Plasticity in sex allocation in the plant <i><scp>M</scp>ercurialis annua</i> is greater for hermaphrodites sampled from dimorphic than from monomorphic populations

Vilas, Julia Sánchez; Pannell, John R.

doi:10.1111/jeb.12447

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 72 publications

(84 reference statements)

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“…Overall, large plants were also more male, as found previously for M . annua 33 . Nutrient availability also influenced phenotypic gender ( PG ) even when the effect of plant size on PG was accounted for, with a shift towards increased femaleness with increasing nutrient availability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 32 ). The presence of individuals with different ploidy levels within the same species and sexual system allows us to discern the role that phenotypic plasticity plays in the success of polyploids without the cofounding effects of phylogeny and mating context 33 . In addition, most studies focus on comparisons between polyploids and diploids 28 – 30 , but it has rarely been questioned what the advantages of increasing ploidy levels from, say, tetraploids to hexaploids, might be (but see refs 34 – 36 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, sex allocation in polyploid M . annua is known to be plastic and responsive in its expression to density 52 , nutrients 33 , 53 and light 54 . It is also easy to measure (see Methods).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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No difference in plasticity between different ploidy levels in the Mediterranean herb Mercurialis annua

Vilas

Pannell

2017

Sci Rep

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Increased phenotypic plasticity for a number of plant traits has been suggested as a possible reason for the success and spread of polyploids. One such trait is a plant’s sex allocation (or gender), which influences its reproductive success directly as a function of the potentially heterogeneous mating prospects in the population. However, it is unknown how polyploidy per se might affect plasticity in a plant’s sex allocation. Although there have been numerous comparisons between diploid and (usually) tetraploid taxa, we know very little about how elevated ploidy above the diploid level might affect plasticity. Here, we ask whether different ploidy levels > 2x express different plasticity in the ruderal plant Mercurialis annua. We grew tetraploid and hexaploid hermaphrodites under different levels of nutrient availability and compared their reaction norms for growth (above-ground biomass, SLA) and reproductive traits (reproductive effort, phenotypic gender). Overall, we found that an increase in ploidy level from 4x to 6x in M. annua is associated with an increase in the relative biomass allocated to seeds, measured as female reproductive effort. However, our study provides no support for the idea that increasing ploidy level increases the ability to express different phenotypes in response to changes in the environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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No difference in plasticity between different ploidy levels in the Mediterranean herb Mercurialis annua

Vilas

Pannell

2017

Sci Rep

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“…Yampolsky () noted that sex inconstancy in M. annua was more prevalent in individuals damaged by cutting (a stress we did not manipulate). Moreover, both inconstancy in females and sex allocation in hermaphrodites of polyploid M. annua is sensitive to shade (Pannell, ), nutrient availability (Hesse and Pannell, ; Sánchez‐Vilas and Pannell, ), and competition (Hesse and Pannell, ). Lability and plasticity are common in dioecious plants that show sex inconstancy (Bawa, ; Delph and Wolf, ; Ehlers and Bataillon, ), though the factors to which plants are sensitive in their sex expression have rarely been investigated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A functional decomposition of sex inconstancy in the dioecious, colonizing plant Mercurialis annua

Cossard

Pannell

2019

American J of Botany

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Premise Plants with separate sexes often show “inconstant” or “leaky” sex expression, with females or males producing a few flowers of the opposite sex. The frequency and degree of such inconstancy may reflect residual hermaphroditic sex allocation after an evolutionary transition from combined to separate sexes. Sex inconstancy also represents a possible first step in the breakdown of dioecy back to hermaphroditism. In the Mercurialis annua (Euphorbiaceae) species complex, monoecy and androdioecy have evolved from dioecy in polyploid populations. Here, we characterize patterns of sex inconstancy in dioecious M. annua and discuss how sex inconstancy may have contributed to the breakdown of separate sexes in the genus. Methods We measured sex inconstancy in three common gardens of M. annua over 2 years using a modification of Lloyd's phenotypic gender in terms of frequency and degree, with the degree calibrating inconstancy against the sex allocation of constant males and constant females, yielding a measure of gender that does not depend on the distribution of gender in the population. Results Unusually for dioecious plants, the frequency of sex inconstancy in M. annua was greater in females, but its degree was greater for males in the 2 years of study. We suggest that this pattern is consistent with the maintenance of inconstancy in dioecious M. annua by selection for reproductive assurance under mate limitation. Conclusions Our study illustrates the utility of decomposing measures of sex inconstancy into its frequency and its degree and throws new light on the origin of variation in sexual systems in Mercurialis.

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“…Besides, though resource allocation is well studied with regard to sex (Díaz‐Barradas et al. , Sánchez Vilas and Pannell ) or fluctuant environmental conditions (Bennett et al. , Munguía‐Rosas et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An irreversible division of labor through a sexually dependent system in the clonal plant Iris laevigata (Iridaceae)

Wang

et al. 2017

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Scientists were concerned with the division of labor research early, and much current research in clonal plant ecology has proved environmentally induced or a developmentally programmed division of labor. However, the sexually dependent division of labor in clonal plants has received little attention, and few experimental tests have been conducted to date. Here, using reproductive ramets and non-reproductive ramets in the clonal plant Iris laevigata, we test this hypothesis on morphology and physiology through field and manipulative experiments, including an isotope ( 15 N) labeling method. With regard to morphology, under natural conditions, non-reproductive ramets of I. laevigata were more abundant, taller, and consisted exclusively of leaves, while the relatively rare, smaller reproductive ramets consisted of leaves, flowers, or seeds. However, the mean biomass of non-reproductive ramets was nearly half that of reproductive ramets. With regard to physiology, non-reproductive ramets had a significantly higher net photosynthetic rate over a 24-h period than reproductive ramets. Furthermore, the reproductive ramets stopped leaf growth when flower buds appeared in late May and lost photosynthetic capacity before late June, while its growing fruits still required a constant supply of many nutrients. Manipulative experiments showed that the non-reproductive ramets supplied the nutrient demands for reproduction of the reproductive ramets through clonal integration as high as d 15 N of the value (196.1 AE 73.39) of the seed. Thereby providing the first clear evidence of sexually dependent division of labor in clonal plants: Certain individuals constitute a very small amount of reproductive castes (reproductive ramets), whereas a large amount of other individuals (non-reproductive ramets) are "workers" as in social insect societies whose role is primarily as producers. The rapid withering of reproductive ramets that failed to be pollinated highlights their role as irreversibly focused on reproduction, and those unable to reproduce do not contribute to the colony. Additionally, "producer" ramets positively influenced reproductive castes growth, and the division of labor was assumed to underlie the resource allocation pattern among ramets.

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Plasticity in sex allocation in the plant Mercurialis annua is greater for hermaphrodites sampled from dimorphic than from monomorphic populations

Cited by 7 publications

References 72 publications

No difference in plasticity between different ploidy levels in the Mediterranean herb Mercurialis annua

No difference in plasticity between different ploidy levels in the Mediterranean herb Mercurialis annua

A functional decomposition of sex inconstancy in the dioecious, colonizing plant Mercurialis annua

An irreversible division of labor through a sexually dependent system in the clonal plant Iris laevigata (Iridaceae)

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