Sexual conflict in protandrous flowers and the evolution of gynodioecy

Sexual interference between male and female function in hermaphrodite plants is reduced by protandry. In environments with insufficient pollinator service, prolongation of male function owing to limited pollen removal could restrict the duration of female function and lower seed production. We provi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evolution 2021-02, Vol.75 (2), p.278-293
Main Authors: Wang, Hao, Barrett, Spencer C.H., Li, Xue-Yan, Niu, Yang, Duan, Yuan-Wen, Zhang, Zhi-Qiang, Li, Qing-Jun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bees
Cyananthus
dichogamy
Evolution
Females
Fertility
Field tests
floral longevity
Flowering
Flowers
Gynodioecy
Hermaphrodites
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Plants (botany)
Pollen
pollen limitation
Pollinators
Populations
Prolongation
Protandry
Seeds
Sexual dimorphism
sexual interference
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Summary:Sexual interference between male and female function in hermaphrodite plants is reduced by protandry. In environments with insufficient pollinator service, prolongation of male function owing to limited pollen removal could restrict the duration of female function and lower seed production. We provide evidence that this form of sexual conflict has played a role in the spread of females in gynodioecious populations of Cyananthus delavayi in the pollen-limited environments in which this subalpine species occurs. Using field experiments involving artificial pollen removal from the strongly protandrous flowers of hermaphrodites, we demonstrated a trade-off between male- and female-phase duration with no influence on overall floral longevity. Pollen removal at the beginning of anthesis resulted in hermaphrodite seed production matching that of females. In contrast, restricted pollen removal increased the duration of male function at the expense of female function lowering maternal fertility compared to females. This pattern was evident in five populations with females experiencing a twofold average seed fertility advantage compared to hermaphrodites. Gynodioecy often appears to evolve from protandrous ancestors and pollen limitation is widespread in flowering plants suggesting that sexual conflict may play an unappreciated role in the evolution of this form of sexual dimorphism.
ISSN:0014-3820
1558-5646
DOI:10.1111/evo.14113