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Polyploidy and polyembryony in Anemopaegma (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae)

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Abstract

Polyploidy is a key process in plant evolution, with the asexual formation of embryos representing a way through which polyploids can escape sterility. The association between polyploidy and polyembryony is known to occur in Bignoniaceae. In this study, we investigate polyembryony in four polyploid species of Anemopaegma: A. acutifolium, A. arvense, A. glaucum and A. scabriusculum as well as in one diploid species, A. album. Polyembryony was observed only in polyploid species. We used seed dissection and germination tests to compare the number of polyembryonic seeds. We tested how the pollen source influences the number of polyembryonic seeds and the number of embryos per seed and tested the correlation between the number of viable seeds per fruit and mean number of embryos per seed. The number of polyembryonic seeds observed by seed dissection was higher than the number of polyembryonic seeds determined by the germination test, with the number of embryos produced per seed being higher than the number of seedlings. The dissection of seeds of A. glaucum indicated that a higher number of polyembryonic seeds and a higher number of embryos were present in seeds from cross-pollination than in seeds from self-pollination. On the other hand, germination tests indicated that a higher number of polyembryonic seeds were present in fruits from self-pollination than from cross-pollination. The mean number of embryos per seed was not influenced by the number of viable seeds per fruit in fruits from open pollination. These results indicate a positive relationship between polyembryony and polyploidy in Anemopaegma.

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Acknowledgments

This research project was initiated as part of the doctoral thesis of the first author at Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), São Paulo, Brazil, and continued at the Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. We thank the Reserva Ecológica do IBGE (Brasília-DF), the Universidade de Campinas (Campinas, SP) and Universidade de São Paulo for logistical support, as well as the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq-142233/2004-8 grant to FFL and a Pq-2 grant to LGL) for funding. The authors also thank Cintia Luíza da Silva Luz and Isabel Gomide Martinelli for assistance with the preparation of Figures and anonymous reviewer for comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 277, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05508-090, Brazil

    Fabiana Firetti-Leggieri, Lúcia G. Lohmann & Suzana Alcantara

  2. Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Caixa Postal 6109, Campinas, SP, CEP 13083-970, Brazil

    Fabiana Firetti-Leggieri & João Semir

  3. Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus do Pici, Bloco 906, Fortaleza, CE, CEP 60451-970, Brazil

    Itayguara Ribeiro da Costa

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  1. Fabiana Firetti-Leggieri
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  2. Lúcia G. Lohmann
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  3. Suzana Alcantara
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  4. Itayguara Ribeiro da Costa
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  5. João Semir
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Correspondence to Fabiana Firetti-Leggieri or Lúcia G. Lohmann.

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Communicated by Scott Russell.

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Firetti-Leggieri, F., Lohmann, L.G., Alcantara, S. et al. Polyploidy and polyembryony in Anemopaegma (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae). Plant Reprod 26, 43–53 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00497-012-0206-3

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