Phenotypic plasticity in diaspore production of a amphi-basicarpic cold desert annual that produces polymorphic diaspores

Phenotypic plasticity in diaspore production of a amphi-basicarpic cold desert annual that produces polymorphic diaspores

Phenotypic plasticity has been studied in diaspore-dimorphic species, but no such study has been done on a diaspore-polymorphic species. Our aim was to determine the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on phenotypic plasticity of the diaspore-polymorphic cold desert annual Ceratocarpus arenarius....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2020-07, Vol.10 (1), p.11142-11142, Article 11142
Main Authors: Gan, Lu, Lu, Juanjuan, Baskin, Jerry M, Baskin, Carol C, Tan, Dunyan
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Abiotic factors
Adaptation, Physiological - physiology
Biotic factors
Chenopodiaceae - anatomy & histology
Chenopodiaceae - growth & development
Chenopodiaceae - physiology
Cold
Dehydration
Desert Climate
Deserts
Dispersal
Fruits
Hypotheses
Morphology
Phenotypic plasticity
Rainfall
Reproductive organs
Seed Dispersal - physiology
Seeds
Seeds - anatomy & histology
Seeds - growth & development
Seeds - physiology
Soil moisture
Soil sciences
Species
Trends
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Summary:Phenotypic plasticity has been studied in diaspore-dimorphic species, but no such study has been done on a diaspore-polymorphic species. Our aim was to determine the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on phenotypic plasticity of the diaspore-polymorphic cold desert annual Ceratocarpus arenarius. Plants produced from dispersal units near the soil surface (a, basicarps) and at the middle (c) and upper (f) parts of the plant canopy were subjected to different levels of soil moisture, nutrient supply and intramorph and intermorph densities. Different levels of these biotic and abiotic factors resulted in significant variation in total plant mass, diaspore mass, mass allocation to stem and reproductive organs and total number and proportion of morphs a, c and f on an individual. The effect of stress on number and mass of a dispersal unit morph varied by treatment, with dispersal unit f having the highest CV and dispersal unit a the lowest. The success of this diaspore polymorphic species in its rainfall-unpredictable environment likely is enhanced by plasticity in production of the different types of diaspores.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322