Extent of Nonrandom Fertilization in Hibiscus moscheutos

9306393本研究的主要目的是确定一个本地玫瑰锦葵（Hisbiscus moscheutos）的自然群体中的非随机受精的程度。 这些结果将被用来测试的假设，即男性育性的影响结果的花粉管竞争风格。 我们以前的工作表明，花粉管生长速度在个体之间是不同的，这种特性可能会影响一株植物产生多少种子。 控制杂交和遗传标记将用于测试这一假设。 这项研究代表了第一次彻底调查的潜在性选择，由于植物授粉后的事件。虽然我们的工作涉及基本的进化理论，但它也有实际应用。 花粉管竞争已被认为是一种机制，通过这种机制可以在商业上重要的物种中鉴定出上级基因型。 该研究将有助于我们进一步了解花粉竞争能力是否具有遗传基础，以及花粉管生长速率与其孢子体后代之间是否存在正相关关系。 此外，种子公司需要更多关于种子亲子关系因特定花粉供体的特征而变化的程度的信息。 我们的研究结果对昆虫授粉作物具有普遍意义，在昆虫授粉作物中，授粉者将来自几种植物的花粉混合物传递到接受柱头。

9306393 The major goal of this research is to determine the extent of nonrandom fertilization in natural populations of a native rose mallow (Hisbiscus moscheutos). These results will be used to test the hypothesis that male fertility is influenced by the outcome of pollen tube competition within styles. Our previous work suggests that pollen tube growth rates differ among individuals, and this trait may affect how many seeds a plant sires. Controlled crosses and genetic markers will be used to test this hypothesis. This research represents the first thorough investigation of the potential for sexual selection due to post-pollination events in plants. %%% Although our work addresses basic evolutionary theory, it also has practical applications. Pollen tube competition has been proposed as a mechanism by which superior genotypes can be identified in commercially important species. This research will improve our understanding of whether pollen competitive ability has a genetic basis, and whether there is a positive correlation between the growth rates of pollen tubes and their sporophytic progeny. In addition, seed companies need more information about the extent to which seed paternity varies due to characteristics of particular pollen donors. Our results have general implications for insect- pollinated crops in which pollinators deliver a mixture of pollen from several plants to receptive stigmas.