Gender plasticity uncovers multiple sexual morphs in natural populations of Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don
Abstract Background The expression of gender in gymnosperms is challenging because the extent of variability in gender segregations in tree crowns and selection pressure of nature can modify the gender through time. Methods An in-depth investigation on spatial segregation of genders in tree crowns a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2021-05-01
|
| Series: | Ecological Processes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-021-00311-7 |
| _version_ | 1818601620467875840 |
|---|---|
| author | Vinod Prasad Khanduri Arun Sukumaran Chandra Mohan Sharma |
| author_facet | Vinod Prasad Khanduri Arun Sukumaran Chandra Mohan Sharma |
| author_sort | Vinod Prasad Khanduri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The expression of gender in gymnosperms is challenging because the extent of variability in gender segregations in tree crowns and selection pressure of nature can modify the gender through time. Methods An in-depth investigation on spatial segregation of genders in tree crowns and sex expression of a total of 500 trees in five different natural populations of Cedrus deodara was carried out and verified the occurrence of subdioecious (co-existence of male, female, and monoecious) genders in C. deodara. Results Five different sexual morphs were apparent among the 500 selected individuals as (1) pure male (M): bearing only male strobili in the whole crown with 22.2%; (2) pure female (F): bearing only female strobili in the whole crown with 12.4%; (3) mixed-monoecious (MM): bearing both male and female strobili with 13.6%; (4) predominantly female (PF) with 25.6%; and (5) predominantly male (PM) with 26.2%. The occurrence of multiple sexual morphs resulted from the complex selection pressure, which increased the stability of the populations. The segregation of genders in crown layers deemed to increase the fitness that may be a mechanism for accelerating outcrossing. The results of the study suggest that the subdioecious gender expression in C. deodara is evolved through the monoecy–paradioecy pathway. The production of male strobili revealed non-significant effect of tree sizes whereas a significant effect was observed for the production of female strobili. Our study established that the total pollen and seed outputs in C. deodara changed frequently according to gender expression. Conclusions The size of the tree, resource availability, sex allocation, plant architecture, gender segregation in crowns, and habitat conditions are the prominent causes for gender plasticity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T12:54:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d9fd92302624688ab14de1447c2a7ae |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2192-1709 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T12:54:17Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Processes |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d9fd92302624688ab14de1447c2a7ae2022-12-21T22:31:04ZengSpringerOpenEcological Processes2192-17092021-05-0110111110.1186/s13717-021-00311-7Gender plasticity uncovers multiple sexual morphs in natural populations of Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. DonVinod Prasad Khanduri0Arun Sukumaran1Chandra Mohan Sharma2Department of Forestry, College of Forestry, VCSG Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and ForestryDepartment of Forestry, College of Forestry, VCSG Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and ForestryDepartment of Forestry, College of Forestry, VCSG Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and ForestryAbstract Background The expression of gender in gymnosperms is challenging because the extent of variability in gender segregations in tree crowns and selection pressure of nature can modify the gender through time. Methods An in-depth investigation on spatial segregation of genders in tree crowns and sex expression of a total of 500 trees in five different natural populations of Cedrus deodara was carried out and verified the occurrence of subdioecious (co-existence of male, female, and monoecious) genders in C. deodara. Results Five different sexual morphs were apparent among the 500 selected individuals as (1) pure male (M): bearing only male strobili in the whole crown with 22.2%; (2) pure female (F): bearing only female strobili in the whole crown with 12.4%; (3) mixed-monoecious (MM): bearing both male and female strobili with 13.6%; (4) predominantly female (PF) with 25.6%; and (5) predominantly male (PM) with 26.2%. The occurrence of multiple sexual morphs resulted from the complex selection pressure, which increased the stability of the populations. The segregation of genders in crown layers deemed to increase the fitness that may be a mechanism for accelerating outcrossing. The results of the study suggest that the subdioecious gender expression in C. deodara is evolved through the monoecy–paradioecy pathway. The production of male strobili revealed non-significant effect of tree sizes whereas a significant effect was observed for the production of female strobili. Our study established that the total pollen and seed outputs in C. deodara changed frequently according to gender expression. Conclusions The size of the tree, resource availability, sex allocation, plant architecture, gender segregation in crowns, and habitat conditions are the prominent causes for gender plasticity.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-021-00311-7GenderSex expressionGender segregationStrobiliPre-fertilisationMonoecy |
| spellingShingle | Vinod Prasad Khanduri Arun Sukumaran Chandra Mohan Sharma Gender plasticity uncovers multiple sexual morphs in natural populations of Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don Ecological Processes Gender Sex expression Gender segregation Strobili Pre-fertilisation Monoecy |
| title | Gender plasticity uncovers multiple sexual morphs in natural populations of Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don |
| title_full | Gender plasticity uncovers multiple sexual morphs in natural populations of Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don |
| title_fullStr | Gender plasticity uncovers multiple sexual morphs in natural populations of Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender plasticity uncovers multiple sexual morphs in natural populations of Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don |
| title_short | Gender plasticity uncovers multiple sexual morphs in natural populations of Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don |
| title_sort | gender plasticity uncovers multiple sexual morphs in natural populations of cedrus deodara roxb g don |
| topic | Gender Sex expression Gender segregation Strobili Pre-fertilisation Monoecy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-021-00311-7 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vinodprasadkhanduri genderplasticityuncoversmultiplesexualmorphsinnaturalpopulationsofcedrusdeodararoxbgdon AT arunsukumaran genderplasticityuncoversmultiplesexualmorphsinnaturalpopulationsofcedrusdeodararoxbgdon AT chandramohansharma genderplasticityuncoversmultiplesexualmorphsinnaturalpopulationsofcedrusdeodararoxbgdon |