Inter-accession variation in floral morphology in radish (Raphanus sativus L.)

Abstract

We investigated variation in floral morphology among 36 accessions of radish (Raphanus sativus L.). We found wide, continuous inter-accession variation in 15 traits related to the size of the floral organs and the stigma position relative to the anthers of long stamens. A principal-component analysis of the 15 floral traits also showed wide variation among accessions. A large proportion of this variation was accounted for by lengths of stamens and the petal tube. In addition, the phenotypic stabilities with respect to the macro-environment (as affected by different sowing dates) and the micro-environment (among the flowers within a plant) differed between traits. Correlation analyses using all traits suggest the existence of genetic linkages or pleiotropies among floral organs. Our results indicate that floral morphologies varied greatly among radish accessions and they could be affected by the macro- and micro-environment. To explore the relationship between floral morphology and pollination efficiency, we compared the number of pollen grains deposited on the stigmas in the presence and absence of insect pollinators using three accessions with very different floral morphology. Because an accession with a higher stigma position than anthers might avoid self-pollination and an accession with a large stigma size received more pollen grains, floral morphology may affect pollination efficiency. Because the effect of pollination efficiency on seed production is well known, our results suggest that radish floral morphology affects seed production through its effect on pollination efficiency.