Verma Susheel, Wani Ishfaq Ahmad, Khan Sajid, Sharma Supriya, Kumari Priyanka, Kaushik Prashant, El-Serehy Hamed A
Conservation and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri 185234, India.
Instituto de Conservación y Mejora de la Agrodiversidad Valenciana, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
Plants (Basel). 2021 Sep 14;10(9):1907. doi: 10.3390/plants10091907.
Study of reproductive biology and pollination ecology helps in understanding the life history patterns of species. Such a study brings to light the bottlenecks, if any, on account of which the individuals of the species are not able to reproduce in nature and ultimately helps in planning appropriate conservation strategies for the species under threat. The present study was aimed at examining the morphological and reproductive variance in a threatened ecological specialist growing within shrubberies and open hillsides of the North-Western Himalayas in India. displays three different variants. Flowering period ranges from February to September. Pollen viability as reported on fluorescein diacetate and acetocarmine treatments was highest for variant I, while maximum pollen output was obtained for variant III. Pollen pistil interaction is brought by the movement of anther towards stigma. Fluorescence microscopy of hand pollinated club shaped stigma shows that the germinating pollen form a ring over the receptive adaxial surface. Pollination syndrome is entomophily. Variant II attracts a significantly large number of pollinators from diverse insect families. Breeding experiments reflect that plants are self-compatible and cross fertile. Reproductive output (% fruit set) was highest for variant II followed by III and I, respectively. This investigation helped to understand the effect of different biotic and abiotic constraints on the phenology and reproductive biology of the plant. The information generated so will enable conservationists to design appropriate strategies for its long-term survival and sustenance in nature.
生殖生物学与传粉生态学研究有助于理解物种的生活史模式。这样的研究揭示了（如果存在的话）物种个体在自然环境中无法繁殖的瓶颈，最终有助于为受威胁物种制定合适的保护策略。本研究旨在考察一种生长在印度喜马拉雅西北部灌木丛和开阔山坡上的受威胁生态特化物种的形态和生殖变异。该物种呈现出三种不同的变异形态。花期从2月持续到9月。经荧光素二乙酸酯和醋酸洋红处理后，变异形态I的花粉活力最高，而变异形态III的花粉产量最大。花粉与雌蕊的相互作用是由花药向柱头的移动引发的。对人工授粉的棒状柱头进行荧光显微镜观察发现，萌发的花粉在可接受的近轴表面形成一个环。授粉综合征为虫媒传粉。变异形态II吸引了大量来自不同昆虫科类的传粉者。育种实验表明，该植物自交亲和且杂交可育。生殖产量（坐果率%）变异形态II最高，其次分别是变异形态III和变异形态I。这项调查有助于理解不同生物和非生物限制因素对该植物物候和生殖生物学的影响。由此产生的信息将使保护主义者能够设计出合适的策略，以确保其在自然环境中的长期生存和延续。
