxins in all parts, concentrated in pollen and seeds.
I. Cycads StoriesD. Economic Botany & Ethnobotany
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I. Cycads StoriesD. Economic Botany & Ethnobotany
1. Ornamental• Aesthetic• Mystique of age & rarity
I. Cycads StoriesD. Economic Botany & Ethnobotany
1. Ornamentals2. Food & medicine
e.g., Seeds with large, starchy gametophyte.e.g., Bioactive chemistry (toxins) in low doses
have various medicinal applications.
I. Cycads StoriesE. Conservation
1. All cycads are CITES Appendix I or II (cites.org) (cites.org)
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I. Cycads StoriesE. Conservation
1. All cycads are CITES Appendix I or II (cites.org)
a. 98 spp on I
I. Cycads StoriesE. Conservation
1. All cycads are CITES Appendix I or II (cites.org)
a. 98 spp on I
b. 252 spp on II
I. Cycads StoriesE. Conservation
1. All cycads are CITES Appendix I or II (cites.org)2. Illegal trade > 10 billion USD (Pittman 2005)?
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I. Cycads StoriesE. Conservation
1. All cycads are CITES Appendix I or II (cites.org)2. Illegal trade > 10 billion USD (Pittman 2005)?
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I. Cycads StoriesE. Conservation
1. All cycads are CITES Appendix I or II (cites.org)2. Illegal trade > 10 billion USD (Pittman 2005)?3. USFW enforces CITES domestically
Australian Author, International Felon
Operation Jurassic (1998; halted > 200K USD)Operation Botany (1999-2001; halted > 840K USD)
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
1. Guam1898-1941 (US territory)1941-1944 (Japan)1944-present (US)
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
2. ALS-PDC (lytico-bodig)
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F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
2. ALS-PDC (lytico-bodig)
a. Symptoms: • Progressive neurodegenerative disease• Lytico = Prog. paralysis resembling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis• Bodig = Parkinsons w/ Alzheimers-like dementia
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
2. ALS-PDC (lytico-bodig)
a. Symptoms: • Progressive neurodegenerative disease• Lytico = Prog. paralysis resembling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis• Bodig = Parkinsons w/ Alzheimers-like dementia
b. Prognosis: death < 10 yrs from diagnosis.
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
3. Chamorro
a. Historically very healthy
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F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
3. Chamorro
a. Historically very healthy
b. ALS-PDC epidemic
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
4. NIH (1940s-1990s)
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
4. NIH (1940s-1990s)
a. Genetic Hypothesis
1) Evidence for• Endemic to the Chamorro culture• Primarily in men
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F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
4. NIH (1940s-1990s)
a. Genetic Hypothesis
1) Evidence for• Endemic to the Chamorro culture• Primarily in men
2) Evidence against?
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
4. NIH (1940s-1990s)
a. Genetic Hypothesis
1) Evidence for• Endemic to the Chamorro culture• Primarily in men
2) Evidence against?• Why now?• Chamorro immigrants & emigrants• BMAA in the brain associated w/ neurofibrillary
tangles & atrophied neurons
BMAA
• Protein amino acid• Major neurotransmitter
• Non-protein amino acid• In cycad pollen & seeds • Excitoxic agonist of GLU• Likely anti-herbivory defense
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F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
4. NIH (1940s-1990s)
a. Genetic Hypothesisb. Cycad Hypothesis (1970s-1990s)
1) Evidence for• Neurotoxic BMAA in cycad seeds & pollen• Flatbread, dumplings made from seeds
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
4. NIH (1940s-1990s)
a. Genetic Hypothesisb. Cycad Hypothesis (1970s-1990s)
1) Evidence for• Neurotoxic BMAA in cycad seeds & pollen• Flatbread, dumplings made from seeds
2) Evidence against?
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
4. NIH (1940s-1990s)
a. Genetic Hypothesisb. Cycad Hypothesis (1970s-1990s)
1) Evidence for• Neurotoxic BMAA in cycad seeds & pollen• Flatbread, dumplings made from seeds
2) Evidence against?• Chamorro doing this for centuries.• Chamorro pre-treat the seeds to remove BMAA
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F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
4. NIH (1940s-1990s)
a. Genetic Hypothesisb. Cycad Hypothesis (1970s-1990s)c. APS-PDC fading away, NIH gives up (1990s)
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002) Neurology 58: 956.
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)a. Oliver Sacks (1933-2015)
• Neurologist• Discovered, 1969, that L-Dopa
(dopamine precursor) could “awaken” catatonic survivors of the 1917-28 encephalitis lethargica epidemic.
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F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)a. Oliver Sacks (1933-2015)
• Neurologist• Discovered, 1969, that L-Dopa
(dopamine precursor) could “awaken” catatonic survivors of the 1917-28 encephalitis lethargica epidemic.
• Author
19901973
1985
1997
• ALS-PDC fading away• Cycads likely involved but how?
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)b. Paul Cox
• Botanist• Then, Inst. Ethnobotany, NTBG, Hawaii• Now, Inst. Ethnomedicine, Wyoming
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F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)c. A new angle on the Cycad Hypothesis
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)c. A new angle on the Cycad Hypothesis
XX ??F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)c. A new angle on the Cycad Hypothesis
XX
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F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)c. A new angle on the Cycad Hypothesis
XXRoot symbionts(cyanobacteria) make the BMAA Cox et al. 2003. PNAS 100: 13380.
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)c. A new angle on the Cycad Hypothesis
Biomagnificationof BMAA
Cox et al. 2003. PNAS 100: 13380.
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)c. A new angle on the Cycad Hypothesis
Cycad-Bat Hypothesis explains: • Immigration & emigration phenomena• Sex bias
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F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)c. A new angle on the Cycad Hypothesis
Cycad-Bat Hypothesis explains: • Immigration & emigration phenomena• Sex bias• Increase & decline of ALS-PDC in 20th century
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)c. A new angle on the Cycad Hypothesis
Cycad-Bat Hypothesis explains: • Immigration & emigration phenomena• Sex bias• Increase & decline of ALS-PDC in 20th century
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)d. Since 2002
1) Protein-boundBMAA
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F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)d. Since 2002
1) Protein-boundBMAA2) BMAA & Alzheimer’s in N America
F. Cycads & Guam ALS-PDC
5. Cox & Sacks (2002)d. Since 2002
1) Protein-boundBMAA2) BMAA & Alzheimer’s in N America3) Cyanobacteria occur globally.
II. ConclusionsA. Cycads are a microcosm for importance of botany
• Food, medicines, habitat, recreation, fuel, shelter, culture & commerce.• Ignore them or their biology at your peril.
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II. ConclusionsA. Cycads are a microcosm for importance of botany
• Food, medicines, habitat, recreation, fuel, shelter, culture & commerce.• Ignore them or their biology at your peril. • Basic research has unforeseen payoffs.
II. ConclusionsA. Cycads are a microcosm for importance of botany
• Food, medicines, habitat, recreation, fuel, shelter, culture & commerce.• Ignore them or their biology at your peril. • Basic research has unforeseen payoffs.
B. Zoology, medicine, law, etc. highly incomplete w/o botany
II. ConclusionsA. Cycads are a microcosm for importance of botany
• Food, medicines, habitat, recreation, fuel, shelter, culture & commerce.• Ignore them or their biology at your peril. • Basic research has unforeseen payoffs.
B. Zoology, medicine, law, etc. highly incomplete w/o botany
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II. ConclusionsA. Cycads are a microcosm for importance of botany
• Food, medicines, habitat, recreation, fuel, shelter, culture & commerce.• Ignore them or their biology at your peril. • Basic research has unforeseen payoffs.
B. Zoology, medicine, law, etc. highly incomplete w/o botany
C. Importance & versatility of plants emerge from their role as producers
II. ConclusionsA. Cycads are a microcosm for importance of botany
• Food, medicines, habitat, recreation, fuel, shelter, culture & commerce.• Ignore them or their biology at your peril. • Basic research has unforeseen payoffs.
B. Zoology, medicine, law, etc. highly incomplete w/o botany
C. Importance & versatility of plants emerge from their role as producers