Release 19

Summary and Announcements

The latest release of the Plant Ontology, version #19, is available on our Plant Ontology Browser.

This full release features the addition of 35 new terms, for both the Plant Anatomical Entity (20) and Plant Structure Development Stage (15) branches. It also includes It also includes new and updated annotation data for Oryza sativa, Vitis vinifera, Gossypium hirsutum and Arabidopsis thaliana.

This release also includes a new feature: Japanese translations displayed on the browser for the Plant Anatomical Entity terms.

The release features revision to the following sections:

Revisions to the plant anatomical entity branch:

• A new parent term for all types of tubers (PO:0025522) has been created. This encompasses those tubers derived from branches; shoot axis tuber (PO:0004543), and those that arise from roots; tuberous root tubers (new term; PO:0025476). Data associated with tubers from plants such Cassava (Manihot esculenta) or sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), should be annotated to the new term tuberous root tuber (PO:0025476), while that associated with tubers from branches (PO:0025073), as found in potatoes (Solanum spp.) and yams (Dioscorea spp.) should use the term 'shoot axis tuber' (PO:0004543), 'aerial tuber' (PO:0004548), or 'subterranean tuber' (PO:0004547).

• A new general term for all types of spermatogenous cells (PO:0025525) has been added to the Plant Ontology. Data annotations for angiosperm species should use the more specific term generative cell (PO:0020097), and for gymnosperms, please use the new term body cell (PO:0025526). In liverworts, hornworts and mosses, the spermatogenous cell gives rise to a single, biflagellated, antheridium sperm cell (PO:0025120).

• New terms to describe shape of the phyllome and leaf lamina were added:
  • phyllome lamina lobe (PO:0025514)
  • phyllome lamina tooth (PO:0025515)
  • phyllome lamina crena (PO:0025516)
  • leaf lamina lobe (PO:0025517)
  • leaf lamina tooth (PO:0025518)
  • leaf lamina crena (PO:0025519)

If you are annotating to these terms, please add an additional annotation to vascular leaf (PO:0009025) or non-vascular leaf (PO:0025075), depending on the species. All annotations for angiosperms, gymnosperms, and pteridophytes (ferns) should go to vascular leaf (PO:0009025) and all annotations for bryophytes should go to non-vascular leaf (PO:0025075).

• The term plant gametangium has been renamed multicellular plant gametangium (PO:0025124) and a new child term created: unicellular plant gametangium (PO:0025521). This allows use to differentiate between the gametangia that are plant organs and the ones which are a single cell, such as those that occur in some green alga, such as Ulva.

• Major revisions were done to the sections describing the multicellular plant gametangia (PO:0025124): archegonium (PO:0025126) and antheridium (PO:0025125) and their parts, including the addition of four new cell types:
  • archegonium central cell (PO:0025509)
  • archegonium initial cell (PO:0025510)
  • prothallial cell (PO:0025533)
  • ventral canal cell (PO:0025524)

Revisions to the Plant Structure Development Stage branch

• A new parent term was created: whole plant fruit development stage (PO:0025500) to encompass the classes: whole plant fruit formation stage (PO:0007042) and whole plant fruit ripening stage (PO:0007010). This branch describes the stages of a fruiting cycle for a whole plant that begins when the plant starts to produce fruit and ends when all of the fruit on the plant are ripe, or the plant enters a senescent or dormant stage before all the fruit is ripe. Note this is not to describe the development of individual fruits, but the whole plant.

• whole plant fruit formation stage (PO:0007042), was renamed from 5 fruit formation stage and child terms were renamed and the definitions were revised:
  • whole plant fruit formation stage up to 10% (PO:0007032)
  • whole plant fruit formation stage 10 to 30% (PO:0007009)
  • whole plant fruit formation stage 30 to 50% (PO:0007029)
  • whole plant fruit formation stage 50 to 70% (PO:0007007)
  • whole plant fruit formation stage 70% to final size (PO:0007027)

• whole plant fruit ripening stage (PO:0007010):

• shoot system development stage (PO:0025527)

New or expanded Annotation Files

• Oryza sativa rice: Rice_LCM_Aya_et_al,_2011

• Vitis vinifera grape: Vitis_vinifera;_grape

• Gossypium hirsutum cotton- AgBase

Other Changes

• Many terms have updated definitions which include the PO:ids- for full details please see the SVN site and the Details_of_Changes_in_PO_Release_19

• New_terms_and_obsolete_terms_Release_19

• For more information and to view a summary of the release statistics, please visit: Current Release Notes Page.