Variation in sexual dimorphism in a wind-pollinated plant: the influence of geographical context and life-cycle dynamics.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the mechanisms causing phenotypic differences between females and males has long fascinated evolutionary biologists. An extensive literature exists on animal sexual dimorphism but less information is known about sex differences in plants, particularly the extent of geographical variation in sexual dimorphism and its life-cycle dynamics. Here, we investigated patterns of genetically based sexual dimorphism in vegetative and reproductive traits of a wind-pollinated dioecious plant, Rumex hastatulus, across three life-cycle stages using open-pollinated families from 30 populations spanning the geographic range and chromosomal variation (XY and XY₁ Y₂ ) of the species. The direction and degree of sexual dimorphism was highly variable among populations and li

SUBMITTER: Puixeu G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6851585 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature