Collaborative Research: The Evolutionary Consequences of Floral Display Size in a Self-compatible plant

Karron 9816712在一个自花能育的植物上同时开花的花的数量可能对繁殖成功有深远的影响。 例如，具有大展示的植物可能会接受更多的授粉者访问，从而增加种子产量。 然而，大型显示器也可能需要显著的成本。 自花授粉的可能性更大，因为大的显示器促进植物内传粉者的运动。 如果出现近亲繁殖衰退，雌性的繁殖成功就会受到影响。 自花授粉也可能减少花粉转移到其他植物，减少男性生殖成功。 该项目利用一种新的实验系统来验证这一假设，即这些相互冲突的选择压力有利于中等大小的花卉展示的进化。 猴花（Mimulus ringens）展示将在由遗传上不同的个体组成的复制（克隆）种群中进行操作。 这些阵列有利于明确的措施，亲子关系和个人的自交率。 在一个共同的遗传背景上操纵花的显示大小允许检查花的显示和其他性状如何相互作用，影响生殖成功。 为了研究自然种群中的花展是如何进化的，将在普通花园的田间条件下进行人工选择实验。 这些实验将提供独特的数据有关的适应意义的花卉展示，并将提高我们的理解植物交配系统的进化。 这项研究的结果也将对农业（作物育种以最大限度地提高产量）和保护生物学（最大限度地提高植物园中濒危物种的繁殖成功率）产生重要影响。

Karron 9816712The number of flowers blooming simultaneously on a self-fertile plant may have profound consequences for reproductive success. For example, plants with large displays may receive more pollinator visits, increasing seed production. However, large displays may also entail significant costs. Self-pollination is more likely, since large displays promote within-plant pollinator movements. If there is inbreeding depression, female reproductive success will suffer. Self-pollination may also decrease pollen transfer to other plants, reducing male reproductive success. This project utilizes a novel experimental system to test the hypothesis that these conflicting selection pressures favor the evolution of intermediate-sized floral displays. Monkeyflower (Mimulus ringens) displays will be manipulated in replicate (cloned) populations consisting of genetically distinct individuals. These arrays facilitate unambiguous measures of paternity and individual selfing rates. Manipulation of floral display size on a common genetic background allows examination of how floral display and other traits interact in affecting reproductive success. To examine how floral display may evolve in natural populations, an artificial selection experiment will be conducted under field conditions in a common garden. These experiments will provide unique data concerning the adaptive significance of floral displays, and will enhance our understanding of the evolution of plant mating systems. The results of this research will also have important implications for agriculture (breeding of crops to maximize yield) and conservation biology (maximizing reproductive success of endangered species in botanic gardens).