Pollen limitation and reduced reproductive success are associated with local genetic effects in Prunus virginiana, a widely distributed self-incompatible shrub

Abstract Background Siring success plays a key role in plant evolution and reproductive ecology, and variation among individuals creates an opportunity for selection to act. Differences in male reproductive success can be caused by processes that occur during two stages, the pollination and post-pollination phases of reproduction. In the pollination phase, heritable variation in floral traits and floral display affect pollinator visitation patterns, which in turn affect variation among plants in the amount of pollen exported and deposited on recipient stigmas. In the post-pollination phase, differences among individuals in pollen grain germination success and pollen tube growth may cause realized paternity to differ from patterns of pollen receipt. The maternal plant can also preferentially provision some developing seeds or fruits to further alter variation in siring success. Scope In this review, we describe studies that advance our understanding of the dynamics of the pollination and post-pollination phases, focusing on how variation in male fitness changes in response to pollen limitation. We then explore the interplay between pollination and post-pollination success, and how these processes respond to ecological factors such as pollination intensity. We also identify pressing questions at the intersection of pollination and paternity and describe novel experimental approaches to elucidate the relative importance of pollination and post-pollination factors in determining male reproductive success. Conclusions The relative contribution of pollination and post-pollination processes to variation in male reproductive success may not be constant, but rather may vary with pollination intensity. Studies that quantify the effects of pollination and post-pollination phases in concert will be especially valuable as they will enable researchers to more fully understand the ecological conditions influencing male reproductive success.

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Introduced deer and the pollination and reproduction of an animal-pollinated herb

Botany ◽

10.1139/b09-087 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 88 (2) ◽

pp. 110-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Diego P. Vázquez ◽

Julie Gresser ◽

Jean-Louis Martin

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Success ◽

Population Density ◽

Relative Density ◽

Pollen Limitation ◽

Odocoileus Hemionus ◽

Pollen Deposition ◽

Herbaceous Species ◽

Haida Gwaii ◽

Absolute Density ◽

Odocoileus Hemionus Sitkensis

We evaluated the hypothesis that the modified population density of Aquilegia formosa Fisch. ex DC. (Ranunculaceae) resulting from the introduction of Sitka black-tailed deer ( Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis ) in the Haida Gwaii archipelago affects the pollination and reproductive performance of this herbaceous species. We compared the population density, pollination, and reproductive success of A. formosa among three small islands colonized by deer and three deer-free islands. Islands with deer had a substantially lower absolute density and a greater relative density of A. formosa than deer-free islands. The presence of deer was associated with higher pollen deposition, which probably resulted from the greater relative density of A. formosa on islands with deer. However, the presence of deer had no significant effect on individual reproductive success. The latter result is likely a consequence of the lack of pollen limitation in this species, as well as of the conflicting relationship between the absolute and relative densities of A. formosa and the presence of deer.

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Pollen limitation of reproductive success in two sympatric alpine willows (Salicaceae) with contrasting pollination strategies

American Journal of Botany ◽

10.2307/2657082 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 88 (6) ◽

pp. 1011-1015 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Ørjan Totland ◽

Matteo Sottocornola

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Success ◽

Pollen Limitation

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Sex-specific additive genetic variances and correlations for fitness in a song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) population subject to natural immigration and inbreeding

10.1101/272138 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Matthew E. Wolak ◽

Peter Arcese ◽

Lukas F. Keller ◽

Pirmin Nietlisbach ◽

Jane M. Reid

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Success ◽

Inbreeding Depression ◽

Evolutionary Dynamics ◽

Additive Genetic Variance ◽

Genetic Effects ◽

Melospiza Melodia ◽

Adult Survival ◽

Fitness Components ◽

In The Wild ◽

Additive Genetic Effects

ABSTRACTQuantifying sex-specific additive genetic variance (VA) in fitness, and the cross-sex genetic correlation (rA), is pre-requisite to predicting evolutionary dynamics and the magnitude of sexual conflict. Quantifying VAand rAin underlying fitness components, and multiple genetic consequences of immigration and resulting gene flow, is required to identify mechanisms that maintain VAin fitness. However, these key parameters have rarely been estimated in wild populations experiencing natural environmental variation and immigration. We used comprehensive pedigree and life-history data from song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to estimate VAand rAin sex-specific fitness and underlying fitness components, and to estimate additive genetic effects of immigrants as well as inbreeding depression. We found substantial VAin female and male fitness, with a moderate positive cross-sex rA. There was also substantial VAin adult reproductive success in males but not females, and moderate VAin juvenile survival but not adult survival. Immigrants introduced alleles for which additive genetic effects on local fitness were negative, potentially reducing population mean fitness through migration load, yet alleviating expression of inbreeding depression. Substantial VAfor fitness can consequently be maintained in the wild, and be concordant between the sexes despite marked sex-specific VAin reproductive success.

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Mitochondrial genetic effects on reproductive success: signatures of positive intra-sexual, but negative inter-sexual pleiotropy

10.1101/138180 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M. Florencia Camus ◽

Damian K. Dowling

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Reproductive Success ◽

Reproductive Performance ◽

Genetic Effects ◽

Sexual Antagonism ◽

Mt Dna ◽

Mtdna Mutations ◽

Mitochondrial Haplotypes ◽

The One ◽

Evolutionary Consequences

AbstractMitochondria contain their own DNA, and numerous studies have reported that genetic variation in this (mt)DNA sequence modifies the expression of life-history phenotypes. Maternal inheritance of mitochondria adds a layer of complexity to trajectories of mtDNA evolution, because theory predicts the accumulation of mtDNA mutations that are male-biased in effect. While it is clear that mitochondrial genomes routinely harbor genetic variation that affects components of reproductive performance, the extent to which this variation is sex-biased, or even sex-specific in effect, remains elusive. This is because nearly all previous studies have failed to examine mitochondrial genetic effects on both male and female reproductive performance within the one-and-the-same study. Here, we show that variation across naturally-occurring mitochondrial haplotypes affects components of reproductive success in both sexes, in Drosophila melanogaster. However, while we uncovered evidence for positive pleiotropy, across haplotypes, in effects on separate components of reproductive success when measured within the same sex, such patterns were not evident across sexes. Rather, we found a pattern of sexual antagonism across haplotypes on some reproductive parameters. This suggests the pool of polymorphisms that delineate global mtDNA haplotypes is likely to have been partly shaped by maternal transmission of mtDNA and its evolutionary consequences.

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