Yang Mingliu, Zhang Zhi-Qiang
State Key Laboratory for Vegetation Structure, Functions and Construction, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Transboundary Ecosecurity of Southwest China, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, Yunnan, China.
Plant Divers. 2025 Jan 29;47(2):323-336. doi: 10.1016/j.pld.2025.01.005. eCollection 2025 Mar.
Mating patterns in angiosperms are typically nonrandom, yet the mechanisms driving nonrandom mating remain unclear, especially regarding the effects of quantitative floral traits on plant mating success across male and female functions. In this study, we investigated how variation in spur length and flower number per plant influences mating patterns in within a natural population. Using marker-based paternity analyses and manipulative experiments, we assessed the role of these traits in mating success across both sexual functions. We found significant variation in the mate composition between male and female function, with spur-length frequency positively associated with female outcrossing rate and mate number, but not with male outcrossing or mate number. Most mating events occurred within 10 m, and spur-length frequency positively correlated with mating distance. Regardless of selfing, there was evidence for assortative mating for spur length. Although spur length did not correlate with pollinator visitation, plants with mid-length spurs had higher seed set than those with shorter or longer spurs when autonomous selfing was excluded. Flowers number per plant was only associated with mating distance and female outcrossing rate. Our results suggest that spur length plays a key role in nonrandom mating by frequency-dependent mating, with implications for stabilizing selection and maintenance of genetic diversity. This study advances our understanding of floral diversity by dissecting the role of quantitative floral traits in plant mating through both female and male functions.
被子植物的交配模式通常是非随机的，但驱动非随机交配的机制仍不清楚，尤其是关于数量性状的花部特征对植物在雄性和雌性功能上的交配成功率的影响。在本研究中，我们调查了距瓣长度和单株花数的变异如何影响一个自然种群内的交配模式。通过基于标记的父本分析和操纵实验，我们评估了这些性状在两种性功能的交配成功中的作用。我们发现雄性和雌性功能之间的配偶组成存在显著差异，距瓣长度频率与雌性异交率和配偶数量呈正相关，但与雄性异交或配偶数量无关。大多数交配事件发生在10米范围内，距瓣长度频率与交配距离呈正相关。无论自交情况如何，都有证据表明存在基于距瓣长度的选型交配。尽管距瓣长度与传粉者访花无关，但在排除自动自交的情况下，具有中等长度距瓣的植株比具有较短或较长距瓣的植株有更高的结实率。单株花数仅与交配距离和雌性异交率有关。我们的结果表明，距瓣长度通过频率依赖交配在非随机交配中起关键作用，这对稳定选择和遗传多样性的维持具有重要意义。本研究通过剖析数量性状的花部特征在植物通过雌性和雄性两种功能进行交配中的作用，推进了我们对花部多样性的理解。
