How early does the selfing syndrome arise? Associations between selfing ability and flower size within populations of the mixed-mater Collinsia verna.

ABSTRACT:

Premise

Widespread associations between selfing rate and floral size within and among taxa suggest that these traits may evolve in concert. Does this association develop immediately because of shared genetic and/or developmental control, or stepwise with selection shaping the evolution of one trait following the other? If the former, then association ought to appear within and across selfing populations. We explore this fundamental question in three populations of the mixed-mater Collinsia verna where autonomous selfing (AS) ability has been shown to be under selection by the pollination environment.

Methods

We grew clonal replicates of C. verna in a controlled environment to characterize broad-sense genetic correlations among traits within populations and to assess whether

SUBMITTER: McElderry RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9305746 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature