共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 31 毫秒
1.
Conner JK Rice AM Stewart C Morgan MT 《Evolution; international journal of organic evolution》2003,57(3):480-486
Plant traits that show little variation across higher taxa are often used as diagnostic traits, but the reason for the stasis of such traits remains unclear. Wild radish, Raphanus raphanistrum, exhibits tetradynamous stamens (four long and two short, producing a dimorphism in anther height within each flower), as do the vast majority of the more than 3,000 species in the Brassicaceae. Here we examine the hypothesis that selection maintains the stasis of dimorphic anther height by investigating the effects of this trait on pollen removal, seed siring success, and seed set in R. raphanistrum using both experimental and observational methods. Observational selection gradient analysis based on lifetime seed siring success provided evidence for an optimum dimorphism that was greater than zero in one of three years. In both experimentally manipulated and unmanipulated flowers, more pollen was removed in single visits from flowers with less dimorphism. There was no significant effect of anther dimorphism on female fitness (seed set). Therefore, there is some evidence to suggest that selection is maintaining anther dimorphism in wild radish, and that higher male fitness might result from restriction of single-visit pollen removal. We discuss these results in light of pollen presentation theory. 相似文献
2.
Shiliang Hu Gaurav Sablok Bo Wang Dong Qu Enrico Barbaro Roberto Viola Mingai Li Claudio Varotto 《BMC genomics》2015,16(1)
Background
Plastid genomes, also known as plastomes, are shaped by the selective forces acting on the fundamental cellular functions they code for and thus they are expected to preserve signatures of the adaptive path undertaken by different plant species during evolution. To identify molecular signatures of positive selection associated to adaptation to contrasting ecological niches, we sequenced with Solexa technology the plastomes of two congeneric Brassicaceae species with different habitat preference, Cardamine resedifolia and Cardamine impatiens.Results
Following in-depth characterization of plastome organization, repeat patterns and gene space, the comparison of the newly sequenced plastomes between each other and with 15 fully sequenced Brassicaceae plastomes publically available in GenBank uncovered dynamic variation of the IR boundaries in the Cardamine lineage. We further detected signatures of positive selection in ten of the 75 protein-coding genes of the examined plastomes, identifying a range of chloroplast functions putatively involved in adaptive processes within the family. For instance, the three residues found to be under positive selection in RUBISCO could possibly be involved in the modulation of RUBISCO aggregation/activation and enzymatic specificty in Brassicaceae. In addition, our results points to differential evolutionary rates in Cardamine plastomes.Conclusions
Overall our results support the existence of wider signatures of positive selection in the plastome of C. resedifolia, possibly as a consequence of adaptation to high altitude environments. We further provide a first characterization of the selective patterns shaping the Brassicaceae plastomes, which could help elucidate the driving forces underlying adaptation and evolution in this important plant family.Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1498-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 相似文献3.
Background and Aims
Variation in fitness depends on corresponding variation in multiple traits which have both genetically controlled and plastic components. These traits are subjected to varying degrees of local adaptation in specific populations and, consequently, are genetically controlled to different extents. In this study it is hypothesized that modulation of different traits would have contrasting relevance for the fitness of populations of diverse origins. Specifically, assuming that environmental pressures vary across a latitudinal gradient, it is suggested that inherited variation in traits differentially determines fitness in annual Lupinus angustifolius populations from contrasting latitudinal origins in western Spain.Methods
Seeds of L. angustifolius from three contrasting origins were grown in a common garden. Traits related to more plastic vegetative growth and more genetically conserved phenology were measured, together with estimates of reproductive success. Fitness was estimated by the number of viable seeds per plant. Structural Equation Models were used to infer causal relationships among multiple traits and fitness, separating the direct and indirect effects of morphological, phenological and reproductive traits.Key Results
Phenological, vegetative and reproductive traits accounted for most of the fitness variation. Fitness was highest in plants of southernmost origin, mainly due to earlier flowering. Fitness within each seed origin was controlled by variation in different traits. Southern origin plants that grew to a larger size achieved higher fitness. However, plant size in plants of northernmost origin was irrelevant, but early flowering promoted higher fitness. Variation in fruit and seed set had a greater effect on the fitness of plants of central origin than phenological and size variation.Conclusions
It is concluded that modulation of a functional trait can be relevant to fitness in a given population (i.e. affecting intensity and direction), but irrelevant in other populations. This points to the need to consider integrated phenotypes when trying to unravel local adaptation effects over single traits.Key words: Lupinus, Structural Equation Models, fitness, phenology, functional traits, reproductive success, SLA, seed size 相似文献4.
Background and Aims
Evolutionary change in response to natural selection will occur only if a trait confers a selective advantage and there is heritable variation. Positive connections between pollen traits and fitness have been found, but few studies of heritability have been conducted, and they have yielded conflicting results. To understand better the evolutionary significance of pollen competition and its potential role in sexual selection, the heritability of pollen tube-growth rate and the relationship between this trait and sporophytic offspring fitness were investigated in Collinsia heterophylla.Methods
Because the question being asked was if female function benefited from obtaining genetically superior fathers by enhancing pollen competition, one-donor (per flower) crosses were used in order to exclude confounding effects of post-fertilization competition/allocation caused by multiple paternity. Each recipient plant was crossed with an average of five pollen donors. Pollen-tube growth rate and sporophytic traits were measured in both generations.Key Results
Pollen-tube growth rate in vitro differed among donors, and the differences were correlated with in vivo growth rate averaged over two to four maternal plants. Pollen-tube growth rate showed significant narrow-sense heritability and evolvability in a father–offspring regression. However, this pollen trait did not correlate significantly with sporophytic-offspring fitness.Conclusions
These results suggest that pollen-tube growth rate can respond to selection via male function. The data presented here do not provide any support for the hypothesis that intense pollen competition enhances maternal plant fitness through increased paternity by higher-quality sporophytic fathers, although this advantage cannot be ruled out. These data are, however, consistent with the hypothesis that pollen competition is itself selectively advantageous, through both male and female function, by reducing the genetic load among successful gametophytic fathers (pollen), and reducing inbreeding depression associated with self–pollination in plants with mix-mating systems.Key words: Collinsia heterophylla, evolvability, female fitness, good genes, heritability, male fitness, mixed-mating system, Plantaginaceae, pollen competition, sexual selection 相似文献5.
Tolerance to herbivory is an adaptation that promotes regrowth and maintains fitness in plants after herbivore damage. Here, we hypothesized that the effect of competition on tolerance can be different for different genotypes within a species and we tested how tolerance is affected by competitive regime and damage type. We inflicted apical or leaf damage in siblings of 29 families of an annual plant Raphanus raphanistrum (Brassicaceae) grown at high or low competition. There was a negative correlation of family tolerance levels between competition treatments: plant families with high tolerance to apical damage in the low competition treatment had low tolerance to apical damage in the high competition treatment and vice versa. We found no costs of tolerance, in terms of a trade‐off between tolerance to apical and leaf damage or between tolerance and competitive ability, or an allocation cost in terms of reduced fitness of highly tolerant families in the undamaged state. High tolerance bound to a specific competitive regime may entail a cost in terms of low tolerance if competitive regime changes. This could act as a factor maintaining genetic variation for tolerance. 相似文献
6.
Although conflicting selection from different resources is thought to play a critical role in the evolution of specialized species, the prevalence of conflicting selection in generalists is poorly understood. Plants may experience conflicting selection on floral traits by different pollinators and between genders. Using artificial selection to increase phenotypic variation, we tested for conflicting and nonadditive selection on wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) flowers. To do this, we measured selection by each of the major pollinator taxa through both male and female fitness, and tested for a single-generation response to selection by a subset of these pollinators. We found some evidence for conflicting selection on anther exertion--sweat bees exerted stabilizing selection and larger bees selected for increased exertion. Stamen dimorphism was only under selection by honey bees, causing a response to selection in the next generation, and flower size was under similar selection by multiple pollinators. Selection differed significantly between genders for two traits, but there was no evidence for stronger selection through male fitness or for conflicting selection between genders. Our results suggest wild radish flowers can adapt to multiple pollinators, as we found little evidence for conflicting selection and no evidence for nonadditive selection among pollinators. 相似文献
7.
CLE peptides (CLAVATA3/ENDOSPERM SURROUNDING REGION) are signal molecules or plant peptide hormones that play an important role in regulation of development of various meristems governing the expression of WOX (WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX) genes. In particular, CLE peptides belonging to a small TDIF (Tracheary Element Differentiation Inhibitory Factor) group are responsible for the operation of gene WOX4 controlling the development of cambium and the conducting system. We looked into the role of CLE41 peptide from the TDIF group in the development of storage root in two species of the genus Raphanus: cultivated radish (Raphanus sativus var. radicula Pers.) that is a popular root crop with a storage root and its ancestor wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.) where storage parenchyma of the root is poorly developed. It was shown that overexpression of gene RsCLE41 and plant treatment with exogenous peptide CLE41 influenced the development of cambium and xylem in the roots of R. sativus and R. raphanistrum and affected expression of the genes from different groups. One could say that peptide CLE41 activates expression of the genes whose homologues in arabidopsis play a key role in the maintenance of cambium (RsWOX4, RsWOX14, RsHAM4, and RsCYCD3). In the storage root of radish, peptide CLE41 activates proliferation of cambium cells reducing the amount of one of the xylem’s elements (lignified parenchyma). The obtained results point to an important role of CLE41 in the development of storage root in radish. 相似文献
8.
Long RL Stevens JC Griffiths EM Adamek M Gorecki MJ Powles SB Merritt DJ 《Annals of botany》2011,108(5):933-944
Background and Aims
Karrikinolide (KAR1) is a smoke-derived chemical that can trigger seeds to germinate. A potential application for KAR1 is for synchronizing the germination of weed seeds, thereby enhancing the efficiency of weed control efforts. Yet not all species germinate readily with KAR1, and it is not known whether seemingly non-responsive species can be induced to respond. Here a major agronomic weed family, the Brassicaceae, is used to test the hypothesis that a stimulatory response to KAR1 may be present in physiologically dormant seeds but may not be expressed under all circumstances.Methods
Seeds of eight Brassicaceae weed species (Brassica tournefortii, Raphanus raphanistrum, Sisymbrium orientale, S. erysimoides, Rapistrum rugosum, Lepidium africanum, Heliophila pusilla and Carrichtera annua) were tested for their response to 1 µm KAR1 when freshly collected and following simulated and natural dormancy alleviation, which included wet–dry cycling, dry after-ripening, cold and warm stratification and a 2 year seed burial trial.Key Results
Seven of the eight Brassicaceae species tested were stimulated to germinate with KAR1 when the seeds were fresh, and the remaining species became responsive to KAR1 following wet–dry cycling and dry after-ripening. Light influenced the germination response of seeds to KAR1, with the majority of species germinating better in darkness. Germination with and without KAR1 fluctuated seasonally throughout the seed burial trial.Conclusions
KAR1 responses are more complex than simply stating whether a species is responsive or non-responsive; light and temperature conditions, dormancy state and seed lot all influence the sensitivity of seeds to KAR1, and a response to KAR1 can be induced. Three response types for generalizing KAR1 responses are proposed, namely inherent, inducible and undetected. Given that responses to KAR1 were either inherent or inducible in all 15 seed lots included in this study, the Brassicaceae may be an ideal target for future application of KAR1 in weed management. 相似文献9.
We present an analysis of Raphanus raphanistrum and simulations illustrating the utility of directly estimating male phenotypic selection gradients using genetic markers. The method offers a much more refined characterization of selection than attempting to assign paternity to individual progeny. Our analysis of R. raphanistrum reveals selection on remarkably fine features of floral morphology, including anther exsertion, that were opaque to previous approaches. The new results also undermine a previous conclusion that selection on wild radish floral morphology acts primarily through female fitness. Simulation results show that selection gradients on the order of beta = 0.1-0.2 can be readily detected with allozyme markers in moderate-sized (< 200 paternal individuals) populations. Highly polymorphic (e.g., microsatellite) markers will likely detect fine scale selection (beta < 0.1) in larger populations (> or = 400 individuals). Increased progeny sample size, by sampling either additional maternal families or more progeny per maternal parent, partly compensates for low exclusion probability. Increasing the number of possible fathers without changing progeny sample size decreases the ability to detect selection, especially at lower exclusion probabilities. Sampling only some male genotypes reduces the power to detect selection and biases (underestimates) the magnitude of the selection gradient estimate. 相似文献
10.
The effects of floral morphology on rates of pollen removal and deposition by different pollinators in generalist plant species are not well known. We studied pollination dynamics in wild radish, Raphanus raphanistrum, a plant visited by four groups of pollinators: honey bees, small native bees, butterflies, and syrphyd flies. The effects of anther position and other factors on pollen removal during single visits by all four pollinator taxa were measured. Flowers with high anther exsertion (i.e., anthers placed higher above the opening of the corolla tube) tended to have the highest numbers of pollen grains removed, but this effect was strongest for honey bees and butterflies. For all pollinator taxa, pollen removal increased with the number of pollen grains available on a flower and whowed a positive, decelerating relationship with the duration of the visit. The effects of stigma position and other factors on pollen deposition during single visits by honey bees and butterflies were also studied. The nectar-feeding butterflies had a higher pollination efficiency (percentage of pollen grains removed from anthers that were subsequently deposited on a stigma) than the nectar- and pollen-feeding honey bees. Flowers with intermediate stigma exsertion had the highest numbers of pollen grains deposited on their stigmas by butterflies, but stigma exsertion had no effect on deposition by honey bees. For both butterflies and honey bees, pollen deposition on the recipient flower increased with the amount of pollen removed from the donor flower, and there was a positive, decelerating relationship between deposition and time spent at the flower; these results are analogous to those for pollen removal. The effects of anther and stigma exsertion on pollen removal and denosition did not fit predictions based on patterns of floral correlations, but results for morphology, pollen availability, time spent per visit, and pollinator efficiency are in broad agreement with previous studies, suggesting the possible emergence of some general rules of pollen transfer. 相似文献
11.
Background and Aims
Dry fruits remain around the seeds at dispersal in a number of species, especially the Brassicaceae. Explanations for this vary, but usually involve mechanisms of innate dormancy. We speculate that, instead, a persistent fruit may give additional protection through control of dehydration, to species growing in arid or Mediterranean environments where water is sporadic.Methods
X-rays and weight measurements were used to determine the extent to which Raphanus raphanistrum seeds within mature fruits imbibe water, and germination tests determined the roles of the fruit and seed coat in seed dormancy. Rates of water uptake and desiccation, and seedling emergence were compared with and without the fruit. Finally, germinability of seeds extracted from fruits was determined after various periods of moist conditions followed by a range of dry conditions.Key Results
Most seeds rapidly take up water within the fruit, but they do not fully imbibe when compared with naked seeds. The seed coat is more important than the dry fruit wall in maintaining seed dormancy. The presence of a dry fruit slows emergence from the soil by up to 6–8 weeks. The fruit slows the rate of desiccation of the seed to a limited extent. The presence of the fruit for a few days during imbibition somehow primes more seeds to germinate than if the fruit is absent; longer moist periods within the pod appear to induce dormancy.Conclusions
The fruit certainly modifies the seed environment as external conditions change between wet and dry, but not to a great extent. The major role seems to be: (a) the physical restriction of imbibition and germination; and (b) the release and then re-imposition of dormancy within the seed. The ecological significance of the results requires more research under field conditions. 相似文献12.
Evolution of plant resistance and tolerance to frost damage 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Plant defence against any type of stress may involve resistance (traits that reduce damage) or tolerance (traits that reduce the negative fitness impacts of damage). These two strategies have been proposed as redundant evolutionary alternatives. A late‐season frost enabled us to estimate natural selection and genetic constraints on the evolution of frost resistance and tolerance in a wild plant species. We employed a genetic selection analysis (which is unbiased by environmental correlations between traits and fitness) on 75 paternal half‐sibling families of annual wild radish [Raphanus raphanistrum (Brassicaceae)]. In an experimental population in southern Ontario, we found strong selection favouring plant resistance to frost, but selection against tolerance to frost. The selection against tolerance may have been caused by a cost of tolerance, as we provide evidence for a negative genetic correlation between tolerance and fitness in the absence of frost damage. Although we found no evidence for the theoretically predicted trade‐off between frost tolerance and resistance among our families, we did detect negative correlational selection acting on the two traits, indicating that natural selection favoured high resistance combined with low tolerance and low resistance coupled with high tolerance, but not high or low levels of both traits together. There were few genetic correlations between the measured traits overall, but frost tolerance was negatively correlated with initial seed mass, and frost resistance was positively correlated with resistance to insect herbivory. Periodic episodes of strong selection such as that caused by the late‐season frost may be disproportionately important in evolution, and are likely becoming more common because of human alterations of the environment. 相似文献
13.
Background and Aims
Heritable genetic variation is crucial for selection to operate, yet there is a paucity of studies quantifying such variation in interactive male/female sexual traits, especially those of plants. Previous work on the annual plant Collinsia heterophylla, a mixed-mating species, suggests that delayed stigma receptivity is involved in a sexual conflict: pollen from certain donors fertilize ovules earlier than others at the expense of reduced maternal seed set and lower levels of pollen competition.Methods
Parent–offspring regressions and sib analyses were performed to test for heritable genetic variation and co-variation in male and female interactive traits related to the sexual conflict.Key Results
Some heritable variation and evolvability were found for the female trait (delayed stigma receptivity in presence of pollen), but no evidence was found for genetic variation in the male trait (ability to fertilize ovules early). The results further indicated a marginally significant correlation between a male''s ability to fertilize early and early stigma receptivity in offspring. However, despite potential indirect selection of these traits, antagonistic co-evolution may not occur given the lack of heritability of the male trait.Conclusions
To our knowledge, this is the first study of a plant or any hermaphrodite that examines patterns of genetic correlation between two interactive sexual traits, and also the first to assess heritabilities of plant traits putatively involved in a sexual conflict. It is concluded that the ability to delay fertilization in presence of pollen can respond to selection, while the pollen trait has lower evolutionary potential. 相似文献14.
To test hypotheses on the evolution of functional relationships, phenotypic correlations among floral traits were estimated in five species of insect-pollinated plants. The species studied were wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum), canola (Brassica napus), phlox (Phlox divaricata), dame's rocket (Hesperis matronalis), and black mustard (Brassica nigra). Six floral traits were measured on each species. In three of the five species the correlations between the filaments and corolla tube were significantly greater than the other floral correlations. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that selection for proper anther placement to enhance pollination has increased the filament-corolla tube correlations in these three species. In contrast, none of the species showed evidence of selection for an optimal stigma placement; the correlations between the pistil and corolla tube lengths were not greater than the other floral correlations in any of the five species. 相似文献
15.
Background and Aims
The evolution of selfing from outcrossing is characterized by a series of morphological changes to flowers culminating in the selfing syndrome. However, which morphological traits initiate increased self-pollination and which are accumulated after self-fertilization establishes is poorly understood. Because the expression of floral traits may depend on the conditions experienced by an individual during flower development, investigation of changes in mating system should also account for environmental and developmental factors. Here, early stages in the evolution of self-pollination are investigated by comparing floral traits among Brazilian populations of Eichhornia paniculata (Pontederiaceae), an annual aquatic that displays variation in selfing rates associated with the breakdown of tristyly to semi-homostyly.Methods
Thirty-one Brazilian populations under uniform glasshouse conditions were compared to investigate genetic and environmental influences on flower size and stigma–anther separation (herkogamy), two traits that commonly vary in association with transitions to selfing. Within-plant variation in herkogamy was also examined and plants grown under contrasting environmental conditions were compared to examine to what extent this trait exhibits phenotypic plasticity.Key Results
In E. paniculata a reduction in herkogamy is the principal modification initiating the evolution of selfing. Significantly, reduced herkogamy was restricted to the mid-styled morph and occurred independently of flower size. Significant genetic variation for herkogamy was detected among populations and families, including genotypes exhibiting developmental instability of stamen position with bimodal distributions of herkogamy values. Cloned genets exposed to contrasting growth conditions demonstrated environmental control of herkogamy and genotypic differences in plasticity of this trait.Conclusions
The ability to modify herkogamy independently of other floral traits, genetic variation in the environmental sensitivity of herkogamy, and the production of modified and unmodified flowers within some individuals, reveal the potential for dynamic control of the mating system in a species that commonly confronts heterogeneous aquatic environments.Key words: Eichhornia paniculata, expressivity, flower morphology, herkogamy, phenotypic plasticity, pleiotropy, population variation, self-fertilization, stigma–anther separation, outcrossing, tristyly 相似文献16.
17.
Background
Adaptation is an evolutionary process in which traits in a population are tailored by natural selection to better meet the challenges presented by the local environment. The major discussion relating to natural selection concerns the portraying of the cause and effect relationship between a presumably adaptive trait and selection agents generating it. Therefore, it is necessary to identify trait(s) that evolve in direct response to selection, enhancing the organism''s fitness. “Evolution Canyon” (EC) in Israel mirrors a microcosmic evolutionary system across life and is ideal to study natural selection and local adaptation under sharply, microclimatically divergent environments. The south-facing, tropical, sunny and xeric “African” slope (AS) receives 200%–800% higher solar radiation than the north-facing, temperate, shady and mesic “European” slope (ES), 200 meters apart. Thus, solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a major selection agent in EC influencing the organism-environment interaction. Melanin is a trait postulated to have evolved for UV-screening in microorganisms. Here we investigate the cause and effect relationship between differential UVR on the opposing slopes of EC and the conidial melanin concentration of the filamentous soil fungus Aspergillus niger. We test the working hypothesis that the AS strains exhibit higher melanin content than strains from the ES resulting in higher UV resistance.Methodology/Principal Findings
We measured conidial melanin concentration of 80 strains from the EC using a spectrophotometer. The results indicated that mean conidial melanin concentration of AS strains were threefold higher than ES strains and the former resisted UVA irradiation better than the latter. Comparisons of melanin in the conidia of A. niger strains from sunny and shady microniches on the predominantly sunny AS and predominantly shady ES indicated that shady conditions on the AS have no influence on the selection on melanin; in contrast, the sunny strains from the ES displayed higher melanin concentrations.Conclusions/Significance
We conclude that melanin in A. niger is an adaptive trait against UVR generated by natural selection. 相似文献18.
Gaurav D. Moghe David E. Hufnagel Haibao Tang Yongli Xiao Ian Dworkin Christopher D. Town Jeffrey K. Conner Shin-Han Shiu 《The Plant cell》2014,26(5):1925-1937
Polyploidization events are frequent among flowering plants, and the duplicate genes produced via such events contribute significantly to plant evolution. We sequenced the genome of wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum), a Brassicaceae species that experienced a whole-genome triplication event prior to diverging from Brassica rapa. Despite substantial gene gains in these two species compared with Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabidopsis lyrata, ∼70% of the orthologous groups experienced gene losses in R. raphanistrum and B. rapa, with most of the losses occurring prior to their divergence. The retained duplicates show substantial divergence in sequence and expression. Based on comparison of A. thaliana and R. raphanistrum ortholog floral expression levels, retained radish duplicates diverged primarily via maintenance of ancestral expression level in one copy and reduction of expression level in others. In addition, retained duplicates differed significantly from genes that reverted to singleton state in function, sequence composition, expression patterns, network connectivity, and rates of evolution. Using these properties, we established a statistical learning model for predicting whether a duplicate would be retained postpolyploidization. Overall, our study provides new insights into the processes of plant duplicate loss, retention, and functional divergence and highlights the need for further understanding factors controlling duplicate gene fate. 相似文献
19.
J. M. Gómez A. J. Mu?oz-Pajares M. Abdelaziz J. Lorite F. Perfectti 《Annals of botany》2014,113(2):237-249
Background and Aims
How generalist plants diverge in response to pollinator selection without becoming specialized is still unknown. This study explores this question, focusing on the evolution of the pollination system in the pollination generalist Erysimum mediohispanicum (Brassicaceae).Methods
Pollinator assemblages were surveyed from 2001 to 2010 in 48 geo-referenced populations covering the entire geographic distribution of E. mediohispanicum. Bipartite modularity, a complex network tool, was used to find the pollination niche of each population. Evolution of the pollination niches and the correlated evolution of floral traits and pollination niches were explored using within-species comparative analyses.Key Results
Despite being generalists, the E. mediohispanicum populations studied can be classified into five pollination niches. The boundaries between niches were not sharp, the niches differing among them in the relative frequencies of the floral visitor functional groups. The absence of spatial autocorrelation and phylogenetic signal indicates that the niches were distributed in a phylogeographic mosaic. The ancestral E. mediohispanicum populations presumably belonged to the niche defined by a high number of beetle and ant visits. A correlated evolution was found between pollination niches and some floral traits, suggesting the existence of generalist pollination ecotypes.Conclusions
It is conjectured that the geographic variation in pollination niches has contributed to the observed floral divergence in E. mediohispanicum. The process mediating this floral divergence presumably has been adaptive wandering, but the adaptation to the local pollinator faunas has been not universal. The outcome is a landscape where a few populations locally adapted to their pollination environment (generalist pollination ecotypes) coexist with many populations where this local adaptation has failed and where the plant phenotype is not primarily shaped by pollinators. 相似文献20.