“I think she’s compensating for something!”

“I think she’s compensating for something!”

A case of anther envy in the seemingly perfect world of Mimulus

guttatus.

Joceline V. VuThe University of Virginia

Dr. Michael J. Wise

Summer Research 2009Blandy Experimental Farm

Blandy Experimental FarmBoyce, VA

Breeding Systems in Plants

hermaphroditism dioecymonoecygynodioecy

?

male-sterility: reproductive costHow can females compensate in

a hermaphroditic population?

Problem of Interest

Hermaphrodite (perfect)

Male-Sterile (Female)

Questions

Compensating for reproductive costs

- Fecundity?

- Pollinator attraction?

Plant Performance Experiment

Pollinator Preference Experiment

Plant Performance Experiment

Methods1392 seedlings

611 from female lines

606 from perfect lines

316 295“sterile-sibling perfect”

593 13

Plant Performance Experiment

Corolla Width and

Length

Fruit Count

Ovule Count

Corolla Width and

Length

Fruit Count

Ovule Count

Corolla Width and

Length

Fruit Count

Ovule Count

Corolla Width

P = 0.01

Female Perfect

Cor

olla

wid

th (

mm

)

18.6

18.8

19.0

19.2

19.4

19.6

19.8

20.0p < 0.0001

Corolla Length

Female Perfect

Cor

olla

leng

th (

mm

)

18.9

19.0

19.1

19.2

19.3

19.4

19.5

19.6p = 0.01

Female flowers are larger than perfect

flowers

Females flower earlier than hermaphrodites

Female Perfect

Day

of

first

flo

wer

18.5

19.0

19.5

20.0

20.5

21.0

21.5

p = 0.03

Females produce more fruits and more

ovules/fruit

Female Perfect

Fru

its p

er p

lant

34

36

38

40

42

44

46

48

50

p < 0.0001

Female Perfect

Ovu

les

per

locu

le

260

280

300

320

340

360

p < 0.0001

Fruit Number Ovule Number

Summary: Plant PerformanceFemales have bigger flowers,

more fruits, and more ovules/fruit

Pollinator Preference

Pollinator Preference

Floral Display, Plant Visits, Flowers/Plant Visit

Ope

n flo

wer

s

0

10

20

30

40

50

Trial 1 Trial 3Trial 2

a

a

a

bb

b bbb

Female plants have a larger floral display

but…

Flo

wer

s vi

site

d

0

1

2

3

4

5

Trial 1 Trial 3Trial 2

aa

a

ba

bbab

Flower visits per plant visit is higher for perfect plants than

females

ab

Floral display affects flower visits per plant visit for

perfect flowers

Number of flowers0 20 40 60 80 100

Flo

wer

s pe

r pl

ant

visi

t

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Hermaphrodites:r = 0.30; p = 0.002

Females:r = 0.10; p = 0.35

Summary: Pollinator PreferenceBees visit all plants equally

Once on a hermaphrodite, they stay longer

Fertilization?

Inbreeding?

Conclusions

Can female plants compensate enough to compete in a perfect

world?

fecunditypollination

Acknowledgements

Questions?