title: Pollen competition in style: Effects of pollen size on siring success in the hermaphroditic common morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pollen size varies greatly among flowering plant species and has been shown to influence the delivery of sperm cells to the eggs. Relatively little is known, however, about the functional significance of within-species genetic variation in pollen size. This study tests whether pollen size influences the relative siring success of a pollen donor during in vivo pollen competition experiments.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used two groups of Ipomoea purpurea plants genetically divergent in their pollen sizes and applied equal number of pollen grains from one large-pollen and one small-pollen donor onto the same stigma. Using microsatellite genetic markers, we identified the pollen parent of each of the resulting progeny to determine the relative siring success of the competing donors. Competitions between donors of equal-sized pollen served as a control.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Differences in pollen size significantly affected the relative siring success of a pollen donor; larger-grained individuals outcompeted smaller-grained competitors but not equal-sized competitors. Relative siring success, however, sometimes varied across different pollen recipients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pollen size can influence the relative siring success of different individuals competing on the same stigma during postpollination processes. However, other factors, such as pollen-pistil interaction and environmental conditions, are likely to influence these competitions as well.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602 USA.
authors.forename: Britnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McCallum
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602 USA smchang@uga.edu.
authors.forename: Shu-Mei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D057850:Hermaphroditic Organisms; D027741:Ipomoea / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D009929:Organ Size; D011058:Pollen / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D054817:Pollination; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable
keywords: Convolvulaceae; Ipomoea purpurea; pollen competition; pollen size; siring success