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Adaptive significance of self-fertilization in a hermaphroditic perennial, Trillium camschatcense (Melanthiaceae)¹

Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan

ABSTRACT

The evolution of self-fertilization from primarily outcrossing ancestors is one of the most common evolutionary transitions in plants; however, the ecological mechanisms that maintain self-fertilization have remained controversial. Theoretical studies suggest that selfing is advantageous over outcrossing in terms of genetic transmission and assurance of seed production under pollen-limited circumstances. Trillium camschatcense is a herbaceous perennial distributed in Hokkaido and northern Honshu, Japan. Geographical variation in the breeding system (self-compatible, SC; or self-incompatible, SI) has been reported in populations in Hokkaido. Here, we used several SC and SI populations of T. camschatcense to investigate the adaptive significance and the evolutionary basis of self-fertilization. Pollination experiments and genetic analyses demonstrated that the potential availability of outcross pollen in SC populations was sufficient and that the number of pollen donors was equal to that of SI populations. However, despite the high availability of outcross pollen, the SC populations produced seeds predominantly by selfing and so underwent severe inbreeding depression. Although none of the suggested advantages for self-fertilization were supported by our analyses, we propose two possible scenarios for the evolution of self-fertilization in T. camschatcense.

Key Words: biparental inbreeding • correlated paternity • inbreeding depression • mating system • pollen limitation • reproductive assurance • self-incompatibility

Received for publication 3 September 2007. Accepted for publication 11 January 2008.

FOOTNOTES

¹ The authors acknowledge the considerable advice of M. T. Kimura and G. Kudo. This study was funded by grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) for Scientific Research (1637007, 18405010, and 1957001107), research fellowships of the JSPS for Young Scientists, and the Akiyama Foundation.

² Author for correspondence (e-mail: ohara{at}ees.hokudai.ac.jp), fax: +81-11-706-4525

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