Effects of pollen quality and quantity on pollen limitation in Crataegus monIncioogyna (Rosaceae) in NW Spain.

• Autores: Chacoff, Natacha Paola; Garcia, Daniel; Obeso, Ramón
• Año de publicación: 2008
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Pollen Limitation; Fruit Set; Pollination Requirement; Pollen Tube Growth
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Pollen limitation occurs when plants produce less fruits and/or seeds than they would with adequate pollen receipt. If the addition of cross-pollen to stigmas increases fruit/seed production, it is interpreted as an evidence of pollen limitation. Much of the limitation may be associated with the quality rather than quantity of pollen; however, most studies do not discriminate between the two, which may lead to misinterpretation of the results. We studied the effects of quality and quantity of pollen on the reproduction of a northern Spanish population of Crataegus monogyna. The treatments included self- and cross-pollination, and supplementation to open and bagged flowers. The response variables considered were number of pollen grains per stigma, pollen tubes per style, and initial and final fruit set. In the Cantabrian range, C. monogyna requires insect pollinators to set fruit and is partially self-incompatible. We found that the number of pollen tubes did not differ between cross- and self-pollination treatments; however, self-pollinated flowers set less fruits than flowers that received pure cross-pollen or were supplemented with both cross- and selfpollen.The experimental design allowed us to infer qualitative rather than quantitative pollen limitation. Comparison of the number of pollen grains and tubes, and initial and final fruit set among pollination treatments suggested postzygotic embryo selection against selfed progeny
Fil: Chacoff, Natacha Paola. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Ecológicas de las Yungas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina
Fil: Garcia, Daniel. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Ecológicas de las Yungas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; Argentina
Fil: Obeso, Ramón. Universidad de Oviedo; España