Am. J. Bot. Cross-Journal Searching
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (14)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lee, T. N.
Right arrow Articles by Snow, A. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Lee, T. N.
Right arrow Articles by Snow, A. A.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Lee, T. N.
Right arrow Articles by Snow, A. A.

American Journal of Botany, Vol 85, 333, Copyright © 1998 by Botanical Society of America, Inc.

POPULATION BIOLOGY

Pollinator preferences and the persistence of crop genes in wild radish populations (Raphanus raphanistrum, Brassicaceae)

TN Lee and AA Snow

Crop-weed hybridization can potentially influence the evolutionary ecology of wild populations. Many crops are known to hybridize with wild relatives, but few studies have looked at the long-term persistence of crop genes in the wild. This study investigated one factor in the hybridization process in radish: differential pollinator visitation to wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) vs. crop-wild F1 hybrids (R. sativus x R. raphanistrum). Wild genotypes had yellow flowers, a recessive single-locus trait, whereas hybrids always had white or pale pink flowers. In experimental arrays in northern Michigan, total pollinator visitation was significantly biased toward wild plants when the frequencies of wild and hybrid plants were equal. Syrphid flies, the most frequent visitors, preferred wild plants while bumble bees showed no preference. This pattern was also observed when hybrid plants were overrepresented in the array (12 hybrid:2 wild). In contrast, when hybrid plants were rare (2 hybrid:12 wild), neither morph was preferred by any pollinator group. Later in the summer, pollinators were also observed in a large experimental garden with nearly equal frequencies of wild and hybrid plants. Cabbage butterflies (Pieris rapae) strongly overvisited wild plants, while bumble bees showed a slight preference for hybrids. Taken together, these studies suggest that F1 hybrids may not be at a disadvantage with regard to pollinator visits when they occur at low frequencies or when bumble bees are frequent flower visitors. Thus, variation in the proportion of white-flowered morphs among wild radish populations could be influenced by different histories of crop-to-wild hybridization, as well as by variation in the composition of local pollinator taxa.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Bot.Home page
K. Birnbaum, R. DeSalle, C. M. Peters, and P. N. Benfey
Integrating gene flow, crop biology, and farm management in on-farm conservation of avocado (Persea americana, Lauraceae)
Am. J. Botany, November 1, 2003; 90(11): 1619 - 1627.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1998 by the Botanical Society of America, Inc.