Isolation In Crosses Research Articles

Differences in mating system and predicted parental conflict affect post-pollination reproductive isolation in a flowering plant.

Mating system shifts from outcrossing to selfing are frequent in plant evolution. Relative to outcrossing, selfing is associated with reduced parental conflict over seed provisioning, which may result in postzygotic, asymmetric, reproductive isolation in crosses between populations of different mating systems. To test the hypothesis that post-pollination reproductive isolation between populations increases with increasing differences in mating system and predicted parental conflict, we performed a crossing experiment involving all combinations of three self-compatible populations (with low outcrossing rates), and three self-incompatible populations (with high outcrossing rates) of the arctic-alpine herb Arabis alpina, assessing fitness-related seed and plant traits of the progeny. Predicted levels of parental conflict ("genome strength") were quantified based on strength of self-incompatibility and estimates of outcrossing rates. Crosses between self-compatible and self-incompatible populations yielded very small seeds of low viability, resulting in strong reproductive isolation. In 14 of 15 reciprocal between-population crosses, seeds were heavier when the paternal plant had the stronger genome, and seed mass differences between cross directions increased with an increased difference in parental conflict. Overall, our results suggest that, when sufficiently large, differences in mating system and hence in expected parental conflict may result in strong post-pollination reproductive barriers contributing to speciation.

Nicotiana suaveolens accessions with different ploidy levels exhibit different reproductive isolation mechanisms in interspecific crosses with Nicotiana tabacum.

Reproductive isolation, including prezygotic and postzygotic barriers, is a mechanism that separates species. Many species in the Nicotiana section Suaveolentes exhibit reproductive isolation in crosses with Nicotiana tabacum. In this study, we investigated whether the chromosome numbers and ploidy levels of eight Nicotiana suaveolens accessions are related to the reproductive isolation after crosses with N. tabacum by flow cytometry and chromosome analyses. Additionally, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the eight N. suaveolens accessions were sequenced and compared with the previously reported sequences of 22 Suaveolentes species to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships in the section Suaveolentes. We revealed that four N. suaveolens accessions comprised 64 chromosomes, while the other four accessions carried 32 chromosomes. Depending on the ploidy levels of N. suaveolens, several types of reproductive isolation were observed after crosses with N. tabacum, including decreases in the number of capsules and the germination rates of hybrid seeds, as well as hybrid lethality and abscission of enlarged ovaries at 12-17days after pollination. A phylogenetic analysis involving ITS sequences divided the eight N. suaveolens accessions into three distinct clades. Based on the results, we confirmed that N. suaveolens accessions vary regarding ploidy levels and reproductive isolation mechanisms in crosses with N. tabacum. These accessions will be very useful for revealing and characterizing the reproductive isolation mechanisms in interspecific crosses and their relationships with ploidy levels.

Complex Deleterious Interactions Associated with Malic Enzyme May Contribute to Reproductive Isolation in the Copepod Tigriopus californicus

Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities can result from the interactions of more than a single pair of interacting genes and there are several different models of how such complex interactions can be structured. Previous empirical work has identified complex conspecific epistasis as a form of complex interaction that has contributed to postzygotic reproductive isolation between taxa, but other forms of complexity are also possible. Here, I probe the genetic basis of reproductive isolation in crosses of the intertidal copepod Tigriopus californicus by looking at the impact of markers in genes encoding metabolic enzymes in F2 hybrids. The region of the genome associated with the locus ME2 is shown to have strong, repeatable impacts on the fitness of hybrids in crosses and epistatic interactions with another chromosomal region marked by the GOT2 locus in one set of crosses. In a cross between one of these populations and a third population, these two regions do not appear to interact despite the continuation of a large effect of the ME2 region itself in both crosses. The combined results suggest that the ME2 chromosomal region is involved in incompatibilities with several unique partners. If these deleterious interactions all stem from the same factor in this region, that would suggest a different form of complexity from complex conspecific epistasis, namely, multiple independent deleterious interactions stemming from the same factor. Confirmation of this idea will require more fine-scale mapping of the interactions of the ME2 region of the genome.

Postmating/Prezygotic Isolation, Heterosis, and Outbreeding Depression in Crosses Within and Between Populations ofDiodia teres(Rubiaceae) Walt.

Gene flow can limit local adaptation and speciation. The outcome of breeding between populations determines the effectiveness of migration and the extent of gene flow. In crosses between populations, it is possible that some traits may indicate isolation and others may not. I measured the rate of successful hand pollination and the fruit production of the resulting hybrid progeny of crosses within and between six populations of the selfing annual Diodia teres. I chose two populations from each of three habitat types to examine evidence for reproductive isolation and heterosis between populations from different habitats. There was postmating/prezygotic isolation in crosses between populations from different habitats and heterosis for fruit production in the F2 progeny of these crosses, as well as crosses between populations from the same habitat type. Specific pairs of populations showed postmating/prezygotic isolation, but there was heterosis for fruit production in some hybrids. Populations that develop postmating/prezygotic isolation may not diverge further if heterosis in the resulting offspring leads to increased gene flow. The heterosis suggests fixed genetic load within some populations, which may be common in selfing species and may limit local adaptation and speciation.