title: Effects of flower dimorphism and light environment on arbuscular mycorrhizal colonisation in a cleistogamous herb.
abstract: Although it is known that floral dimorphism contributes to the maintenance of mixed breeding systems, the consequences of producing progeny of a contrasting genetic background and seeds with differential resource allocation has been practically ignored regarding establishment of belowground organisms-plant interactions. This article evaluates the combined effect of floral dimorphism with cross type and light environment on interactions between Ruellia nudiflora and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). R. nudiflora produces cleistogamous (CL) flowers that exhibit obligate self-pollination and chasmogamous (CH) flowers with facultative self- (CHs) or cross- (CHc) pollination. We evaluated the establishment of the plant-AMF interaction in progeny derived from each floral type, under two light conditions (shaded versus open). We established different scenarios depending on the existence of inbreeding depression (ID) and whether the differential resource allocation (DRA) to CH and CL flowers affected the R. nudiflora-AMF interaction. We predicted that under shaded light conditions there might be an intensification of ID, having a negative effect on AMF colonisation. The percentages of hyphae and vesicles in the harvested roots was significantly higher in the shaded plants (F ≥ 4.11, P < 0.05), while progeny of CHc and CHs presented a higher percentage of hyphae and vesicle colonisation compared to CL progeny (F = 15.26, P < 0.01). The results show that DRA to CH flowers and light availability both determines the establishment of R. nudiflora-AMF interaction. The results also suggest that even under stressful light conditions, endogamy does not affect this interaction, which may explain the success of R. nudiflora as an invasive species.
authors: Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, México.
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Parra-Tabla
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Munguía-Rosas
authors: M J
authors: MJ
authors: Campos-Navarrete
authors: J A
authors: JA
authors: Ramos-Zapata
mesh_terms: D027901:Acanthaceae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D035264:Flowers / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D007178:Inbreeding; D058865:Introduced Species; D008027:Light; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D054817:Pollination; D012098:Reproduction; D012639:Seeds / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D057945:Self-Fertilization
keywords: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; cleistogamy; inbreeding depression; invasive plants; mixed mating systems