白花鬼针草的繁殖特性及入侵性

白花鬼针草是一种菊科入侵植物。本研究从单个花序花期的观察、繁育系统、花粉胚珠比、自交亲和性、花粉活力、访花昆虫、种子萌发特性等方面对白花鬼针草的繁殖特性进行了分析,探讨了其与入侵性之间的关系。研究表明:白花鬼针草单个花序全部开放约5～7 d,约第9天全部凋落;花粉活力在1～8 d内维持在较高的水平(87.07%～93.41%);花粉胚珠比为2508,单个花序可自交亲和,亦可兼性异交,为混合交配系统,结实率高;边花(舌状花)的存在有利于结实率的提高;访花昆虫主要有粉蝶科、蛱蝶科、茧蜂科和蚁科的昆虫;对萌发率、萌发速率、萌发开始时间和萌发持续时间做因子及聚类分析,白花鬼针草种子的萌发特性可以表现为爆发型、过渡型、缓萌型、低萌型4种萌发类型,根据不同的环境条件选择不同的萌发类型。总之,白花鬼针草具有自交亲和,结实率高,结实量大,种子萌发率高、萌发速率快且具有不同的萌发策略和边花等繁殖特点,是其成功入侵的主要原因。     

浙江姥山岛苦槠天然居群的遗传多样性及未来走向

为探索苦槠天然居群的遗传多样性, 对居群的未来发展做出评估, 对分布于浙江千岛湖姥山岛内苦槠萌蘖能力进行了调查, 同时利用SSR分子标记技术对实生苗扩散格局、天然居群遗传多样性及遗传分化系数进行研究。结果显示: 苦槠萌蘖能力很强, Re2型分蘖最多, 占32.4%; 林下苦槠实生苗遗传分布格局中, 84.2%实生苗是居群内自交繁殖结果; 筛选出的6对SSR引物分辨率高, 多态位点百分率达97.6%以上; 居群内遗传多样性水平达88.9%以上, 并且母树(0.49)>实生苗(0.45)。目前姥山岛苦槠自然居群采用根蘖自然更新为主的方式仍然会使居群在短期内保持高的遗传多样性水平, 使苦槠处于稳定增长期, 并呈现出向顶级群落演替的趋势; 但母株分蘖产生的植株进一步增加了林分郁闭程度, 接受外来花粉减少, 群内自交严重, 易产生群内遗传分化, 导致群体DNA遗传多样性处于衰退阶段, 不利于居群未来发展, 应借助人工干预扩大居群间交流。     

二态混合交配系统的适合度优势及其维持机制研究进展

由开花受精花(chasmogamous, CH)和闭花受精花(cleistogamous, CL)构成的二态混合交配系统植物有着特殊的繁殖策略, 对其进行深入研究有助于理解植物交配系统的维持机制、进化趋势以及植物对环境变化的应对策略。本文综述了国内外关于CH-CL系统两型花研究的文献资料, 包括非生物因素和生物因素对该繁育系统两型花的生长、发育及相对比例的影响, 两型花的维持机制及进化意义, 阐明了CH-CL系统的研究现状及科学问题, 重点评述了基于近年来对CH-CL系统研究成果的新认识。作者提出, 精确地检测两种花型的后代在异质生境下以及在生活史的不同阶段的适合度差异是十分必要的; 微环境(种子的散布模式及位置效应)对两型花种子萌发和子代生长发育的影响非常重要; 两型花表达的时空差异(即开花模式及对异质生境的敏感性差异)的表达机制可能与内源激素的水平变化相关; 对于多年生具CL系统植物来说, 不同性质、不同来源的后代在居群中的分布式样及对居群遗传结构的影响很可能是该系统维持的重要机制。因此, 深入研究和科学认识二态混合交配系统对认识整个植物界繁育系统的进化有十分重要的意义。     

天仙子的花部特征及延迟自交机制

通过实验观察和野外控制授粉等方法,对天仙子的自交亲和能力和自交传粉机制进行了研究。结果显示:(1)天仙子的花不完全雌性先熟,开花进程中雄蕊伸长是维持其混合交配系统的重要花部特征。(2)野外控制授粉实验证明天仙子的自交亲和性高,具有主动自交能力,主动自交发生的时间集中在晚花期,与花药和柱头接触的时间吻合。(3)在花粉活力和柱头可授期内,花药与柱头的接触能够发生自花授粉,这种依赖花药与柱头接触发生的自花授粉机制属于典型的延迟自交类型。研究表明,天仙子不仅在花结构上首先选择了适于异交的特征,而且还利用雄蕊伸长成功实现自花授粉,通过异交与延迟自交混合的交配系统为该物种提供了灵活的遗传与繁殖保障。     

二型花柱植物滇丁香二态和单态种群间花部形态变异模式（英文）

花部形态特征在植物交配系统的演化与维持过程中起关键作用,交配方式的转变将可能伴随着相应花部形态的调整。为探寻交配系统与花形态变异之间的联系,本研究对二型花柱植物滇丁香(Luculia pinceana)的二态和单态种群的花部形态特征进行比较分析。结果表明花部形态在两种不同花型构造的种群间分化程度显著大于花型构造相同的种群间变异。相对于二态种群而言,长花柱的单态种群中雌雄异位距离缩小,且个体间雌雄生殖器官在空间上的非法重叠程度增高,花部形态的调整能够同时促进自交和同型异交。在异型花柱物种内,异交为主的二型花柱种群向单态种群转变过程中自交比率预期上升,本研究表明花部形态的变异模式与交配系统转变相一致。     

Differences in floral traits and flower visitation rates in mating systems in Prunella vulgaris (Lamiaceae)

夏枯草交配系统对花特征和访花频率差异的影响 植物花特征和传粉者的访问次数与交配系统类型密切相关。唇形科植物夏枯草(Prunella vulgaris)存 在两种植株类型,分别为柱头伸出花冠和柱头在花冠内部的植株,而且两种植株的比例在不同种群中存在差异。本研究选择柱头伸出花冠外植株占绝大多数、柱头伸出花冠外植株占多数和柱头在花冠内部植株占多数的3个种群,通过比较每个种群中两种植株类型的开花物候、花形态特征、昆虫访问频率、自交能力、传粉者对结实的贡献以及近交衰退的水平,以检验花特征和传粉者访问次数与交配系统类型的关系。研究结果表明,与柱头在花冠内部的植株相比,柱头伸出花冠外的植株具有更大和更多的花,产生更多的花粉和花蜜,具有更高的访花频率,并主要通过异交产生种子。在种群水平,柱头伸出花冠外的植株占多数种群的访花频率显著高于柱头在花冠内部植株占多数的访花频率。柱头在花冠内部的植株比柱头伸出花冠外的植株具有更强的自动自交能力,在传粉者缺乏时为其提供了繁殖保障,但繁殖保障和异交率在不同种群中差异不显著,表明较低的昆虫访问能够满足夏枯草的授粉需求以产生种子,这可能与夏枯草较少的胚珠数量(每朵花仅有4个胚珠)有关。柱头在花冠内部植株的近交衰退水平低于柱头伸出花冠外植株的近交衰退水平,但两种植株类型的近交衰退水平均低于0.5,说明近交衰退不足以阻止该物种中自交的进化。综上所述,柱头在花冠内部的植株能够通过自交为夏枯草提供繁殖保障,而柱头伸出花冠外的植株能够利用昆虫传粉确保异交,表明混合交配系统在该物种中是一个稳定的状态。     

利用SSR荧光标记对野慈姑异交率的估测

对自交亲和植物交配系统进行估测,有利于了解植物的繁殖状态、自异交进化的轨迹和特定种群的自然历史或选择压力。自交亲和的野慈姑有性繁殖和克隆繁殖并存,且其花序内和无性系分株间存在雌雄花同时开放的现象即给自交带来了机会。本研究利用SSR标记估测野慈姑自然种群的异交水平,并比较分析异交率估测中荧光定量法的准确性和优势,探讨野慈姑不同自然种群微卫星位点的多态性。结果表明,从28对SSR引物中筛选出3对多态性较高的引物,其多种群水平的位点数分别是5、6、6;对1个自然种群的6棵植株共计31个果实的异交率进行估测,其整体异交率为92.87%±2.5%,揭示了野慈姑自然种群的交配系统以异交为主,且无性繁殖对后代的贡献有限;单引物水平下,荧光定量技术检测出的多态性位点数和杂合率均高于NativePAGE成像电泳,且其对异交率估测的结果也更准确;另外,从检测效率实验耗时和实验成本等方面综合分析,本研究推荐使用荧光定量技术。     

海滨锦葵花内五柱头裂片弯曲的独自调节(英文)

海滨锦葵花柱有5柱头裂片,若传粉失败,柱头裂片向下弯曲使柱头与自身花粉接触,发生延迟自交。传粉不足条件下发生的延迟自交可能提供繁殖保障。该研究定量分析了花粉搁置和授精胚珠数对花内未授粉柱头裂片运动的影响,并测定了花粉—胚珠比及柱头可授性和花粉生活力。结果表明,花内未授粉柱头裂片的弯曲不受其他柱头接受花粉量及授精胚珠数的影响,仅响应于其自身是否接受到花粉,花粉-胚珠比值显示海滨锦葵交配系统属兼性异交;未授粉柱头经弯曲与自身花粉授触时的强柱头可授粉和高花粉生活力为自交授粉的发生提供了可能。包括柱头裂片运动在内的多个花性状有机地展示了一种新花内混合交配系统,且花内柱头裂片弯曲的独自调节为从花水平验证被广泛接受的自交进化解释——繁殖保障假说提供了可能。     

植物交配系统的进化、资源分配对策与遗传多样性

影响植物自交率进化的选择力量主要体现在两个方面：当外来花粉量不足时,自交可以提高植物的结实率,即雌性适合度（繁殖保障）;而如果进行自交的花粉比异交花粉更易获得使胚珠受精的机会,那么自交也可以提高植物的雄性适合度（自动选择优势）。但是,鉴别什么时候是繁殖保障、什么时候是自动选择优势导致了自交的进化却是极其困难的。花粉贴现降低了自交植物通过异交花粉途径获得的适合度,即减弱了自动选择优势,而近交衰退既减少了自动选择优势也减少了繁殖保障给自交者带来的利益。具有不同交配系统的植物种群将具有不同的资源分配对策。理论研究已经说明,自交率增加将减少植物对雄性功能的资源分配比例,但将使繁殖分配加大,而且在一定条件下交配系统的改变甚至可以导致植物生活史发生剧烈变化,即从多年生变为一年生。文献中支持自交减少植物雄性投入的证据有很多,但是对繁殖分配与自交率的关系目前还没有系统的研究。资源分配理论可以解释植物繁育系统的多样性,尤其是能够说明为什么大多数植物都是雌雄同体的。自交对植物种群遗传结构的影响是减少种群内的遗传变异,增加种群间的遗传分化。长期以来人们一直猜测,自交者可能会丢掉一些长期进化的潜能,目前这个假说得到了一些支持。     

邓氏马先蒿遗传多样性的ISSR分析

运用ISSR-PCR分子标记技术对邓氏马先蒿(Pedicularis dunniana)云南中甸以及四川木格措两个自然居群的遗传分化以及遗传多样性进行研究。结果表明:物种水平上邓氏马先蒿遗传多样性水平较高(PPB=62%),但居群平均水平很低,云南中甸居群多态性位点百分率只有23%。四川居群也仅仅是27%,AMOVA分析结果表明,居群间基因分化系数Fst=0.7462,即遗传变异绝大部分来源于两居群间,居群间表现出强烈的遗传分化。自交的交配方式以及小居群产生的遗传漂变效可能是造成邓氏马先蒿目前遗传结构的主要原因。     

A Widespread Chromosomal Inversion Polymorphism Contributes to a Major Life-History Transition,Local Adaptation,and Reproductive Isolation

The role of chromosomal inversions in adaptation and speciation is controversial. Historically, inversions were thought to contribute to these processes either by directly causing hybrid sterility or by facilitating the maintenance of co-adapted gene complexes. Because inversions suppress recombination when heterozygous, a recently proposed local adaptation mechanism predicts that they will spread if they capture alleles at multiple loci involved in divergent adaptation to contrasting environments. Many empirical studies have found inversion polymorphisms linked to putatively adaptive phenotypes or distributed along environmental clines. However, direct involvement of an inversion in local adaptation and consequent ecological reproductive isolation has not to our knowledge been demonstrated in nature. In this study, we discovered that a chromosomal inversion polymorphism is geographically widespread, and we test the extent to which it contributes to adaptation and reproductive isolation under natural field conditions. Replicated crosses between the prezygotically reproductively isolated annual and perennial ecotypes of the yellow monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus, revealed that alternative chromosomal inversion arrangements are associated with life-history divergence over thousands of kilometers across North America. The inversion polymorphism affected adaptive flowering time divergence and other morphological traits in all replicated crosses between four pairs of annual and perennial populations. To determine if the inversion contributes to adaptation and reproductive isolation in natural populations, we conducted a novel reciprocal transplant experiment involving outbred lines, where alternative arrangements of the inversion were reciprocally introgressed into the genetic backgrounds of each ecotype. Our results demonstrate for the first time in nature the contribution of an inversion to adaptation, an annual/perennial life-history shift, and multiple reproductive isolating barriers. These results are consistent with the local adaptation mechanism being responsible for the distribution of the two inversion arrangements across the geographic range of M. guttatus and that locally adaptive inversion effects contribute directly to reproductive isolation. Such a mechanism may be partially responsible for the observation that closely related species often differ by multiple chromosomal rearrangements.     

Diversification across a heterogeneous landscape

Adaptation to contrasting environments across a heterogeneous landscape favors the formation of ecotypes by promoting ecological divergence. Patterns of fitness variation in the field can show whether natural selection drives local adaptation and ecotype formation. However, to demonstrate a link between ecological divergence and speciation, local adaptation must have consequences for reproductive isolation. Using contrasting ecotypes of an Australian wildflower, Senecio lautus in common garden experiments, hybridization experiments, and reciprocal transplants, we assessed how the environment shapes patterns of adaptation and the consequences of adaptive divergence for reproductive isolation. Local adaptation was strong between ecotypes, but weaker between populations of the same ecotype. F1 hybrids exhibited heterosis, but crosses involving one native parent performed better than those with two foreign parents. In a common garden experiment, F2 hybrids exhibited reduced fitness compared to parentals and F1 hybrids, suggesting that few genetic incompatibilities have accumulated between populations adapted to contrasting environments. Our results show how ecological differences across the landscape have created complex patterns of local adaptation and reproductive isolation, suggesting that divergent natural selection has played a fundamental role in the early stages of species diversification.     

Plant reproductive systems and evolution during biological invasion

Recent biological invasions provide opportunities to investigate microevolution during contemporary timescales. The tempo and scope of local adaptation will be determined by the intensity of natural selection and the amounts and kinds of genetic variation within populations. In flowering plants, genetic diversity is strongly affected by interactions between reproductive systems and stochastic forces associated with immigration history and range expansion. Here, we explore the significance of reproductive system diversity for contemporary evolution during plant invasion. We focus in particular on how reproductive modes influence the genetic consequences of long-distance colonization and determine the likelihood of adaptive responses during invasion. In many clonal invaders, strong founder effects and restrictions on sexual reproduction limit opportunities for local adaptation. In contrast, adaptive changes to life-history traits should be a general expectation in both outbreeding and inbreeding species. We provide evidence that evolutionary modifications to reproductive systems promote the colonizing ability of invading populations and that reproductive timing is an important target of selection during range expansion. Knowledge of the likelihood and speed at which local adaptation evolves in invasive plants will be particularly important for management practices when evolutionary changes enhance ecological opportunities and invasive spread.     

植物生活史繁殖对策与干扰关系的研究

植物生活史繁殖对策研究是涉及植物的适应或进化、生态系统退化与恢复过程、生物多样性保护等多方面理论生态学和应用生态学研究内容的生态学研究领域。按Grime的植物生活史繁殖对策分类、植物营养繁殖与干扰适应、种子形态学与干扰适应、土壤种子库与干扰适应、植物繁殖体传播和萌发与干扰适应论述了当今极受关注的植物生活史繁殖对策与干扰关系,简述了我国干旱区干扰与植物生活史繁殖对策关系研究。     

Killing Babies: Hrdy on the Evolution of Infanticide

Sarah Hrdy argues that women (1) possess a reproductive behavioral strategy including infanticide, (2) that this strategy is an adaptation and (3) arose as a response to stresses mothers faced with the agrarian revolution. I argue that while psychopathological and cultural evolutionary accounts for Hrdy's data fail, her suggested psychological architecture for the strategy suggests that the behavior she describes is really only the consequence of the operation of practical reasoning mechanism(s) – and consequently there is no reproductive strategy including infanticide as such, nor could the alleged strategy be sufficiently mosaic to count as an adaptation. What might count as an adaptation is a ‘window’ before bonding that permits practical reasoning about the reproductive value of infants and hence variable maternal investment, and which, contra (3) arose early in hominid history due to a combination of increases in infant dependency and increased human abilities for conditional practical reasoning.     

EVOLUTION OF ADULT MORPHOLOGY AND LIFE-HISTORY CHARACTERS IN CAVERNICOLOUS PTOMAPHAGUS BEETLES

Morphological and life-history characters were determined for a series of six increasingly cavernicolous species of eastern United States Ptomaphagus beetles. Contrary to expectations, dimensions of only some adult structural characters uniformly covary as an overall measure of evolutionary adaptation for cave life. Adult reproductive characters that show adaptation for cave life are loss of reproductive seasonality and production of fewer and larger eggs. Significant change in pre-imaginal life-cycle stages was not found. This is in contrast to cavernicolous bathysciine beetles of Europe which show remarkable adaptive trends in pre-imaginal stages, but larval adaptations are not strongly coevolved with adult cave-adaptive characters. This suggests that evolution of cave adaptation in adult endopterygote insects occurs before and independently from that in larvae.     

On the equivalence of host local adaptation and parasite maladaptation: an experimental test

In spatiotemporally varying environments, host-parasite coevolution may lead to either host or parasite local adaptation. Using reciprocal infestations over 11 pairs of plots, we tested local adaptation in the hen flea and its main host, the great tit. Flea reproductive success (number of adults at host fledging) was lower on host individuals from the same plot compared with foreign hosts (from another plot), revealing flea local maladaptation. Host reproductive success (number of fledged young) for nests infested by foreign fleas was lower compared with the reproductive success of controls, with an intermediate success for nests infested by local fleas. This suggests host local adaptation although the absence of local adaptation could not be excluded. However, fledglings were heavier and larger when reared with foreign fleas than when reared with local fleas, which could also indicate host local maladaptation if the fitness gain in offspring size offsets the potential cost in offspring number. Our results therefore challenge the traditional view that parasite local maladaptation is equivalent to host local adaptation. The differences in fledgling morphology between nests infested with local fleas and those with foreign fleas suggest that flea origin affects host resource allocation strategy between nestling growth and defense against parasites. Therefore, determining the mechanisms that underlie these local adaptation patterns requires the identification of the relevant fitness measures and life-history trade-offs in both species.     

Trait differentiation and adaptation of plants along elevation gradients

Studies of genetic adaptation in plant populations along elevation gradients in mountains have a long history, but there has until now been neither a synthesis of how frequently plant populations exhibit adaptation to elevation nor an evaluation of how consistent underlying trait differences across species are. We reviewed studies of adaptation along elevation gradients (i) from a meta‐analysis of phenotypic differentiation of three traits (height, biomass and phenology) from plants growing in 70 common garden experiments; (ii) by testing elevation adaptation using three fitness proxies (survival, reproductive output and biomass) from 14 reciprocal transplant experiments; (iii) by qualitatively assessing information at the molecular level, from 10 genomewide surveys and candidate gene approaches. We found that plants originating from high elevations were generally shorter and produced less biomass, but phenology did not vary consistently. We found significant evidence for elevation adaptation in terms of survival and biomass, but not for reproductive output. Variation in phenotypic and fitness responses to elevation across species was not related to life history traits or to environmental conditions. Molecular studies, which have focussed mainly on loci related to plant physiology and phenology, also provide evidence for adaptation along elevation gradients. Together, these studies indicate that genetically based trait differentiation and adaptation to elevation are widespread in plants. We conclude that a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying adaptation, not only to elevation but also to environmental change, will require more studies combining the ecological and molecular approaches.     

Thermal adaptation and ecological speciation

Ecological speciation is defined as the emergence of reproductive isolation as a direct or indirect consequence of divergent ecological adaptation. Several empirical examples of ecological speciation have been reported in the literature which very often involve adaptation to biotic resources. In this review, we investigate whether adaptation to different thermal habitats could also promote speciation and try to assess the importance of such processes in nature. Our survey of the literature identified 16 animal and plant systems where divergent thermal adaptation may underlie (partial) reproductive isolation between populations or may allow the stable coexistence of sibling taxa. In many of the systems, the differentially adapted populations have a parapatric distribution along an environmental gradient. Isolation often involves extrinsic selection against locally maladapted parental or hybrid genotypes, and additional pre- or postzygotic barriers may be important. Together, the identified examples strongly suggest that divergent selection between thermal environments is often strong enough to maintain a bimodal genotype distribution upon secondary contact. What is less clear from the available data is whether it can also be strong enough to allow ecological speciation in the face of gene flow through reinforcement-like processes. It is possible that intrinsic features of thermal gradients or the genetic basis of thermal adaptation make such reinforcement-like processes unlikely but it is equally possible that pertinent systems are understudied. Overall, our literature survey highlights (once again) the dearth of studies that investigate similar incipient species along the continuum from initial divergence to full reproductive isolation and studies that investigate all possible reproductive barriers in a given system.     

Modeling problems in conservation genetics using captive Drosophila populations: Rapid genetic adaptation to captivity

Long-term captive breeding programs for endangered species generally aim to preserve the option of release back into the wild. However, the success of re-release programs will be jeopardized if there is significant genetic adaptation to the captive environment. Since it is difficult to study this problem in rare and endangered species, a convenient laboratory animal model is required. The reproductive fitness of a large population of Drosophila melanogaster maintained in captivity for 12 months was compared with that of a recently caught wild population from the same locality. The competitive index measure of reproductive fitness for the captive population was twice that of the recently caught wild population, the difference being highly significant. Natural selection over approximately eight generations in captivity has caused rapid genetic adaptation. Captive breeding strategies for endangered species should minimize adaptation to captivity in populations destined for reintroduction into the wild. A framework for predicting the impact of factors on the rate of genetic adaptation to captivity is suggested. Equalization of family sizes is predicted to approximately halve the rate of genetic adaptation. Introduction of genes from the wild, increasing the generation interval, using captive environments close to those in the wild and achieving low mortality rates are all expected to slow genetic adaptation to captivity. Many of these procedures are already recommended for other reasons. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.