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Enriching Ploidy Level Diversity: the Role of Apomictic and Sexual Biotypes of Hieracium subgen. Pilosella (Asteraceae) that Coexist in Polyploid Populations

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Abstract

The capacity to generate variation in ploidy and reproductive mode was compared in facultatively apomictic versus sexual maternal plants that coexist in two model populations. The population structure was studied in polyploid hybrid swarms comprised of Hieracium pilosella (usually sexual, less commonly apomictic), H. bauhini (apomictic), and their hybrids (sexual, apomictic, or sterile). Relationships among established biotypes were proposed on the basis of their DNA ploidy level/chromosome number, reproductive mode and morphology. Isozyme phenotypes and chloroplast DNA haplotypes were assayed in the population that was richer in hybrids. The reproductive origin of seed progeny was identified in both sexual and apomictic mothers, using alternative methods: the karyological, morphological and reproductive characters of the cultivated progeny were compared with those of respective mothers, or flow cytometric seed screening was used. In both populations, the progeny of sexual mothers mainly retained a rather narrow range of ploidy level/chromosome number, while the progeny of facultatively apomictic mothers was more variable. The high-polyploid hybrids, which had arisen from the fertilization of unreduced egg cells of apomicts, mainly produced aberrant non-maternal progeny (either sexually and/or via haploid parthenogenesis). Apparently, such versatile reproduction resulted in genomic instability of the recently formed high-polyploid hybrids. While the progeny produced by both true apomictic and sexual mothers mostly maintained the maternal reproductive mode, the progeny of those ‘versatile’ mothers was mainly sexual. Herein, we argue that polyploid facultative apomicts can considerably increase population diversity.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank H. Jedličková, the director of the Experimental Garden of the Faculty of Education, Masaryk University of Brno-Kejbaly. V. Křišťálová (Košťálová) is acknowledged for assistance in the field and for help in early reproductive system studies. We are grateful to J. Fehrer for kindly revising the first draft of this paper. This collective study was supported by the Czech Science Foundation (projects no. 206/07/0059 and 206/08/0890), by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (AVOZ60050516) to A.K., F.K., R.R. and I.P. and by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (projects MSM 0021622416 and LC 06073) to O.R.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Průhonice, CZ-252 43, Czech Republic

    Anna Krahulcová, František Krahulec, Radka Rosenbaumová & Ivana Plačková

  2. Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, CZ-611 37, Czech Republic

    Olga Rotreklová

  3. Department of Botany, National Museum, Průhonice, CZ-252 43, Czech Republic

    Radka Rosenbaumová

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  1. Anna Krahulcová
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  2. Olga Rotreklová
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  3. František Krahulec
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  5. Ivana Plačková
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Correspondence to Anna Krahulcová.

Appendix

Appendix

Overview of chromosome numbers, ploidy levels and genotypes of maternal plants (sexual and apomictic) of the studied Hieracium subgen. Pilosella and their seed progeny, spontaneously arisen at localities Praha-Vysočany (locality 1) and Brno-Kamenný kopec (locality 2). The labels (BA – Hieracium bauhini, PI – H. pilosella, HYB – hybrid) refer to individual maternal plants and genotypes symbolized by lowercase letters. The supposed origin of the progeny was inferred i) by comparing their own and the maternal ploidy level, and from the morphology of cultivated progeny plants (all progeny from locality 1, part of the progeny of plants 2-3763 PI and 2-3734 PI from locality 2); or ii) by FCSS analysis (the other progeny from locality 2). Symbols of progeny origins follow Harlan and de Wet (1975).

Apomictic maternal plants

Progeny

Sexual maternal plants

Progeny

Cytotype

Plant label

Genotype

2n / ploidy (x = 9)

No. of individuals

Origin

Cytotype

Plant

Genotype

2n / ploidy (x = 9)

No. of individuals

Origin

Locality 1: 13 individuals

 

Locality 1: 12 individuals

 

2n = 4x = 36

1-656 BA

BA b

4x

23

2n + 0

2n = 4x = 36

1-296 PI

 

36

1

n + n

2n = 5x = 45

1-292 BA

BA c

5x

6

2n + 0

1-505 PI

PI i

36

6

n + n

1-644 BA

BA d

2n = 39

1

n + n

  

44

1

n + n

  

5x

15

2n + 0

1-511 PI

PI l

36

7

n + n

1-649 BA

BA d

5x

2

2n + 0

1-646 PI

PI m

35

2

n + n

  

2n = 7x = 63

1

2n + n

  

36

6

n + n

1-652 BA

BA d

5x

10

2n + 0

1-654 PI

PI n

36

5

n + n

  

2n = 7x = 63

1

2n + n

1-643 HYB

HYB c

36

5

n + n

1-655 BA

BA e

5x

5

2n + 0

1-642 HYB

HYB c

36

1

n + n

  

2n = 7x = 63

1

2n + n

2n = 5x = 45

1-506 PI

PI p

36

1

n + n

1-647 HYB

HYB l

5x

7

2n + 0

  

37

2

n + n

1-661 HYB

HYB l

2n = 41

1

n + n

  

39

2

n + n

  

5x

19

2n + 0

  

40

2

n + n

  

2n = 7x = 63

2

2n + n

  

41

2

n + n

1-653 HYB

HYB l

4x

1

n + n

  

42

2

n + n

  

5x

7

2n + 0

  

45

2

n + n

  

2n = 7x = 63

2

2n + n

2n = 6x = 54

1-660 HYB

 

43

2

n + n

2n = 7x = 63

1-508 HYB

HYB o

2n = 28

1

n + 0

  

44

6

n + n

1-513 HYB

HYB p

2n = 29

1

n + 0

  

45

3

n + n

  

2n = 45

1

n + n

  

46

3

n + n

  

2n = 48–50

1

n + n

2n = 48 (aneuploid)

1-295 HYB

 

40

3

n + n

1-515 HYB

HYB p

2n = 32

1

n + 0

  

41

8

n + n

  

2n = 36

1

n + 0

  

42

4

n + n

  

2n = 47

5

n + n

  

43

1

n + n

  

2n = 48

1

n + n

  

44

1

n + n

  

2n = 49

2

n + n

2n = 49 (aneuploid)

1-648 HYB

 

40

1

n + n

  

2n = 50

2

n + n

  

41

5

n + n

1-651 HYB

HYB r

2n = 28

1

n + 0

  

42

2

n + n

  

2n = 46

1

n + n

  

43

1

n + n

  

2n = 48

1

n + n

2n = 58 (aneuploid)

1-641 HYB

 

44

1

n + n

  

2n = 51

1

n + n

  

45

1

n + n

  

Total

124

   

46

5

n + n

       

46/47

1

n + n

       

47

2

n + n

       

48

1

n + n

       

48/49

1

n + n

       

Total

99

 

Locality 2: 12 individuals

   

Locality 2: 9 individuals

   

2n = 5x

2-3672 BA

 

5x

9

2n + 0

2n = 6x

2-3659 PI

 

6x

15

n + n

  

5x

1

n + n

2-3693 PI

 

6x

2

n + n

2-3701 BA

 

5x

32

2n + 0

2-3694 PI

 

6x

17

n + n

2-3706 BA

 

5x

12

2n + 0

2-3763 PI

 

6x

6

n + n

  

5x

1

n + n

  

8x

1

2n + n

2-3707 BA

 

5x

29

2n + 0

2-3734 PI

 

6x

64

n + n

2-3703 BA

 

5x

3

2n + 0

2-3735 PI

 

6x

30

n + n

  

5x

2

n + n

2-3772 PI

 

6x

71

n + n

2-3782 BA

 

5x

8

2n + 0

2-3774 PI

 

6x

62

n + n

  

5x

1

n + n

2-3775 PI

 

6x

49

n + n

  

8x

1

2n + n

  

Total

317

 

2-3784 BA

 

5x

33

2n + 0

     
  

3x

2

n + 0

     

2n = 6x

2-3669 BA

 

6x

77

2n + 0

     

2-3702 BA

 

6x

15

2n + 0

     

2-3730 PI

 

6x

14

2n + 0

     

2-3733 PI

 

6x

38

2n + 0

     

2-3737 PI

 

6x

58

2n + 0

     
  

Total

336

      

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Krahulcová, A., Rotreklová, O., Krahulec, F. et al. Enriching Ploidy Level Diversity: the Role of Apomictic and Sexual Biotypes of Hieracium subgen. Pilosella (Asteraceae) that Coexist in Polyploid Populations. Folia Geobot 44, 281–306 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-009-9041-1

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