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Seed fates in crop–wild hybrid sunflower: crop allele and maternal effects
Pace, Brian A. Alexander, Helen M. Emry, D. Jason Mercer, Kristin L.
Pace, Brian A.
Alexander, Helen M.
Emry, D. Jason
Mercer, Kristin L.
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Abstract
Domestication has resulted in selection upon seed traits found in wild populations, yet crop-wild hybrids retain some aspects of both parental phenotypes. Seed fates of germination, dormancy, and mortality can influence the success of crop allele introgression in crop-wild hybrid zones, especially if crop alleles or crop-imparted seed coverings result in out-of-season germination. We performed a seed burial experiment using crop, wild, and diverse hybrid sunflower (Helianthus annuus) cross types to test how a cross type's maternal parent and nuclear genetic composition might affect its fate under field conditions. We observed higher maladaptive fall germination in the crop- and F1- produced seeds than wild-produced seeds and, due to an interaction with percent crop alleles, fall germination was higher for cross types with more crop-like nuclear genetics. By spring, crop-produced cross types had the highest overwintering mortality, primarily due to higher fall germination. Early spring germination was identical across maternal types, but germination continued for F1-produced seeds. In conclusion, the more wild-like the maternal parent or the less proportion of the cross type's genome contributed by the crop, the greater likelihood a seed will remain ungerminated than die. Wild-like dormancy may facilitate introgression through future recruitment from the soil seed bank.
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Date
2014-12-05
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Wiley Open Access
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Keywords
dormancy, gene flow, hybridization, introgression, maternal effects, seed banks, sunflower
Citation
Pace, B. A., Alexander, H. M., Emry, J. D. and Mercer, K. L. (2015), Seed fates in crop–wild hybrid sunflower: crop allele and maternal effects. Evol Appl, 8: 121–132. doi:10.1111/eva.12236