Journal article
The evolution of self-compatibility in geographically peripheral populations of Leavenworthia alabamica (Brassicaceae)
American journal of botany, Vol.92(9), pp.1503-1512
09/2005
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/104878
PMID: 21646168
Abstract
Self-compatibility and adaptations to self-fertilization are often found in plant populations at the periphery of species' ranges or on islands. Self-compatibility may predominate in these environments because it provides reproductive assurance when pollinators or availability of mates limits seed production. This possibility was studied in Leavenworthia alabamica, a flowering plant endemic to the southeastern United States. Populations at the center of the species' range retain sporophytic self-incompatibility, but peripheral populations are smaller, self-compatible, and have adaptations for self-fertilization. A reciprocal-transplant experiment was designed to test whether there is pollen limitation of seed set and to examine its strength in central and peripheral populations. Self-compatible genotypes produced more fruit and 17-22% more seed than self-incompatible genotypes in all environments, suggesting that the transition to self-compatibility may be favored by natural selection in all populations inhabited by L. alabamica. Sequence analyses demonstrated that two peripheral populations have 90-100% reductions in genetic variation, consistent with the effects of small population size or historical bottlenecks. Although pollen limitation of seed set occurs in all environments, self-compatibility may evolve at the periphery in L. alabamica because the benefits of reproductive assurance are influenced by population size or bottlenecks following extinction and colonization.
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Details
- Title
- The evolution of self-compatibility in geographically peripheral populations of Leavenworthia alabamica (Brassicaceae)
- Creators
- Jeremiah W Busch - Department of Biology, Indiana University, 1001 E. 3rd St., Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
- Publication Details
- American journal of botany, Vol.92(9), pp.1503-1512
- Academic Unit
- Biological Sciences, School of
- Publisher
- United States
- Identifiers
- 99900546726601842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article