Abstract
We evaluated the degree of selfing and inbreeding depression at the seed and seedling stages of a threatened tropical canopy tree, Neobalanocarpus heimii, using microsatellite markers. Selection resulted in an overall decrease in the level of surviving selfed progeny from seeds to established seedlings, indicating inbreeding depression during seedling establishment. Mean seed mass of selfed progeny was lower than that of outcrossed progeny. Since the smaller seeds suffered a fitness disadvantage at germination in N. heimii, the reduced seed mass of selfed progeny would be one of the determinants of the observed inbreeding depression during seedling establishment. High selfing rates in some mother trees could be attributed to low local densities of reproductive individuals, thus maintenance of a sufficiently high density of mature N. heimii should facilitate regeneration and conservation of the species.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. M. Yasuda for helpful discussions and permission to use his unpublished data; members of the Genetics Unit of FRIM for their assistance with laboratory work and nursery experiments; and Ms. Y. Kawamata, Ms. K. Obayashi, and Ms. Y. Takeuchi for their assistance during sample processing and collection. We also thank Mr. Quah and Ms. K Obayashi for their assistance in plot construction and field observations. Many thanks are also due to the members of the Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute and Tohoku University, and two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments and helpful discussions. This study was part of a joint research project undertaken by FRIM, Universiti Putera Malaysia, and Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies (Global Environment Research Program supported by the Ministry of Environment in Japan, grant no. E-4). The study was also partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 15405026) provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan.
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Naito, Y., Konuma, A., Iwata, H. et al. Selfing and inbreeding depression in seeds and seedlings of Neobalanocarpus heimii (Dipterocarpaceae). J Plant Res 118, 423–430 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-005-0245-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-005-0245-z