Differential Frond Growth in the Isomorphic Haploid-diploid Red Seaweed Agarophyton chilense by Long-term In Situ Monitoring.

ABSTRACT: Conditional differentiation between haploids and diploids has been proposed to drive the evolutionary stability of isomorphic biphasic life cycles. The cost of producing and maintaining genetic information has been posed as a possible driver of this conditional differentiation. Under this hypothesis, haploids benefit over diploids in resource-limited environments by halving the costs of producing and maintaining DNA. Spared resources can be allocated to enhance survival, growth or fertility. Here we test in the field whether indeed haploids have higher growth rates than diploids. Individuals of the red seaweed Agarophyton chilense, were mapped and followed during 2 years with 4-month census intervals across different stands within the Valdivia River estuary, Chile. As hypothesized, haploid

SUBMITTER: Vieira VMNCS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8247958 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature