Abstract Detail

Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo)

Povilus, Rebecca [1], Diggle, Pamela [2], Friedman, William [3].

Evidence for parent-of-origin effects and interparental conflict in seeds of an ancient flowering plant lineage.

Theoretical and empirical studies have long connected the evolutionary innovation of endosperm, a genetically biparental product of a double fertilization process unique to flowering plants (angiosperms), to conflicting parental interests over offspring provisioning. Yet, none of these studies examined interparental conflict in representatives of any of the most ancient angiosperm lineages. We therefore performed reciprocal interploidy crosses in the water lily Nymphaea thermarum (Nymphaeales) and characterized the resulting parent-of-origin effects on seed development. We find that an excess of paternal genomes is associated with an increase in endosperm growth. In contrast, higher maternal ploidy negatively influences development or growth of all seed components, regardless of paternal genome dosage. Most relevant to the conflict over distribution of maternal resources, however, is that growth of the perisperm (seed storage tissue derived from the maternal sporophyte, found in all Nymphaeales) is unaffected by paternal genome dosage – ensuring maternal control of maternal resources. We compare these results to interploidy crosses performed with other angiosperm species, and conclude that the evolutionary transfer of embryo-nourishing function from a genetically biparental endosperm to a genetically maternal perisperm can be viewed as an effective maternal strategy to recapture control of resource distribution among progeny.

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Published paper

1 - Whitehead Institute, Gehring Lab, 455 Main Street, Cambridge, MA, MA, 02142, USA
2 - University Of Connecticut, Department Of Ecology And Evolutionary Biology, Storrs, CT, 6269, United States
3 - Harvard University, Arnold Arboretum, 1300 Centre St., Boston, MA, 02131, United States

Keywords:
interparental conflict
interploidy crosses
perisperm
Nymphaeales
seed development.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 20, Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo) I
Location: 113/Mayo Civic Center
Date: Tuesday, July 24th, 2018
Time: 10:30 AM
Number: 20010
Abstract ID:564
Candidate for Awards:None