The Japanese endemic conifer Sciadopitys verticillata is one of the most phylogenetically isolated species of all plants. Occurring in small and scattered populations, the species is currently classified as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and as Vulnerable in three prefectures of Japan. This study investigated two major factors that should impact the genetic structure of the species at both the nuclear and organelle DNA level, the mating system and the inheritance of both the chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes. The mating system is crucial to determining the degree of outcrossing of plant species and thus should have a key role in shaping the species' population level genetic diversity and gene flow between populations but as yet has not been studied in S. verticillata. Nine mother trees and their seedling progeny from two natural populations were genotyped using genetic markers from three plant genomes (eight nuclear microsatellites and DNA sequence for the chloroplast and mitochondria). Using a maximum likelihood method implemented in the software MLTR, the study found an outcrossing rate in the seedling stage of 0.49 and 0.79 for Aburazaka and Mount Shirotori populations, respectively, and an average of 0.66 at the species level. These outcrossing rates were low for conifers and therefore may have potential deleterious implications for the conservation of the species. The test of organelle inheritance supported paternal transmission of both the chloroplast and mitochondria consistent with previous microscopic evidence.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10265-014-0646-y | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
An empirical test of Baker's law: Dispersal favors increased rates of self-fertilization.
Evolution
December 2024
Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30306, United States.
Baker's law is the observation that recently dispersed populations are more likely to be self-fertilizing than populations at the range core. The explanatory hypothesis is that dispersal favors self-fertilization due to reproductive assurance. Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes reproduce via either self-fertilization or outcrossing and frequently disperse in small numbers to new bacterial food sources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProgeny array analysis to estimate outcrossing rates, inbreeding coefficients, and inbreeding depression among native, naturalized, and invasive populations of (Phrymaceae).
Front Plant Sci
November 2024
Department of Botany and Laboratories of Analytical Biology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States.
The mating system of non-native plant populations plays a role in determining the colonizing success following introduction into locations outside of the native distribution. For plant species capable of mixed-mating, both selfing and outcrossing can be advantageous and promote the establishment, persistence, and spread of newly arrived populations. To investigate how mating systems may contribute to the invasion process we estimated mating system parameters in perennial populations of the model plant species, from its native range (West coast USA), non-native populations that are established but have not become invasive (East coast USA, >50 years), and populations in invasive regions (UK >200 years).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAssessment of genome complementarity in three beef-on-dairy crossbreds reveals sire-specific effects on production traits with comparable rates of genomic inbreeding reduction.
BMC Genomics
November 2024
Animal GenoPhenomics, 1725 Posieux, Agroscope, Switzerland.
Article Synopsis
- Crossbreeding beef bulls with dairy cows can enhance meat yield and calf fitness, but may affect local adaptation and increase chances of difficult births due to larger calf sizes.
- The study assessed genomic complementarity between different beef breeds and Brown Swiss dairy cows by analyzing inbreeding and identifying selection-driven genes.
- Results showed that crossbred calves had reduced inbreeding compared to BSW cows and identified 585 genes under selection, some of which correlated with lower carcass weight and protein mass in the crossbred offspring.
The ability of to recover from Basta and its application in isolating -free mutants.
Front Plant Sci
October 2024
The Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States.
Article Synopsis
- Researchers have developed a straightforward method to isolate T-DNA-free mutants after gene editing in plants using CRISPR-Cas9, streamlining the process and removing the need for complex outcrossing techniques.
- This technique utilizes Basta-sensitive seedlings that can be rescued by transplanting them to Basta-free media, allowing for the identification of plants without the Cas9 T-DNA insert.
- The study also found varying recovery rates in different crops, with wheat showing the highest success in recovering from Basta selection, indicating the potential for broad application across various plant species.
Experimental evidence of inbreeding depression for competitive ability and its population-level consequences in a mixed-mating plant.
Front Plant Sci
September 2024
Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Article Synopsis
- Inbreeding depression plays a crucial role in the evolution of self-fertilization in plants, but evidence of genetic load purging in wild populations is inconsistent.
- Research suggests that the fitness of selfed plants may depend on their competitive interactions with outcrossed plants, creating a scenario where populations can have similar fitness despite differing mutation load.
- Experiments with different plant densities show that outcrossed individuals perform better under resource limitations, indicating that soft selection affects their growth and competition dynamics with selfed plants in mixed environments.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!