Female gametophyte development and double fertilization in Balsas teosinte, Zea mays subsp. parviglumis (Poaceae) |
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Authors: | Wu Chi-Chih Diggle Pamela K Friedman William E |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA;(2) Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA;(3) Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 1300 Centre Street, Boston, MA 02131, USA |
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Abstract: | Over the course of maize evolution, domestication played a major role in the structural transition of the vegetative and reproductive
characteristics that distinguish it from its closest wild relative, Zea mays subsp. parviglumis (Balsas teosinte). Little is known, however, about impacts of the domestication process on the cellular features of the female
gametophyte and the subsequent reproductive events after fertilization, even though they are essential components of plant
sexual reproduction. In this study, we investigated the developmental and cellular features of the Balsas teosinte female
gametophyte and early developing seed in order to unravel the key structural and evolutionary transitions of the reproductive
process associated with the domestication of the ancestor of maize. Our results show that the female gametophyte of Balsas
teosinte is a variation of the Polygonum type with proliferative antipodal cells and is similar to that of maize. The fertilization
process of Balsas teosinte also is basically similar to domesticated maize. In contrast to maize, many events associated with
the development of the embryo and endosperm appear to be initiated earlier in Balsas teosinte. Our study suggests that the
pattern of female gametophyte development with antipodal proliferation is common among species and subspecies of Zea and evolved before maize domestication. In addition, we propose that the relatively longer duration of the free nuclear endosperm
phase in maize is correlated with the development of a larger fruit (kernel or caryopsis) and with a bigger endosperm compared
with Balsas teosinte. |
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