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Diplospory and obligate apomixis in Miconia albicans (Miconieae, Melastomataceae) and an embryological comparison with its sexual congener M. chamissois

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Abstract

Apomixis, or asexual reproduction through seeds, has been reported for species of the tribe Miconieae, Melastomataceae, but details of the process have yet to be described. We analyzed and compared sporogenesis and gametogenesis in the apomictic Miconia albicans and the sexual M. chamissois. The results point to some differences between species, which were related to the apomictic process. In M. albicans microsporogenesis, problems during meiosis and degeneration of its products led to total pollen sterility, while M. chamissois presented normal bicellular pollen grains in the mature anther. The absence or abnormality of meiosis in M. albicans megasporogenesis led to the formation of an unreduced embryo sac and also to egg cell parthenogenesis, which gave rise to the apomictic embryo. Embryo and endosperm development were autonomous, resulting in seeds and fruits independent of pollination and fertilization. Thus, in this species, apomixis can be classified as diplosporic and obligate. In contrast, meiosis was as expected in the sexual M. chamissois, and led to the development of a reduced embryo sac. Despite the divergent pathways, many embryological characteristics were similar between the studied species and other Melastomataceae and they seem to be conservative character states for the family.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). We thank Diana Sampaio, Simone Pádua Texeira, and Clesnan Mendes Rodrigues for critical reading of different versions of this manuscript. We thank the Clube Caça e Pesca Itororó for the permission to collect in their protected area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, CEP 13083-970, Brazil

    Ana Paula Souza Caetano

  2. Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, CEP 38400-902, Brazil

    Daniela Guimarães Simão, Renata Carmo-Oliveira & Paulo Eugênio Oliveira

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  1. Ana Paula Souza Caetano
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  2. Daniela Guimarães Simão
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  3. Renata Carmo-Oliveira
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  4. Paulo Eugênio Oliveira
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Correspondence to Paulo Eugênio Oliveira.

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Caetano, A.P.S., Simão, D.G., Carmo-Oliveira, R. et al. Diplospory and obligate apomixis in Miconia albicans (Miconieae, Melastomataceae) and an embryological comparison with its sexual congener M. chamissois . Plant Syst Evol 299, 1253–1262 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-013-0793-y

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