Herkogamy and its effects on mating patterns in Arabidopsis thaliana.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of mating systems, which exhibit an extraordinary diversity in flowering plants, is of central interest in plant biology. Herkogamy, the spatial separation of sexual organs within flowers, is a widespread floral mechanism that is thought to be an adaptive trait reducing self-pollination in hermaphroditic plants. In contrast with previous studies of herkogamy that focused on plants with relatively large floral displays, we here characterized herkogamy in Arabidopsis thaliana, a model plant with a strong selfing syndrome. Developmental features, reproductive consequences, and genetic architecture of herkogamy were exploited using naturally variable A. thaliana accessions, under both greenhouse and natural conditions. Our results demonstrate that the degree of herkogamy can stro

SUBMITTER: Luo Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3582510 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature