Sexual interference of the floral kind.
Floral hermaphroditism results in conflicts and compromise in the parental roles of plants during pollination and mating. A potential cost of hermaphroditism is sexual interference between maternal and paternal functions resulting in gamete wastage and reduced fitness. Sexual interference may or may not be associated with self-pollination. In cases where self-pollination occurs, ovule or pollen discounting may reduce mating opportunities. Here I describe forms of sexual interference in flowering plants, distinguishing whether physical or biochemical interactions are involved and whether fitness costs associated with gamete wastage arise from intra-floral versus inter-floral processes. I review the limited experimental evidence for interference between sex functions and evaluate the hypothesis that some floral adaptations usually interpreted as anti-selfing mechanisms may serve an alternative function in reducing mating costs arising from this form of sexual conflict.
Barrett
S C H
SC
Department of Botany, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2. Barrett@botany.utoronto.ca
D012734:Disorders of Sex Development / Q000378:metabolism; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000502:physiology*; D011058:Pollen / Q000502:physiology*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*