Forest Biology Center, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznan, Poland.
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kazimierz Wielki University, Powstańców Wielkopolskich 10, 85-090, Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Proc Biol Sci. 2024 Feb 28;291(2017):20232732. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2732.
Masting (synchronous and interannually variable seed production) is frequently called a reproductive strategy; yet it is unclear whether the reproductive behaviour of individuals has a heritable component. To address this, we used 22 years of annual fruit production data from 110 L. trees to examine the contributions of genetic factors to the reproductive phenotype of individuals, while controlling for environmental variation. Trees sharing close genetic relationships and experiencing similar habitat conditions exhibited similar levels of reproductive synchrony. Trees of comparable sizes displayed similar levels of year-to-year variation in fruiting, with relatedness contributing to this variation. External factors, such as shading, influenced the time intervals between years with abundant fruit production. The effects of genetic relatedness on the synchrony of reproduction among trees and on interannual variation provide long-awaited evidence that the masting phenotype is heritable, and can respond to natural selection.
结实（同步和年间可变性种子生产）通常被称为一种繁殖策略；然而，个体的繁殖行为是否具有遗传成分尚不清楚。为了解决这个问题，我们使用了 110 株 L. 树 22 年的年度果实生产数据，在控制环境变异的情况下，研究了遗传因素对个体繁殖表型的贡献。具有密切遗传关系并经历相似生境条件的树木表现出相似的繁殖同步水平。具有可比性大小的树木在结实方面表现出相似的年度变化，亲缘关系促成了这种变化。外部因素，如遮荫，影响了盛产果实的年份之间的时间间隔。遗传关系对树木之间繁殖同步性以及年际变异性的影响提供了期待已久的证据，证明结实表型是可遗传的，并能对自然选择做出反应。
