Enrichning ploidy level diversity: the role of apomictic and sexual biotypes of Hieracium subgen. Pilosella (Asteraceae) that coexist in polyploid populations
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2009 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Folia Geobotanica |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Botany |
| Keywords | Facultative apomixis; Genome instability; Haploid parthenogenesis; Hybrid swarms; Residual sexuality; Unreduced gametes |
| Description | The capacity to generate variation in ploidy and reproductive mode was compared in facultatively apomictic versus sexual maternal plants that coexist in two model populations. The population structure was studied in polyploid hybrid swarms comprised of Hieracium pilosella (usually sexual, less commonly apomictic), H. bauhini (apomictic), and their hybrids (sexual, apomictic, or sterile). In both populations, the progeny of sexual mothers mainly retained a rather narrow range of ploidy level/chromosome number, while the progeny of facultatively apomictic mothers was more variable. The high-polyploid hybrids, which had arisen from the fertilization of unreduced egg cells of apomicts, mainly produced aberrant non-maternal progeny. While the progeny produced by both true apomictic and sexual mothers mostly maintained the maternal reproductive mode, the progeny of those versatile mothers was mainly sexual. Herein, we argue that polyploid facultative apomicts can considerably increase population diversity. |
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