ArticleAnnals of botany2021
Do annual and perennial populations of an insect-pollinated plant species differ in mating system?
Article in Annals of botany, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Divergence of mating systems inPlant diversity · 2026Article
- Life-history characteristics and historical factors are important to explain regional variation in reproductive traits and genetic diversity in perennial mosses.Annals of botany · 2023Article
- Diverse mating consequences of the evolutionary breakdown of the sexual polymorphism heterostyly.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Linking key dimensions of plant phenotypic diversity. A commentary on: 'Mating systems and life history'.Annals of botany · 2021Article
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5 authors.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsTheory predicts that outcrossing should be more prevalent among perennials than annuals, a pattern confirmed by comparative evidence from diverse angiosperm families. However, intraspecific comparisons between annual and perennial populations are few because such variation is uncommon among flowering plants. Here, we test the hypothesis that perennial populations outcross more than annual populations by investigating Incarvillea sinensis, a wide-ranging insect-pollinated herb native to China. The occurrence of both allopatric and sympatric populations allows us to examine the stability of mating system differences between life histories under varying ecological conditions.
methodsWe estimated outcrossing rates and biparental inbreeding in 16 allopatric and five sympatric populations in which both life histories coexisted using 20 microsatellite loci. In each population we measured height, branch number, corolla size, tube length and herkogamy for ~30 individuals. In a sympatric population, we recorded daily flower number, pollinator visitation and the fruit and seed set of annual and perennial plants. KEY
resultsAs predicted, outcrossing rates (t) were considerably higher in perennial (mean = 0.76) than annual (mean = 0.09) populations. This difference in mating system was also maintained at sympatric sites where plants grew intermixed. In both allopatric and sympatric populations the degree of herkogamy was consistently larger in outcrossing than selfing plants. Perennials were more branched, with more and larger flowers than in annuals. In a sympatric population, annuals had a significantly higher fruit and seed set than perennials.
conclusionsGenetically based differences in herkogamy between annuals and perennials appear to play a key role in governing outcrossing rates in populations, regardless of variation in local ecological conditions. The maintenance of mating system and life history trait differentiation between perennial and annual populations of I. sinensis probably results from correlated evolution in response to local environmental conditions.
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