Tortula muralis edit

Yshibutani/sandbox
 
 
Secure
Scientific classification  
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Bryophyta
Class: Bryopsida
Subclass: Dicranidae
Order: Pottiales
Family: Pottiaceae
Genus: Tortula
Species:
T. muralis
Binomial name
Tortula muralis
Hedw.

Tortula muralis, commonly known as wall screw-moss, is a species of moss in the family Pottiaceae.[1] T. muralis is found globally.[1]


Description edit

The morphology of the T. muralis is extremely variable.[2] The characteristic of this species is very indefinite in that the size, the thickness of the leaf margins, the length of the costa as well as the leaf shape can all have a wide range of variation.[3]

Gametophyte: edit

T. muralis forms small dark-green turfs up to 0.5 cm tall.[4] The leaves are rounded at the base and pointed at the apex.[4][5] T. muralis leaves have a multistratose costa and a unistratose, recurved leaf margins that can be easily differentiated from the unistratose papillose laminal cells.[6] The costa extends beyond the blade of the leaf forming a white hairpoint.[6] T. muralis is dioicous, meaning that the male and female reproductive structure are located on different plants.[4]

Sporophyte: edit

During the spring, the sporophyte are matured, elongating their seta longer than their gametophytic structure and become red-brown in color.[4][7] Like other species in the genus Tortula, the sporophyte has a twisted seta.[7] T. muralis have a well-developed to reduced peristome teeth that are composed of 32 filaments spirally twisted and move hygroscopically for spore dispersal.[1][6]

Habitat and Geographic Distribution edit

T. muralis can be found in urban areas, low to moderate elevations, that substrates commonly on concrete, cement and brick walls.[1] But also, it can be found on a rock and on a tree bark.[1] Distribution of T. muralis is said to be cosmopolitan, meaning that it is widely distributed across the globe and can be found in a variety of conditions.[4][6] It is found in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Atlantic Island, New Zealand, Australia.[1]

Taxonomy and Classification edit

T. muralis is in the genus Tortula, which has approximately 100 different species.[6] Due to the largely diverse genus Tortula, there are groups of taxa within the genus that are more closely related than others.[6] The genus Tortula and the genus Barbula were used interchangeably since most of the species in the Barbula were part of the Tortula.[2][8] Therefore, there are many species that were once labelled as part of the genus Tortula, now not part of it.[2]


T. muralis complex consist of four taxa (T. lingulate, T. obtusifolia, T. muralis var. aestiva, T. muralis var. muralis), two of which are T. muralis varieties.[6] The four taxa are similar in appearance and are commonly mistaken amongst each other. [6]

  • T. lingulate: have a realatively large spore size (10 – 18.5 µm) compared to the other three (7.5 – 13.5 µm).[6]
  • T. obtusifolia and T. muralis var. aestiva: both have short hairpoints and difficult to distinguish.[6]
  • T. muralis var. muralis: very similar to T. muralis var. aestiva but have longer hairpoints and grows in high sun-exposure and dry conditions.[6]


Life Cycle edit

Just as in all other Bryophytes, T. muralis undergoes an alternation of heteromorphic generations, meaning that it alternates between two generations: Gametophyte and Sporophyte.[9]

Gametophyte generation (Haploid) edit

The haloid gametophyte generation is the dominant state.[9] Begins with the haploid spores that gives rise to protonema, and eventually producing the gametophyte.[9] The gametophyte then develops the reproductive structures: archegonium, the female reproductive structure that produces eggs, and antheridium, the male reproductive structure that produces sperms.[9] The egg and the sperm fuse together to form a diploid zygote.[9]

Sporophyte generation (Diploid) edit

The diploid sporophyte generation begins when the zygote is formed.[9] The zygote eventually becomes an embryo and gives rise to the sporophyte which produces spores through meiosis and are released when conditions are optimal.[9]

Use of Economic Importance edit

Mosses have been used to monitor long-term air pollution such as trace metal depositions.[10] Mosses are used as air quality trackers because the elements are drawn into the moss through air absorption as well as water absorption in which the rain carries the elements into the tissues.[10] Ultimately, the absorbed element concentration in the moss precisely measures the air pollution in the atmosphere.[10] In most cases, mosses with a pleurocarpous growth habit are used because they are more sensitive to dryness and pollution.[10] However, not many are found in urban areas and thus, T. muralis, an acrocarpous moss, are used to monitor long-term air pollution in urban areas.[10]

Conservation Status edit

T. muralis is recognized as a G5 status indicating that the species is "globally secure, abundant, and demonstrably widespread".[11]


References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Tortula muralis in Flora of North America @ eFloras.org". eFloras.org. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Steere, William Campbell (1940). "Tortula in North America North of Mexico". The Bryologist. 43 (1): 12–23. doi:10.2307/3238999. ISSN 0007-2745.
  3. ^ Steere, William Campbell (1940). "Tortula in North America North of Mexico". The Bryologist. 43 (3): 76–86. doi:10.2307/3239012. ISSN 0007-2745.
  4. ^ a b c d e "California Moss eFlora treatment for Tortula muralis". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  5. ^ Dixon, H. N. (1927). "Regeneration of Tortula muralis". The Bryologist. 30 (2): 28–29. doi:10.2307/3238337. ISSN 0007-2745.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Košnar, Jiří; Herbstová, Miroslava; Kolář, Filip; Koutecký, Petr; Kučera, Jan (2012-08). "A case study of intragenomic ITS variation in bryophytes: Assessment of gene flow and role of polyploidy in the origin of European taxa of the Tortula muralis (Musci: Pottiaceae) complex". TAXON. 61 (4): 709–720. doi:10.1002/tax.614001. ISSN 0040-0262. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); line feed character in |title= at position 159 (help)
  7. ^ a b Favali, M. Augusta; Gianni, Fabrizia (1973). "Sporophyte Ultrastructure in Tortula muralis Hedw". Österreichische Botanische Zeitschrift. 122 (5): 323–331. ISSN 0029-8948.
  8. ^ Mishler, Brent D. (1985). "The Phylogenetic Relationships of Tortula: An SEM Survey and a Preliminary Cladistic Analysis". The Bryologist. 88 (4): 388–403. doi:10.2307/3242682. ISSN 0007-2745.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Haig, David (2016-10-19). "Living together and living apart: the sexual lives of bryophytes". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 371 (1706): 20150535. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0535. ISSN 0962-8436.
  10. ^ a b c d e Gerdol, Renato; Bragazza, Luca; Marchesini, Roberta; Medici, Alessandro; Pedrini, Paola; Benedetti, Stefano; Bovolenta, Alessandro; Coppi, Simona (2002-09). "Use of moss (Tortula muralis Hedw.) for monitoring organic and inorganic air pollution in urban and rural sites in Northern Italy". Atmospheric Environment. 36 (25): 4069–4075. doi:10.1016/s1352-2310(02)00298-4. ISSN 1352-2310. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2020-04-14.