Masting (synchronous and interannually variable seed production) is frequently called a reproductive strategy; yet it is unclear whether the reproductive behaviour of individuals has a heritable component. To address this, we used 22 years of annual fruit production data from 110 L. trees to examine the contributions of genetic factors to the reproductive phenotype of individuals, while controlling for environmental variation. Trees sharing close genetic relationships and experiencing similar habitat conditions exhibited similar levels of reproductive synchrony. Trees of comparable sizes displayed similar levels of year-to-year variation in fruiting, with relatedness contributing to this variation. External factors, such as shading, influenced the time intervals between years with abundant fruit production. The effects of genetic relatedness on the synchrony of reproduction among trees and on interannual variation provide long-awaited evidence that the masting phenotype is heritable, and can respond to natural selection.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2732 | DOI Listing |
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Masting and Efficient Production of Seedlings: Balancing Costs of Variation Through Synchronised Fruiting.
Ecol Lett
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W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland.
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Proc Biol Sci
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W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, Poland.
Masting (synchronous and interannually variable seed production) is frequently called a reproductive strategy; yet it is unclear whether the reproductive behaviour of individuals has a heritable component. To address this, we used 22 years of annual fruit production data from 110 L. trees to examine the contributions of genetic factors to the reproductive phenotype of individuals, while controlling for environmental variation.
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Institut National de Recherche Pour Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement (IN23-RAE), Laboratoire EcoSystemes et Societes En Montagne (LESSEM), Université Grenoble Alpes, St Martin-d'Hères, 38402, France.
Article Synopsis
- Masting is a common reproductive strategy among perennial plants that boosts their fitness and impacts food webs, but measuring its variability over time is controversial.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudying the genetic basis of masting.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
December 2021
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand.
The mechanisms underlying mast seeding have traditionally been studied by collecting long-term observational data on seed crops and correlating seedfall with environmental variables. Significant progress in ecological genomics will improve our understanding of the evolution of masting by clarifying the genetic basis of masting traits and the role of natural selection in shaping those traits. Here, we summarize three important aspects in studying the evolution of masting at the genetic level: which traits govern masting, whether those traits are genetically regulated, and which taxa show wide variation in these traits.
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