Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Benatska 2, Prague, CZ-128 01, Czech Republic.
Institute of Botany, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Zámek 1, Průhonice, 252 43, Czech Republic.
Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2023 Dec;98(6):1928-1944. doi: 10.1111/brv.12991. Epub 2023 Jun 19.
Sexual selection is considered one of the key processes that contribute to the emergence of new species. While the connection between sexual selection and speciation has been supported by comparative studies, the mechanisms that mediate this connection remain unresolved, especially in plants. Similarly, it is not clear how speciation processes within plant populations translate into large-scale speciation dynamics. Here, we review the mechanisms through which sexual selection, pollination, and mate choice unfold and interact, and how they may ultimately produce reproductive isolation in plants. We also overview reproductive strategies that might influence sexual selection in plants and illustrate how functional traits might connect speciation at the population level (population differentiation, evolution of reproductive barriers; i.e. microevolution) with evolution above the species level (macroevolution). We also identify outstanding questions in the field, and suitable data and tools for their resolution. Altogether, this effort motivates further research focused on plants, which might potentially broaden our general understanding of speciation by sexual selection, a major concept in evolutionary biology.
性选择被认为是导致新物种出现的关键过程之一。虽然性选择和物种形成之间的联系已经得到比较研究的支持，但介导这种联系的机制仍未解决，尤其是在植物中。同样，物种形成过程如何在植物种群中转化为大规模的物种形成动态也不清楚。在这里，我们回顾了性选择、传粉和配偶选择展开和相互作用的机制，以及它们最终如何在植物中产生生殖隔离。我们还概述了可能影响植物性选择的繁殖策略，并说明了功能特征如何将种群水平上的物种形成（种群分化、生殖障碍的进化，即微观进化）与物种水平以上的进化（宏观进化）联系起来。我们还确定了该领域的悬而未决的问题，以及解决这些问题所需的合适数据和工具。总的来说，这项工作促使人们进一步关注植物，这可能会拓宽我们对性选择导致物种形成的一般认识，这是进化生物学中的一个主要概念。
