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Determination of Self- and Inter-(in)compatibility Relationships in Apricot Combining Hand-Pollination, Microscopy and Genetic Analyses
Published on: June 16, 2020
EVOLUTIONARY IMPLICATIONS OF SELF-COMPATIBILITY AND REPRODUCTIVE FITNESS IN THE APOMICTIC RANUNCULUS AURICOMUS
1Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
International Journal of Plant Sciences
|April 17, 2010
Summary
Self-compatibility (SC) in pseudogamous apomicts aids colonization in unstable environments. While sexuals have higher fitness, SC facilitates apomicts
Area of Science:
- Plant reproductive biology
- Evolutionary botany
- Genetics
Background:
- Uniparental reproduction is often favored for colonization.
- Pseudogamous apomicts require self-compatibility (SC) for seed production.
- The Ranunculus auricomus complex provides a model for studying SC and reproductive fitness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of self-compatibility (SC) and reproductive fitness in diploid and polyploid taxa of the Ranunculus auricomus complex.
- To compare the reproductive strategies of sexuals, apomicts, and hybrids.
- To understand the evolutionary implications of SC and self-incompatibility (SI) in plant populations.
Main Methods:
- Pollinator exclusion tests to assess reproductive success.
- Measurement of seed set and germination rates.
- Analysis of reproductive fitness in sexual and asexual lineages.
Main Results:
- Sexuals exhibit higher reproductive fitness than apomicts and F(1) hybrids, but with greater year-to-year fluctuations.
- Diploid sexuals and F(1) hybrids are self-incompatible (SI), limiting their range expansion.
- Widespread allohexaploid apomicts show a breakdown of SI, attributed to ancestral SC and selection for SC genotypes.
Conclusions:
- Higher reproductive fitness of sexuals supports their persistence when cross-pollination is available.
- SC in apomicts is advantageous in unstable environments and for colonization.
- SC in pseudogamous apomixis is a key factor in geographical parthenogenesis patterns.
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