scholarly journals Self-fertilization sweeps up variation in the worm genome

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick C Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Self Fertilization

scholarly journals Understanding plant reproductive diversity

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1537) ◽  
pp. 99-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer C. H. Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Biology ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Wind Pollination ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Floral Diversity ◽  
Self Fertilization ◽  
Personal Reflections ◽  
Animal Pollination

Flowering plants display spectacular floral diversity and a bewildering array of reproductive adaptations that promote mating, particularly outbreeding. A striking feature of this diversity is that related species often differ in pollination and mating systems, and intraspecific variation in sexual traits is not unusual, especially among herbaceous plants. This variation provides opportunities for evolutionary biologists to link micro-evolutionary processes to the macro-evolutionary patterns that are evident within lineages. Here, I provide some personal reflections on recent progress in our understanding of the ecology and evolution of plant reproductive diversity. I begin with a brief historical sketch of the major developments in this field and then focus on three of the most significant evolutionary transitions in the reproductive biology of flowering plants: the pathway from outcrossing to predominant self-fertilization, the origin of separate sexes (females and males) from hermaphroditism and the shift from animal pollination to wind pollination. For each evolutionary transition, I consider what we have discovered and some of the problems that still remain unsolved. I conclude by discussing how new approaches might influence future research in plant reproductive biology.

Sequence and Structural Diversity of the S Locus Genes From Different Lines With the Same Self-Recognition Specificities in Brassica oleracea

Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 154 (1) ◽  
pp. 413-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto Kusaba ◽  
Masanori Matsushita ◽  
Keiichi Okazaki ◽  
Yoko Satta ◽  
Takeshi Nishio
Keyword(s):  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Receptor Protein ◽  
Self Incompatibility ◽  
S Locus ◽  
High Similarity ◽  
Putative Receptor ◽  
Recognition Specificity ◽  
Polymorphic Genes ◽  
Self Recognition ◽  
Self Fertilization

Abstract Self-incompatibility (SI) is a mechanism for preventing self-fertilization in flowering plants. In Brassica, it is controlled by a single multi-allelic locus, S, and it is believed that two highly polymorphic genes in the S locus, SLG and SRK, play central roles in self-recognition in stigmas. SRK is a putative receptor protein kinase, whose extracellular domain exhibits high similarity to SLG. We analyzed two pairs of lines showing cross-incompatibility (S2 and S2-b; S13 and S13-b). In S2 and S2-b, SRKs were more highly conserved than SLGs. This was also the case with S13 and S13-b. This suggests that the SRKs of different lines must be conserved for the lines to have the same self-recognition specificity. In particular, SLG2-b showed only 88.5% identity to SLG2, which is comparable to that between the SLGs of different S haplotypes, while SRK2-b showed 97.3% identity to SRK2 in the S domain. These findings suggest that the SLGs in these S haplotypes are not important for self-recognition in SI.

scholarly journals Sperm Competition in the Absence of Fertilization in Caenorhabditis elegans

Genetics ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Singson ◽  
Katherine L Hill ◽  
Steven W L’Hernault
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Sperm Function ◽  
Sperm Precedence ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Normal Sperm ◽  
Self Fertilization ◽  
Competition Assays

Abstract Hermaphrodite self-fertilization is the primary mode of reproduction in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. However, when a hermaphrodite is crossed with a male, nearly all of the oocytes are fertilized by male-derived sperm. This sperm precedence during reproduction is due to the competitive superiority of male-derived sperm and results in a functional suppression of hermaphrodite self-fertility. In this study, mutant males that inseminate fertilization-defective sperm were used to reveal that sperm competition within a hermaphrodite does not require successful fertilization. However, sperm competition does require normal sperm motility. Additionally, sperm competition is not an absolute process because oocytes not fertilized by male-derived sperm can sometimes be fertilized by hermaphrodite-derived sperm. These results indicate that outcrossed progeny result from a wild-type cross because male-derived sperm are competitively superior and hermaphrodite-derived sperm become unavailable to oocytes. The sperm competition assays described in this study will be useful in further classifying the large number of currently identified mutations that alter sperm function and development in C. elegans.

scholarly journals THE EFFECTIVE PROPORTION OF SELF-FERTILIZATION WITH CONSANGUINEOUS MATINGS IN INBRED POPULATIONS

Genetics ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-152
Author(s):  
Kermit Ritland
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Mating ◽  
Selfing Rate ◽  
Genotypic Distribution ◽  
Self Fertilization ◽  
Allelic Segregation ◽  
Mixed Mating Model ◽  
Mating Model ◽  
Inbred Populations ◽  
Biased Estimates ◽  
Independent Parameters

ABSTRACT Allelic segregation at a single locus among offspring derived from matings, including those between inbred relatives, is a combination of two patterns, corresponding to self-fertilization and random outcrossing. The proportion of effective self-fertilization is termed the "effective selfing rate," and it is specified with identity coefficients. The description of the offspring genotypic distribution for a population with mating among relatives requires a set of three independent parameters of genetic and mating structure. One such set is the inbreeding coefficient of parents, the coefficient of kinship between mates and the effective selfing rate. The model used to derive the effective selfing rate distinguishes between the effective selfing rates of inbred vs. outbred parents; the mixed mating model does not distinguish between these two rates. As a result, the mixed mating model usually gives biased estimates of effective selfing, if there is mating among inbred relatives. The procedure for estimation of effective selfing, based upon progeny array data distributed according to the "effective selfing model," is presented, and an example is given.

Low reproductive success of hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) regardless of inbreeding level or time since disturbance

Botany ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (12) ◽  
pp. 911-915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn M. Flinn ◽  
Matthew M. Loiacono ◽  
Hannah E. Groff
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Single Individual ◽  
Dennstaedtia Punctilobula ◽  
Self Fertilization ◽  
Sporophyte Production ◽  
Inbreeding Level ◽  
Native Invasive ◽  
Selfing Ability

Self-fertilization can facilitate the colonization of new habitats because it allows a single individual to found a population. Here we investigated the relationship between mating systems and colonization in hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Michx.) T.Moore). Throughout eastern North America, this species has been called a “native invasive” for its tendency to dominate forest understories disturbed by logging, inhibiting tree regeneration. Thus, it is important to understand the mechanisms of its spread. We hypothesized that if populations were founded through selfing, then populations disturbed more recently would retain higher selfing ability; this pattern would demonstrate an important link between mating systems and colonization. For four populations logged at different times in the past, we compared the sporophyte production of gametophytes at different levels of inbreeding (intragametophytic selfing, intergametophytic selfing, and outcrossing) using laboratory crosses. Across all treatments, only 9.8% of gametophytes formed sporophytes (N = 400 gametophytes). Neither inbreeding level nor time since disturbance affected sporophyte production. Selfing ability did not differ across populations logged at different times; there was no interaction between inbreeding level and time since disturbance. The low reproductive success of D. punctilobula, regardless of inbreeding level or time since disturbance, suggests that population establishment and expansion via sexual reproduction may be relatively rare in this clonal species.

EFFECTS OF SELF-FERTILIZATION IN THE GIANT KELP, MACROCYSTIS PYRIFERA

Ecology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 85 (12) ◽  
pp. 3267-3276 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. T. Raimondi ◽  
D. C. Reed ◽  
B. Gaylord ◽  
L. Washburn
Keyword(s):  
Macrocystis Pyrifera ◽  
Giant Kelp ◽  
Self Fertilization
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