Male correlated non-matroclinal character inheritance in reciprocal hybrids of Rosa section Caninae (DC.) Ser. (Rosaceae)

Abstract.

Artificial F1 hybrids within dog-roses (Rosa section Caninae (DC.) Ser.) have been assessed for expression of morphological characters with regards to the actual taxonomy applied. In the mostly pentaploid members of the section the unique heterogamous Canina-meiosis leads to matroclinal inheritance of characters by transmitting 4/5 of the genetic information via seed donor whereas 1/5 is provided by the pollen donor. Evaluation of phenotypic variability revealed that the two taxonomically relevant characters “widening of the orifice” and “persistence of the sepals” are statistically significant controlled by the pollen donor. Reciprocal crossings confirmed the same pattern. One possible explanation is that this phenomenon might be subject to genomic imprinting mechanisms. The morphological analysis gives clear evidence that conventional taxonomical concept is artificial and does not reflect the evolutionary patterns among dog-roses.