Dataset Information

Reproductive pathways in Hieracium s.s. (Asteraceae): strict sexuality in diploids and apomixis in polyploids.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Apomixis or asexual seed reproduction is a key evolutionary mechanism in certain angiosperms providing them with reproductive assurance and isolation. Nevertheless, the frequency of apomixis is largely unknown, especially in groups with autonomous apomixis such as the diploid-polyploid genus Hieracium.

Methods

Using flow cytometric analyses, we determined the ploidy level and reproductive pathways (sexual vs. apomictic) for 7616 seeds originating from 946 plants belonging to >50 taxa sampled at 130 sites across Europe.

Key results

Diploid seeds produced by diploids were formed exclusively by the sexual pathway after double fertilization of reduced embryo sacs. An absolute majority of tri- and tetraploid seeds (99.6 %) produced by tri- and tetrapolyploid taxa were formed by autonomous apomixis. Only 20 polyploid seeds (0.4 %) were formed sexually. These seeds, which originated on seven polyploid accessions of four taxa, were formed after fertilization of either unreduced embryo sacs through a so-called triploid bridge or reduced embryo sacs, and frequently resulted in progeny with an increased ploidy. In addition, the formation of seedlings with increased ploidy (4x and 6x) was found in two triploid plants. This is the first firm evidence on functional facultative apomixis in polyploid members of Hieracium sensu stricto (s.s.).

Conclusions

The mode of reproduction in Hieracium s.s. is tightly associated with ploidy. While diploids produce seeds exclusively sexually, polyploids produce seeds by obligate or almost obligate apomixis. Strict apomixis can increase the reproductive assurance and this in turn can increase the colonization ability of apomicts. Nevertheless, our data clearly show that certain polyploid plants are still able to reproduce sexually and contribute to the formation of new cytotypes and genotypes. The finding of functional facultative apomicts is essential for future studies focused on evolution, inheritance and ecological significance of apomixis in this genus.

SUBMITTER: Mraz P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6344222 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Reproductive pathways in Hieracium s.s. (Asteraceae): strict sexuality in diploids and apomixis in polyploids.

Mráz Patrik P Zdvorák Pavel P

Annals of botany 20190101 2

<h4>Background and aims</h4>Apomixis or asexual seed reproduction is a key evolutionary mechanism in certain angiosperms providing them with reproductive assurance and isolation. Nevertheless, the frequency of apomixis is largely unknown, especially in groups with autonomous apomixis such as the diploid-polyploid genus Hieracium.<h4>Methods</h4>Using flow cytometric analyses, we determined the ploidy level and reproductive pathways (sexual vs. apomictic) for 7616 seeds originating from 946 plant ...[more]

PMID: 30032273

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background and aimsHieracium subgenus Hieracium is one of the taxonomically most intricate groups of vascular plants, due to polyploidy and a diversity of breeeding systems (sexuality vs. apomixis). The aim of the present study was to analyse nuclear genome size in a phylogenetic framework and to assess relationships between genome size and ploidy, breeding system and selected ecogeographic features.MethodsHoloploid and monoploid genome sizes (C- and Cx-values) of 215 cultivated plants from 89 field populations of 42 so-called 'basic' Hieracium species were determined using propidium iodide flow cytometry. Chromosome counts were available for all analysed plants, and all plants were tested experimentally for their mode of reproduction (sexuality vs. apomixis). For constructing molecular phylogenetic trees, the external transcribed spacer region of nuclear ribosomal DNA was used.Key resultsThe mean 2C values differed up to 2.37-fold among different species (from 7.03 pg in diploid to 16.67 in tetraploid accessions). The 1Cx values varied 1.22-fold (between 3.51 and 4.34 pg). Variation in 1Cx values between conspecific (species in a broad sense) accessions ranged from 0.24% to 7.2%. Little variation (not exceeding the approximate measurement inaccurracy threshold of 3.5%) was found in 33 species, whereas variation higher than 3.5% was detected in seven species. Most of the latter may have a polytopic origin. Mean 1Cx values of the three cytotypes (2n, 3n and 4n) differed significantly (average of 3.93 pg in diploids, 3.82 pg in triploids and 3.78 pg in tetraploids) indicating downsizing of genomes in polyploids. The pattern of genome size variation correlated well with two major phylogenetic clades which were composed of species with western or eastern European origin. The monoploid genome size in the 'western' species was significantly lower than in the 'eastern' ones. Correlation of genome size with latitude, altitude and selected ecological characters (light and temperature) was not significant. A longitudinal component was only apparent for the whole data set, but absent within the major lineages.ConclusionsPhylogeny was the most important factor explaining the pattern of genome size variation in Hieracium sensu stricto, species of western European origin having significantly lower genome size in comparison with those of eastern European origin. Any correlation with ecogeographic variables, including longitude, was outweighed by the divergence of the genus into two major phylogenetic lineages.

Project description:BackgroundHaplotype assembly is the task of reconstructing haplotypes of an individual from a mixture of sequenced chromosome fragments. Haplotype information enables studies of the effects of genetic variations on an organism's phenotype. Most of the mathematical formulations of haplotype assembly are known to be NP-hard and haplotype assembly becomes even more challenging as the sequencing technology advances and the length of the paired-end reads and inserts increases. Assembly of haplotypes polyploid organisms is considerably more difficult than in the case of diploids. Hence, scalable and accurate schemes with provable performance are desired for haplotype assembly of both diploid and polyploid organisms.ResultsWe propose a framework that formulates haplotype assembly from sequencing data as a sparse tensor decomposition. We cast the problem as that of decomposing a tensor having special structural constraints and missing a large fraction of its entries into a product of two factors, U and [Formula: see text]; tensor [Formula: see text] reveals haplotype information while U is a sparse matrix encoding the origin of erroneous sequencing reads. An algorithm, AltHap, which reconstructs haplotypes of either diploid or polyploid organisms by iteratively solving this decomposition problem is proposed. The performance and convergence properties of AltHap are theoretically analyzed and, in doing so, guarantees on the achievable minimum error correction scores and correct phasing rate are established. The developed framework is applicable to diploid, biallelic and polyallelic polyploid species. The code for AltHap is freely available from https://github.com/realabolfazl/AltHap .ConclusionAltHap was tested in a number of different scenarios and was shown to compare favorably to state-of-the-art methods in applications to haplotype assembly of diploids, and significantly outperforms existing techniques when applied to haplotype assembly of polyploids.

Project description:BackgroundApomixis, the asexual reproduction through seeds, occurs in over 40 plant families and avoids the hidden cost of sex. Apomictic plants are thought to have an advantage in sparse populations and when colonizing new areas but may have a disadvantage in changing environments because they propagate via fixed genotypes. In this study, we separated the influences of different genetic backgrounds (potentially reflecting local adaptation) from those of the mode of reproduction, i.e., sexual vs. apomictic, on nine fitness-related traits in Hieracium pilosella L. We aimed to test whether apomixis per se may provide a fitness advantage in different competitive environments in a common garden setting.ResultsTo separate the effects of genetic background from those of reproductive mode, we generated five families of apomictic and sexual full siblings by crossing two paternal with four maternal parents. Under competition, apomictic plants showed reproductive assurance (probability of seeding, fertility), while offspring of sexual plants with the same genetic background had a higher germination rate. Sexual plants grew better (biomass) than apomictic plants in the presence of grass as a competitor but apomictic plants spread further vegetatively (maximum stolon length) when their competitors were sexual plants of the same species. Furthermore, genetic background as represented by the five full-sibling families influenced maximum stolon length, the number of seeds, and total fitness. Under competition with grass, genetic background influenced fecundity, the number of seeds, and germination rate.ConclusionsOur results suggest that both the mode of reproduction as well as the genetic background affect the success of H. pilosella in competitive environments. Total fitness, the most relevant trait for adaptation, was only affected by the genetic background. However, we also show for the first time that apomixis per se has effects on fitness-related traits that are not confounded by-and thus independent of-the genetic background.

Dataset Information

Reproductive pathways in Hieracium s.s. (Asteraceae): strict sexuality in diploids and apomixis in polyploids.

Background and aims

Methods

Key results

Conclusions

Publications

Reproductive pathways in Hieracium s.s. (Asteraceae): strict sexuality in diploids and apomixis in polyploids.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets