Multiporate Pollen of Poaceae as Bioindicator of Environmental Stress: First Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Early–Middle Holocene Site of Takarkori in the Central Sahara
This paper reports on the most ancient unusual morphological trait of the apertures of Poaceae pollen found in archaeological layers. In Poaceae, high levels of hybridization, polyploidy, apomixis, and multiporate pollen are often related. Multiple genomes in polyploids are critical for the adaptati...
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Quaternary |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/5/4/41 |
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| author | Anna Maria Mercuri Eleonora Clò Assunta Florenzano |
| author_facet | Anna Maria Mercuri Eleonora Clò Assunta Florenzano |
| author_sort | Anna Maria Mercuri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper reports on the most ancient unusual morphological trait of the apertures of Poaceae pollen found in archaeological layers. In Poaceae, high levels of hybridization, polyploidy, apomixis, and multiporate pollen are often related. Multiple genomes in polyploids are critical for the adaptation of plant species to stresses and could be revealed by anomalies in pollen development. Therefore, the paleoenvironmental research can gain great benefits from identifying polyploids in past contexts by observing anomalous pollen morphology during pollen counts. The occurrence of multiporate pollen in Poaceae has also been related to special features of the ecology of the species showing this anomaly, as well as to climatic and environmental stresses experienced by Poaceae living in a given region. Multiporate and bi- or tri-porate instead of monoporate pollen grains have been observed in samples taken from Takarkori rockshelter, an archaeological site in southwestern Libya (central Sahara) that has been occupied between ~10,200 and ~4650 cal BP. Multiporate pollen was found in organic sands and coprolites of ovicaprines. On the basis of archaeobotanical research, this work aims to investigate whether the presence of supernumerary pores in Poaceae pollen may be an effect of both climatic/hydrological changes and continued anthropogenic pressure on the wild grasses living in the region. The presence of multiporate pollen reveals that Poaceae that lived in central Sahara tackled several kinds of stress during the early and middle Holocene. The Takarkori pollen record suggests that climate change could have played a major role in the early Holocene, while human pressure became stronger during the middle Holocene. The change in environmental conditions determined adaptive responses of polyploid grasses even in the form of multiporate pollen. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:54:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-de9806427e0340bc90a4a5b2186f0e77 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-550X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:54:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Quaternary |
| spelling | doaj.art-de9806427e0340bc90a4a5b2186f0e772023-11-24T17:43:00ZengMDPI AGQuaternary2571-550X2022-10-01544110.3390/quat5040041Multiporate Pollen of Poaceae as Bioindicator of Environmental Stress: First Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Early–Middle Holocene Site of Takarkori in the Central SaharaAnna Maria Mercuri0Eleonora Clò1Assunta Florenzano2Laboratorio di Palinologia e Paleobotanica, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via G. Campi 287, 41125 Modena, ItalyLaboratorio di Palinologia e Paleobotanica, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via G. Campi 287, 41125 Modena, ItalyLaboratorio di Palinologia e Paleobotanica, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via G. Campi 287, 41125 Modena, ItalyThis paper reports on the most ancient unusual morphological trait of the apertures of Poaceae pollen found in archaeological layers. In Poaceae, high levels of hybridization, polyploidy, apomixis, and multiporate pollen are often related. Multiple genomes in polyploids are critical for the adaptation of plant species to stresses and could be revealed by anomalies in pollen development. Therefore, the paleoenvironmental research can gain great benefits from identifying polyploids in past contexts by observing anomalous pollen morphology during pollen counts. The occurrence of multiporate pollen in Poaceae has also been related to special features of the ecology of the species showing this anomaly, as well as to climatic and environmental stresses experienced by Poaceae living in a given region. Multiporate and bi- or tri-porate instead of monoporate pollen grains have been observed in samples taken from Takarkori rockshelter, an archaeological site in southwestern Libya (central Sahara) that has been occupied between ~10,200 and ~4650 cal BP. Multiporate pollen was found in organic sands and coprolites of ovicaprines. On the basis of archaeobotanical research, this work aims to investigate whether the presence of supernumerary pores in Poaceae pollen may be an effect of both climatic/hydrological changes and continued anthropogenic pressure on the wild grasses living in the region. The presence of multiporate pollen reveals that Poaceae that lived in central Sahara tackled several kinds of stress during the early and middle Holocene. The Takarkori pollen record suggests that climate change could have played a major role in the early Holocene, while human pressure became stronger during the middle Holocene. The change in environmental conditions determined adaptive responses of polyploid grasses even in the form of multiporate pollen.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/5/4/41anomalous pollenpolyploidyarchaeobotanywild cerealsdesertclimate change |
| spellingShingle | Anna Maria Mercuri Eleonora Clò Assunta Florenzano Multiporate Pollen of Poaceae as Bioindicator of Environmental Stress: First Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Early–Middle Holocene Site of Takarkori in the Central Sahara Quaternary anomalous pollen polyploidy archaeobotany wild cereals desert climate change |
| title | Multiporate Pollen of Poaceae as Bioindicator of Environmental Stress: First Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Early–Middle Holocene Site of Takarkori in the Central Sahara |
| title_full | Multiporate Pollen of Poaceae as Bioindicator of Environmental Stress: First Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Early–Middle Holocene Site of Takarkori in the Central Sahara |
| title_fullStr | Multiporate Pollen of Poaceae as Bioindicator of Environmental Stress: First Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Early–Middle Holocene Site of Takarkori in the Central Sahara |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multiporate Pollen of Poaceae as Bioindicator of Environmental Stress: First Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Early–Middle Holocene Site of Takarkori in the Central Sahara |
| title_short | Multiporate Pollen of Poaceae as Bioindicator of Environmental Stress: First Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Early–Middle Holocene Site of Takarkori in the Central Sahara |
| title_sort | multiporate pollen of poaceae as bioindicator of environmental stress first archaeobotanical evidence from the early middle holocene site of takarkori in the central sahara |
| topic | anomalous pollen polyploidy archaeobotany wild cereals desert climate change |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/5/4/41 |
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