Unlocking the evolution of different sexes in the Hawaiian endemic plant genus Schiedea
Location
Science Center: Bent Corridor
Document Type
Poster - Open Access
Start Date
4-28-2023 12:00 PM
End Date
4-28-2023 2:00 PM
Abstract
The Hawaiian endemic plant genus Schiedea of the family Caryophyllaceae consists of 34 species, exhibiting extremely diverse breeding systems. Schiedea breeding strategies vary from insect to wind pollinated, hermaphroditic (individual with both male and female reproductive organs) to dioecious (male and female individuals in the same population), and out-crossing to self-pollinating. Understanding Schiedea’s breeding system is hugely important as it helps to shed light on the evolution of separate sexes in plants, which occur in about 15% of all plant species, and especially on oceanic islands where pollinators are fewer than on the mainland.
Existing phylogenetic data suggests that the ancestor of the genus was hermaphroditic, and that separate sexes may have evolved multiple times in Schiedea, reducing the amount of selfing in wind-pollinated plants. This breeding pattern is very likely coinciding with the evolution of wind pollination in drier Hawaiian habitats. However, with some limitations in the amount of DNA used to build pre-existing phylogenetic data, it would be challenging to fully understand the evolutionary transition between sexes. Therefore, in this study, we plan on reconstructing the evolutionary history of Schiedea by generating DNA sequence data for ~1000 genes, which will allow us to resolve the relationships and breeding system evolution among all Schiedea species with much greater confidence.
Keywords:
Systematics, Phylogeny, Evolution, Pollination
Recommended Citation
Trinh, My; Weller, Steve; Sakai, Ann; McDonnell, Angela; Wagner, Warren; Wickett, Norm; and Moore, Michael J., "Unlocking the evolution of different sexes in the Hawaiian endemic plant genus Schiedea" (2023). Research Symposium. 20.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/researchsymp/2023/posters/20
Major
Biology
Project Mentor(s)
Michael J. Moore, Biology
2023
Unlocking the evolution of different sexes in the Hawaiian endemic plant genus Schiedea
Science Center: Bent Corridor
The Hawaiian endemic plant genus Schiedea of the family Caryophyllaceae consists of 34 species, exhibiting extremely diverse breeding systems. Schiedea breeding strategies vary from insect to wind pollinated, hermaphroditic (individual with both male and female reproductive organs) to dioecious (male and female individuals in the same population), and out-crossing to self-pollinating. Understanding Schiedea’s breeding system is hugely important as it helps to shed light on the evolution of separate sexes in plants, which occur in about 15% of all plant species, and especially on oceanic islands where pollinators are fewer than on the mainland.
Existing phylogenetic data suggests that the ancestor of the genus was hermaphroditic, and that separate sexes may have evolved multiple times in Schiedea, reducing the amount of selfing in wind-pollinated plants. This breeding pattern is very likely coinciding with the evolution of wind pollination in drier Hawaiian habitats. However, with some limitations in the amount of DNA used to build pre-existing phylogenetic data, it would be challenging to fully understand the evolutionary transition between sexes. Therefore, in this study, we plan on reconstructing the evolutionary history of Schiedea by generating DNA sequence data for ~1000 genes, which will allow us to resolve the relationships and breeding system evolution among all Schiedea species with much greater confidence.
