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In Vitro Rearing of Solitary Bees: A Tool for Assessing Larval Risk Factors
Published on: July 16, 2018
Digest: Scarce pollen resources and asymmetric reproductive isolation
1Department of Environment and Biodiversity, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
Abstract:
What mechanisms cause asymmetries in reproductive success in crosses between closely related species that differ in floral style length? Feller et al. (2024) found that in 5 Phlox species, short-styled species produced smaller pollen grains than long-styled species. The smaller pollen of short-styled species lacked the resources to grow pollen tubes long enough to reach the ovules of long-styled species. This asymmetric pollen-style-length incompatibility may considerably affect patterns of gene flow among species.
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