Inferring the impacts of evolutionary history and ecological constraints on spore size and shape in the ferns

In the ferns, cell size has been explored with spores, which are largely uniform within species, produced in abundance, and durable. However, spore size and shape have been variously defined, and the relationship of these traits to genome size has not been well established. Here, we explore the variation in fern spore size and shape by ploidy level and genome size.

Measurements of spore dimensions for two study sets of ferns, Polystichum and Adiantum, both including diploid and tetraploid taxa, provided the basis for computing estimates of shape and size as defined here. These traits were compared between and within ploidy levels and regressed with genome size estimates from flow cytometry analysis.

All size traits were strongly correlated with genome size; the shape trait was weakly correlated. Tetraploids were larger than diploids as expected; the spores of some closely related diploid species were also significantly different in size.

Researchers with access to a student-grade compound microscope can develop a valid estimate of relative genome size for ferns. These estimates provide enough resolution to infer ploidy level and explore the relationship between genome size, habitat, and physiological constraints for species within ploidy level.