Evolution of meiosis timing during floral development

Abstract

Restricted accessMoreSectionsView PDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Cite this article Li Ping and Johnston Mark O. 1999Evolution of meiosis timing during floral developmentProc. R. Soc. Lond. B.266185–190http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1999.0620SectionRestricted accessEvolution of meiosis timing during floral development Ping Li Ping Li Department of Biology, Life Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4J1 (, ) Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author and Mark O. Johnston Mark O. Johnston Department of Biology, Life Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4J1 (, ) Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author Ping Li Ping Li Department of Biology, Life Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4J1 (, ) Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author and Mark O. Johnston Mark O. Johnston Department of Biology, Life Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4J1 (, ) Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author Published:22 January 1999https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1999.0620AbstractMeiosis divides the haploid and diploid portions of the life cycle in all sexual organisms. In angiosperms meiosis occurs during flower development, the duration of which varies widely among species and is affected by environmental conditions within species. For 36 species representing 13 angiosperm families, we determined the time at which meiosis ceased in the anthers as a fraction of the total time from floral primordium initiation (beginning of development) to flower opening (end). It was found that this fraction, rather than being continuously distributed among species, occurred in three discrete classes despite wide variations within and among species in absolute developmental durations. Each species was characterized by a single timing class. For all species within a given timing class, therefore, the durations before and after the end of microsporocyte meiosis existed in constant ratio. Each timing class was found in phylogenetically distant species; conversely, a plant family often contained more than one class. Timing class was not related to ploidy level, inflorescence architecture, pollination syndrome or mating system. These findings show that either the durations before and after microsporocyte meiosis are regulated by the same exogenous process, or one duration determines the other. They further imply that the underlying developmental processes have evolved in a limited number of ways among flowering plants. Previous ArticleNext Article VIEW FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD PDF FiguresRelatedReferencesDetailsCited by Li P and Johnston M (2010) Flower Development and the Evolution of Self-fertilization in Amsinckia: The Role of Heterochrony, Evolutionary Biology, 10.1007/s11692-010-9091-6, 37:4, (143-168), Online publication date: 1-Dec-2010. Li P and Johnston M (2000) Heterochrony in plant evolutionary studies through the twentieth century, The Botanical Review, 10.1007/BF02857782, 66:1, (57-88), Online publication date: 1-Jan-2000. This Issue22 January 1999Volume 266Issue 1415 Article InformationDOI:https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1999.0620Published by:Royal SocietyPrint ISSN:0962-8452Online ISSN:1471-2954History: Published online22/01/1999Published in print22/01/1999 License: Citations and impact Keywordsflower developmentanthermeiosis timinggolden ratiotetrad formationmicrosporocyte Large datasets are available through Proceedings B's partnership with Dryad