Sex allocation in inflorescences of the self-compatible Polygonatum verticillatum (Liliaceae)

The modularity and sequential flower production in hermaphroditic plants enable them to modify sex allocation in response to biotic or abiotic environmental variation. To test three predictions derived from the relationship between sexual specialization and compatibility levels, we analyzed the bree...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mediterranean botany 2022-01, Vol.43, p.e74346
Main Authors: Guitián, Javier, Guitián, Pablo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
breeding system
Comparative studies
Compatibility
Females
Flowers
Flowers & plants
Fruits
Hermaphroditism
Incompatibility
Modularity
Ovules
P:O ratio variation
Plant breeding
Plant reproduction
Plant reproductive structures
Plant sciences
Plants (botany)
Pollen
Pollinators
Polygonatum
Polygonatum verticillatum
Ratios
self-compatibility
Self-incompatibility
Sex
sex allocation
Stamens
Variation
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Summary:The modularity and sequential flower production in hermaphroditic plants enable them to modify sex allocation in response to biotic or abiotic environmental variation. To test three predictions derived from the relationship between sexual specialization and compatibility levels, we analyzed the breeding system (self-incompatibility) of Polygonatum verticillatum and the variation in sexual investment to stamens, ovules, pollen grains and P:O ratio among flowers at different positions of the inflorescence. Our results show that in self-compatible P. verticillatum sexual investment varies throughout the inflorescence with an increase in the number of pollen grains but does not show male specialization in top flowers, unlike other self-incompatible species of the genus previously studied. Comparative studies of the variation in floral sex allocation between taxonomically close species should contribute to a better interpretation of the relationships between sexual investment and the breeding system.
ISSN:2603-9109
2603-9109
DOI:10.5209/mbot.74346