THE EFFECT OF GENETICALLY BASED DIFFERENCES IN SEED SIZE ON SEEDLING SURVIVAL IN ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA (BRASSICACEAE)

The relationship between genetically different seed sizes and seedling survival under severe nutrient deprivation was determined by comparing ten inbred lines of Arabidopsis thaliana. Seedlings were supplied with only sterile distilled water, and the number of days between germination and death (complete chlorosis) was recorded. Seedlings from genotypes with larger seeds survived longer than seedlings from genotypes with smaller seeds. These results suggest a genetically based adaptive significance of larger seed size resulting from a greater seedling tolerance of nutrient deprivation. This may confer a potentially important selective advantage when nutrient deprivation is the result of a low resource supply in the environment, or the result of nutrient depletion by neighbors.