scholarly journals Ovule and seed production patterns in relation to flower size variations in actinomorphic and zygomorphic flower species

AoB Plants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Mochizuki ◽  
Tomoyuki Itagaki ◽  
Yuta Aoyagi Blue ◽  
Masaya Ito ◽  
Satoki Sakai
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Flower Size ◽  
Symmetry Type ◽  
Floral Symmetry ◽  
Increase With Increase ◽  
Ovule Number ◽  
Ovule Production

Abstract Zygomorphic flower species tend to show lower flower size variation than actinomorphic flower species. Have these differences also brought an association in ovule and seed production that has arisen due to natural selection in these species? Flowers were collected from 29 actinomorphic and 20 zygomorphic flower species, and fruits were collected from 21 actinomorphic and 14 zygomorphic flower species in Miyagi and Aomori prefectures, in Japan. The coefficient of variations (CVs) of flower sizes, mean ovule sizes of flowers, ovule numbers of flowers and mean seed sizes of fruits were calculated. The CV of flower sizes was marginally different between the floral symmetry types; tending to be lower in the zygomorphic flower species than in the actinomorphic flower species. The CVs of mean ovule sizes and ovule numbers of flowers increased with increase in the CV of flower sizes in the actinomorphic flower species but not in the zygomorphic flower species. Mean ovule number of flowers tends to increase with increase in mean flower size in the actinomorphic flower species but not in the zygomorphic flower species. The degrees in variations in ovule size and number of flowers were influenced by the interaction of floral symmetry type and flower size variation, suggesting that floral symmetry also has brought an evolutionary association in ovule production by flowers.

The influence of floral symmetry and pollination systems on flower size variation

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 593-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atushi Ushimaru ◽  
Satoshi Kikuchi ◽  
Ryuji Yonekura ◽  
Atsushi Maruyama ◽  
Nao Yanagisawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Variation ◽  
Flower Size ◽  
Floral Symmetry ◽  
Pollination Systems

Natural selection on flower size in invasive Cytisus scoparius along an elevation gradient

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-170
Author(s):  
Robert Frederick Bode ◽  
Catherine Dufresne
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Flower Size ◽  
Flowering Plant ◽  
Gene Pools ◽  
Cytisus Scoparius ◽  
Pollinator Community

Abstract Aims Established invasive plant species have more diverse gene pools than single populations in their home range. This genetic and often phenotypic variation allows for natural selection to act and produce rapid adaptations as an invasive species interacts with other members of the community. For an invasive flowering plant, interactions with pollinators may lead to adaptations to a heterogeneous pollinator community. The variation in the pollinator community in the invaded range is similar to variation in the native range, suggesting that adaptations may mirror patterns seen in the home range. In this study, we investigated variation in flower size in Cytisus scoparius, an invasive leguminous shrub, along an elevation gradient. Methods This study took place in the Capitol State Forest in Washington State. We measured flower widths and the proportion of visited flowers, using 10 plants per field site. Sites were located along an elevation gradient and were visited three times to measure phenological variation on a per-plant basis. Important Findings We saw positive selection for flower size, albeit without a distinct pattern of higher selection at higher elevations. The pattern of natural selection could be seen both in terms of pollinator visitation rates and in seed production. We also found that the largest contributor to changes in seed production was not elevation or flower size but management practices.

scholarly journals Pattern of flower size variation along an altitudinal gradient differs between Impatiens textori and Impatiens noli-tangere

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitsuru Hattori ◽  
Yusuke Nagano ◽  
Yoshinori Shinohara ◽  
Takao Itino
Keyword(s):  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Flower Size

scholarly journals Low flower-size variation in bilaterally symmetrical flowers: Support for the pollination precision hypothesis

2015 ◽  
Vol 102 (12) ◽  
pp. 2032-2040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aoi Nikkeshi ◽  
Daiki Kurimoto ◽  
Atushi Ushimaru
Keyword(s):  
Size Variation ◽  
Flower Size

scholarly journals Standing genetic variation in a tissue-specific enhancer underlies selfing-syndrome evolution inCapsella

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (48) ◽  
pp. 13911-13916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien Sicard ◽  
Christian Kappel ◽  
Young Wha Lee ◽  
Natalia Joanna Woźniak ◽  
Cindy Marona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Mating System ◽  
Allelic Variation ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Flower Size ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Tissue Specific ◽  
Organ Specific ◽  
Petal Size

Mating system shifts recurrently drive specific changes in organ dimensions. The shift in mating system from out-breeding to selfing is one of the most frequent evolutionary transitions in flowering plants and is often associated with an organ-specific reduction in flower size. However, the evolutionary paths along which polygenic traits, such as size, evolve are poorly understood. In particular, it is unclear how natural selection can specifically modulate the size of one organ despite the pleiotropic action of most known growth regulators. Here, we demonstrate that allelic variation in the intron of a general growth regulator contributed to the specific reduction of petal size after the transition to selfing in the genusCapsella. Variation within this intron affects an organ-specific enhancer that regulates the level of STERILE APETALA (SAP) protein in the developing petals. The resulting decrease inSAPactivity leads to a shortening of the cell proliferation period and reduced number of petal cells. The absence of private polymorphisms at the causal region in the selfing species suggests that the small-petal allele was captured from standing genetic variation in the ancestral out-crossing population. Petal-size variation in the current out-crossing population indicates that several small-effect mutations have contributed to reduce petal-size. These data demonstrate how tissue-specific regulatory elements in pleiotropic genes contribute to organ-specific evolution. In addition, they provide a plausible evolutionary explanation for the rapid evolution of flower size after the out-breeding-to-selfing transition based on additive effects of segregating alleles.

scholarly journals Flower size variation in Danhatchia (Orchidaceae)

Telopea ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 155-162
Author(s):  
Matthew Renner ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Flower Size ◽  
Morphological Evidence ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Flower Opening ◽  
Petal Length ◽  
Lower Limits ◽  
Range Of Variation

Danhatchia novaehollandiae D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. and D. australis (Hatch) Garay & Christenson were separated at species rank due to differences in petal length and flower opening, with the Australian species having smaller, tardily opening flowers. From this, flower lengths for Australia and New Zealand are expected to be bi-modally distributed with peaks at c. 3 mm and c. 5 mm respectively. Flowers on all available herbarium specimens in AK, CANB, and NSW were measured, and flower length was found to be unimodal, with nearly identical ranges in Australian and New Zealand plants. Flower size variation in Australian and New Zealand Danhatchia specimens has two significant contributing components, inter-individual variation, and ontogenetic variation where flowers increase in size as they age. Dimensions previously recorded for the two species reflect upper and lower limits on the range of variation in flower size present in both New Zealand and Australia, respectively. Within herbarium material, 20% of flowers on New Zealand specimens, and 40% of flowers on Australian specimens exhibited signs of opening. There was no correlation between flower size and opening, as might be expected if the two species were both present in Australia and/or New Zealand. Neither the biogeographic context, pollination system, nor morphological evidence support Danhatchia australis and D. novaehollandiae as distinct species.

Prey preference of a wasp determined by nest size supports the role of natural selection in body size evolution in Cassidinae leaf beetles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadashi Shinohara ◽  
Yasuoki Takami
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Prey Preference ◽  
Nest Size ◽  
Large Prey ◽  
Leaf Beetles ◽  
Body Sizes

Abstract The prey preference of a predator can impose natural selection on prey phenotypes, including body size. Despite evidence that large body size protects against predation in insects, the determinants of body size variation in Cassidinae leaf beetles are not well understood. We examined the prey preference of the digger wasp Cerceris albofasciata, a specialist predator of adult Cassidinae leaf beetles, and found evidence for natural selection on prey body size. The wasp hunted prey smaller than the size of their nest entrance. However, the wasp preferred larger prey species among those that could be carried into their nest. Thus, the benefits of large prey and the cost associated with nest expansion might determine the prey size preference. As expected from the prey species preference, the wasp preferred small individuals of the largest prey species, Thlaspida biramosa, and large individuals of the smallest prey species, Cassida piperata, resulting in natural selection on body sizes. In intermediate-sized prey species, however, there was no evidence for selection on body size. Natural selection on body size might explain the variation of prey morphologies that increase body size, such as explanate margins, in this group.

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