Mate-choice for close kin is associated with improved offspring survival in Lodoicea maldivica, the largest-seeded plant in the world
We studied spatial patterns of kinship in the offspring of the endangered Lodoicea maldivica, a dioecious palm that produces the largest seed of any plant. Previous research has suggested that restricted seed and pollen dispersal in populations resulted in strong spatial genetic structure. We used m...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138459 |
| _version_ | 1855529919324356608 |
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| author | Morgan, Emma J. Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher N. Edwards, Peter J. Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke Kettle, Christopher J. |
| author_browse | Edwards, Peter J. Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher N. Kettle, Christopher J. Morgan, Emma J. |
| author_facet | Morgan, Emma J. Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher N. Edwards, Peter J. Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke Kettle, Christopher J. |
| author_sort | Morgan, Emma J. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | We studied spatial patterns of kinship in the offspring of the endangered Lodoicea maldivica, a dioecious palm that produces the largest seed of any plant. Previous research has suggested that restricted seed and pollen dispersal in populations resulted in strong spatial genetic structure. We used microsatellites to genotype young plants and their potential parents at four sites across the species’ entire natural range. We determined the most likely parents of each young plant based on the spatial separation of each parent pair, their genetic relatedness, and the level of correlated paternity. We identified both parents (43 female, 54 male) for 139 of 493 young plants. Mean distance between parental pairs was 26.8 m. Correlated paternity was low (0.168), indicating that mother trees were often pollinated by several fathers. Parental pairs were more closely related than expected by chance, suggesting outbreeding depression. Our results highlight the apparent strong mate choice for close kin in parent pairs of surviving offspring. We discuss the alternative biological processes that could lead to this, including the potential for break-up of favourable allelic combinations necessary for the development of the palm’s very large seed. Management implications include germinating seeds where they naturally fall, using a diverse range of male plants as pollen donors for hand pollination, and protecting the native community of gecko pollinators. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace138459 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| publisherStr | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1384592025-11-11T18:53:52Z Mate-choice for close kin is associated with improved offspring survival in Lodoicea maldivica, the largest-seeded plant in the world Morgan, Emma J. Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher N. Edwards, Peter J. Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke Kettle, Christopher J. seed systems germination survival We studied spatial patterns of kinship in the offspring of the endangered Lodoicea maldivica, a dioecious palm that produces the largest seed of any plant. Previous research has suggested that restricted seed and pollen dispersal in populations resulted in strong spatial genetic structure. We used microsatellites to genotype young plants and their potential parents at four sites across the species’ entire natural range. We determined the most likely parents of each young plant based on the spatial separation of each parent pair, their genetic relatedness, and the level of correlated paternity. We identified both parents (43 female, 54 male) for 139 of 493 young plants. Mean distance between parental pairs was 26.8 m. Correlated paternity was low (0.168), indicating that mother trees were often pollinated by several fathers. Parental pairs were more closely related than expected by chance, suggesting outbreeding depression. Our results highlight the apparent strong mate choice for close kin in parent pairs of surviving offspring. We discuss the alternative biological processes that could lead to this, including the potential for break-up of favourable allelic combinations necessary for the development of the palm’s very large seed. Management implications include germinating seeds where they naturally fall, using a diverse range of male plants as pollen donors for hand pollination, and protecting the native community of gecko pollinators. 2023-09-18 2024-01-25T11:31:38Z 2024-01-25T11:31:38Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138459 en Open Access application/pdf Nature Portfolio Morgan, E.J.; Kaiser-Bunbury, C.N.; Edwards, P.J.; Fleischer-Dogley, F.; Kettle, C.J. (2023) Mate-choice for close kin is associated with improved offspring survival in Lodoicea maldivica, the largest-seeded plant in the world. Scientific Reports 13(1): ISSN: 2045-2322 |
| spellingShingle | seed systems germination survival Morgan, Emma J. Kaiser-Bunbury, Christopher N. Edwards, Peter J. Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke Kettle, Christopher J. Mate-choice for close kin is associated with improved offspring survival in Lodoicea maldivica, the largest-seeded plant in the world |
| title | Mate-choice for close kin is associated with improved offspring survival in Lodoicea maldivica, the largest-seeded plant in the world |
| title_full | Mate-choice for close kin is associated with improved offspring survival in Lodoicea maldivica, the largest-seeded plant in the world |
| title_fullStr | Mate-choice for close kin is associated with improved offspring survival in Lodoicea maldivica, the largest-seeded plant in the world |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mate-choice for close kin is associated with improved offspring survival in Lodoicea maldivica, the largest-seeded plant in the world |
| title_short | Mate-choice for close kin is associated with improved offspring survival in Lodoicea maldivica, the largest-seeded plant in the world |
| title_sort | mate choice for close kin is associated with improved offspring survival in lodoicea maldivica the largest seeded plant in the world |
| topic | seed systems germination survival |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138459 |
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