首页|SEROT1NY AND THE EVOLUTION OF SEED CONE SIZE IN CUPRESSACEAE CONIFERS

SEROT1NY AND THE EVOLUTION OF SEED CONE SIZE IN CUPRESSACEAE CONIFERS

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  • NETL
  • NSTL
  • Univ Chicago Press
Premise of research. Serotiny is a specialized dispersal mechanism in which seeds are retained on the parent plant and released following a disturbance event. This strategy has evolved repeatedly in plants inhabiting fire-prone regions and typically requires adaptations for the protection and release of seeds. We explore the relationship between serotiny and reproductive morphology in the Cupressaceae conifer clade, asking whether serotiny is associated with the evolution of larger, more protective seed cones. Methodology. We compiled cone volume data from 72 extant Cupressaceae species, with detailed cone and seed mass measurements from 19. Using phylogenetic regressions and a previously published phylogeny, we reconstructed how many times serotiny evolved in Cupressaceae and asked whether its appearance was correlated with larger seed cones. We also tested whether cones from serotinous taxa produced proportionally more sterile tissues than those from nonserotinous taxa. Pivotal results. Serotiny has likely evolved five times within extant Cupressaceae, and each time it is correlated with the evolution of larger seed cones. The larger cones of serotinous taxa do not show proportionally more investment in sterile tissues, however. Conclusions. The relationship between cone size and serotiny is particularly strong in Cupressaceae because their branching architecture favors the production of small cones; fire regimes can then exert a strong selective pressure favoring larger ones. Conifers that produce generally larger seed cones may be less likely to show a correlation with serotiny. Considering seed cone size and branching architecture together, however, may allow for the interpretation of serotiny in the conifer fossil record.

coniferswildfireserotinycone evolutionseed dispersal

Karishma Swarup、Dori Contreras、Andrew B. Leslie

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Bedford-Stuyvesant Collegiate Charter School, 800 Gates Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11221, USA

Perot Museum of Nature and Science, 2201 North Field Street, Dallas, Texas 75201, USA

Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Building 320, Room 118, Stanford, California 94305, USA

2021

10.1086/711470

International journal of plant sciences

International journal of plant sciences

SCI
ISSN：1058-5893
年,卷(期)：2021.182(1)
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