Influence of the gene brevistylis on development of the flower in Oenothera

The mutant brevistylis of Oenothera (Onagraceae) is characterized mainly by malformations of the style and by female sterility. Morphological features of the style and stigmas, such as the length of the style and the number, size, and shape of the stigmatic lobes is very variable. The abscission layer between ovary and style is missing and the placenta with ovules is protruded into the style. An interpretation of the disturbances in development observed in the br/br homozygotes is presented. The primary influence of br on development is proposed to be a general delay in meristematic growth, followed by irregularities in the timing of morphogenetic events which in turn lead to the anomalies in morphology of style and stigmas.     

Variation due to maternal age in the onion root maggot,Hylemya antiqua (Meigen)

A variety of characteristics were studied in populations of the onion root maggot, Hylemya antiqua, to determine the extent to which the age of the female producing a batch of eggs might affect heterogeneity in her offspring. Early-born offspring were found to be reproductively most successful. They had the longest mean expectation of life, a relatively low mortality rate into mid-life, the highest average fecundity, the highest mean rate of egg production, and they produced the highest percentage of female offspring. On the other hand, mid-born offspring were hardiest. They also had a long mean expectation of life, comparable to that for early-born offspring but, in addition, they had the lowest sustained mortality rate and the greatest ability to survive food stress. Their robustness may have been acquired at the expense of certain reproductive capabilities however, in that their average fecundity was lower than their early-born siblings', and their rate of egg production was more variable. Late-born offspring were the most mortality-prone and the least fecund, but they had the shortest mean generation time. These differences must be evaluated in terms of their effects on the rate of natural increase and on population growth. Maternal age was found to influence pupal size, although the provenance groups differed significantly from each other and, in fact, showed opposite trends within their respective cohort groups. Size itself, and the ability of a species to alter the size at which it pupates, may be characteristics which have evolved to fit a specific set of environmental conditions.