The selfing syndrome a model for studying the genetic and evolutionary basis of morphological adaptation in plants
- Background In angiosperm evolution, autogamously selfing lineages have been derived from outbreeding ancestors multiple times, and this transition is regarded as one of the most common evolutionary tendencies in flowering plants. In most cases, it is accompanied by a characteristic set of morphological and functional changes to the flowers, together termed the selfing syndrome. Two major areas that have changed during evolution of the selfing syndrome are sex allocation to male vs. female function and flower morphology, in particular flower (mainly petal) size and the distance between anthers and stigma. Scope A rich body of theoretical, taxonomic, ecological and genetic studies have addressed the evolutionary modification of these two trait complexes during or after the transition to selfing. Here, we review our current knowledge about the genetics and evolution of the selfing syndrome. Conclusions We argue that because of its frequent parallel evolution, the selfing syndrome represents an ideal model for addressing basic questionsBackground In angiosperm evolution, autogamously selfing lineages have been derived from outbreeding ancestors multiple times, and this transition is regarded as one of the most common evolutionary tendencies in flowering plants. In most cases, it is accompanied by a characteristic set of morphological and functional changes to the flowers, together termed the selfing syndrome. Two major areas that have changed during evolution of the selfing syndrome are sex allocation to male vs. female function and flower morphology, in particular flower (mainly petal) size and the distance between anthers and stigma. Scope A rich body of theoretical, taxonomic, ecological and genetic studies have addressed the evolutionary modification of these two trait complexes during or after the transition to selfing. Here, we review our current knowledge about the genetics and evolution of the selfing syndrome. Conclusions We argue that because of its frequent parallel evolution, the selfing syndrome represents an ideal model for addressing basic questions about morphological evolution and adaptation in flowering plants, but that realizing this potential will require the molecular identification of more of the causal genes underlying relevant trait variation.…
Author details: | Adrien SicardORCiD, Michael LenhardORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcr023 |
ISSN: | 0305-7364 |
ISSN: | 1095-8290 |
Title of parent work (English): | Annals of botany |
Publisher: | Oxford Univ. Press |
Place of publishing: | Oxford |
Publication type: | Review |
Language: | English |
Year of first publication: | 2011 |
Publication year: | 2011 |
Release date: | 2017/03/26 |
Tag: | Evolution; autogamy; flower size; herkogamy; pollen-to-ovule ratio; quantitative trait loci; self-incompatibility; selfing syndrome |
Volume: | 107 |
Issue: | 9 |
Number of pages: | 11 |
First page: | 1433 |
Last Page: | 1443 |
Funding institution: | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BB/E024793/1]; European Union [236753-evo_flore] |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Biochemie und Biologie |
Peer review: | Referiert |