Abstract
We studied whether the differences between genetically different pollen donors (Betula pendula Roth clones) with respect to pollen-tube growth rate were consistent under different thermal conditions during pollen germination in vivo and in vitro. We conducted a single-donor hand-pollination experiment with same pollen donors and recipients in a plastic house seed orchard and at an outdoor clone collection. The prevailing daily mean temperature during pollen germination was 13°C higher in the plastic house than outdoors. The pollen-tube growth rate of each pollen donor was additionally determined in vitro on agar medium at five temperatures (10°, 15°, 22°, 30° and 35°C). A significant interaction between paternal clone and pollination site as well as between paternal clone and temperature was found, which provides evidence for genotype-environment interactions. Genotype-environment interactions can have evolutionary significance in maintaining the variation in pollen-tube growth rates. At seed orchards, genotype-environment interactions can cause deviations from the expected genetic composition of the seed crop depending on the prevailing environmental conditions during pollen-tube growth.
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Received: 24 September 1999 / Accepted: 29 September 1999
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Pasonen, HL., Käpylä, M. & Pulkkinen, P. Effects of temperature and pollination site on pollen performance in Betula pendula Roth – evidence for genotype-environment interactions. Theor Appl Genet 100, 1108–1112 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s001220051393
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s001220051393