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Female gametophyte development and double fertilization in Balsas teosinte, Zea mays subsp. parviglumis (Poaceae)

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Abstract

Over the course of maize evolution, domestication played a major role in the structural transition of the vegetative and reproductive characteristics that distinguish it from its closest wild relative, Zea mays subsp. parviglumis (Balsas teosinte). Little is known, however, about impacts of the domestication process on the cellular features of the female gametophyte and the subsequent reproductive events after fertilization, even though they are essential components of plant sexual reproduction. In this study, we investigated the developmental and cellular features of the Balsas teosinte female gametophyte and early developing seed in order to unravel the key structural and evolutionary transitions of the reproductive process associated with the domestication of the ancestor of maize. Our results show that the female gametophyte of Balsas teosinte is a variation of the Polygonum type with proliferative antipodal cells and is similar to that of maize. The fertilization process of Balsas teosinte also is basically similar to domesticated maize. In contrast to maize, many events associated with the development of the embryo and endosperm appear to be initiated earlier in Balsas teosinte. Our study suggests that the pattern of female gametophyte development with antipodal proliferation is common among species and subspecies of Zea and evolved before maize domestication. In addition, we propose that the relatively longer duration of the free nuclear endosperm phase in maize is correlated with the development of a larger fruit (kernel or caryopsis) and with a bigger endosperm compared with Balsas teosinte.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Julien Bachelier for his helpful suggestions toward the improvement of the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado.

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  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

    Chi-Chih Wu, Pamela K. Diggle & William E. Friedman

  2. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    William E. Friedman

  3. Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 1300 Centre Street, Boston, MA, 02131, USA

    William E. Friedman

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  1. Chi-Chih Wu
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  2. Pamela K. Diggle
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Correspondence to William E. Friedman.

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Communicated by Thomas Dresselhaus.

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Wu, CC., Diggle, P.K. & Friedman, W.E. Female gametophyte development and double fertilization in Balsas teosinte, Zea mays subsp. parviglumis (Poaceae). Sex Plant Reprod 24, 219–229 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00497-011-0164-1

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