Paternal effects in Arabidopsis indicate that offspring can influence their own size

FLOWERING LOCUS T-mediated thermal signalling regulates age-dependent inflorescence development in Arabidopsis thaliana

Many plants show strong heteroblastic changes in the shape and size of organs as they transition from juvenile to reproductive age. Most attention has been focused on heteroblastic development in leaves, but we wanted to understand heteroblastic changes in reproductive organ size. We therefore studied the progression of reproductive development in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, and found strong reductions in the size of flowers, fruit, seed, and internodes during development. These did not arise from correlative inhibition by older fruits, or from changes in inflorescence meristem size, but seemed to stem from changes in the size of floral organ primordia themselves. We hypothesized that environmental conditions might influence this heteroblastic pattern and found that the ambient temperature during organ initiation strongly influences organ size. We show that this temperature-dependent heteroblasty is dependent on FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)-mediated signal integration, adding to the repertoire of developmental processes regulated by this pathway. Our results demonstrate that rising global temperatures will not affect just fertility, as is widely described, but also the size and seed number of fruits produced. However, we also show that such effects are not hard-wired, and that selective breeding for FT expression during reproductive development could mitigate such effects.

The role of hybrid seed inviability in angiosperm speciation

Understanding which reproductive barriers contribute to speciation is essential to understanding the diversity of life on earth. Several contemporary examples of strong hybrid seed inviability (HSI) between recently diverged species suggest that HSI may play a fundamental role in plant speciation. Yet, a broader synthesis of HSI is needed to clarify its role in diversification. Here, I review the incidence and evolution of HSI. Hybrid seed inviability is common and evolves rapidly, suggesting that it may play an important role early in speciation. The developmental mechanisms that underlie HSI involve similar developmental trajectories in endosperm, even between evolutionarily deeply diverged incidents of HSI. In hybrid endosperm, HSI is often accompanied by whole-scale gene misexpression, including misexpression of imprinted genes which have a key role in endosperm development. I explore how an evolutionary perspective can clarify the repeated and rapid evolution of HSI. In particular, I evaluate the evidence for conflict between maternal and paternal interests in resource allocation to offspring (i.e., parental conflict). I highlight that parental conflict theory generates explicit predictions regarding the expected hybrid phenotypes and genes responsible for HSI. While much phenotypic evidence supports a role of parental conflict in the evolution of HSI, an understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of this barrier is essential to test parental conflict theory. Lastly, I explore what factors may influence the strength of parental conflict in natural plant populations as an explanation for why rates of HSI may differ between plant groups and the consequences of strong HSI in secondary contact.

Indirect Effects of Parental Conflict on Conspecific Offspring Development

AbstractHybrid seed inviability is a common reproductive barrier in angiosperms. Recent work suggests that the rapid evolution of hybrid seed inviability may, in part, be due to conflict between maternal and paternal optima for resource allocation to developing offspring (i.e., parental conflict). However, parental conflict requires that paternally derived resource-acquiring alleles impose a maternal cost. I test this requirement using three closely related species in the Mimulus guttatus species complex that exhibit significant hybrid seed inviability and differ in their inferred histories of parental conflict. I show that the presence of hybrid seeds significantly affects conspecific seed size for almost all crosses, such that conspecific seeds are smaller after developing with hybrids sired by fathers with a stronger history of conflict and are larger after developing with hybrids sired by fathers with a weaker history of conflict. This work demonstrates a potential maternal cost of paternally derived alleles and also has implications for species fitness in secondary contact.

Genotype × environment interaction obscures genetic sources of variation in seed size in Dithyrea californica but provides the opportunity for selection on phenotypic plasticity

PREMISE

In many species, seed size influences individual fitness, but its heritability is low, impeding its evolution. In heterogeneous environments, even if heritability of seed size is low, genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity for seed size may provide the opportunity for selection, but this possibility has rarely been investigated in wild species. The evolutionary trajectory of seed size depends on whether additive, maternal, or non-additive genetic variance dominates; moreover, the expression of any of these sources of variance may be environment-dependent, reflecting genetic variation in plasticity. In this study, we examined these sources of variation in seed size and their response to drought in Dithyrea californica.

METHODS

We used a diallel design to estimate variance components for seed size in three greenhouse-raised populations sampled from California and northern Mexico. We replicated diallels in two watering treatments to examine genetic parameters and genotype × environment interactions affecting seed size. We estimated general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining ability, reciprocal effects (RGCA and RSCA), and their interactions with water availability, and we sought evidence that sexual conflict influences seed size.

RESULTS

Norms of reaction revealed genetic variation in plasticity for seed size in each population. Seed size in D. californica is determined by the combination of watering treatment, GCA and RGCA; parental identity and water availability do not consistently affect seed size, and we detected no evidence for sexual conflict.

CONCLUSIONS

Multiple sources of genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity for seed size have the potential to influence its evolutionary trajectory in heterogenous environments.

Parent-of-Origin Effects on Seed Size Modify Heterosis Responses in Arabidopsis thaliana

Parent-of-origin effects arise when a phenotype depends on whether it is inherited maternally or paternally. Parent-of-origin effects can exert a strong influence on F1 seed size in flowering plants, an important agronomic and life-history trait that can contribute to biomass heterosis. Here we investigate the natural variation in the relative contributions of the maternal and paternal genomes to F1 seed size across 71 reciprocal pairs of F1 hybrid diploids and the parental effect on F1 seed size heterosis. We demonstrate that the paternally derived genome influences F1 seed size more significantly than previously appreciated. We further demonstrate (by disruption of parental genome dosage balance in F1 triploid seeds) that hybridity acts as an enhancer of genome dosage effects on F1 seed size, beyond that observed from hybridity or genome dosage effects on their own. Our findings indicate that interactions between genetic hybridity and parental genome dosage can enhance heterosis effects in plants, opening new avenues for boosting heterosis breeding in crop plants.

Paternally Expressed Imprinted Genes under Positive Darwinian Selection in Arabidopsis thaliana

Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon where autosomal genes display uniparental expression depending on whether they are maternally or paternally inherited. Genomic imprinting can arise from parental conflicts over resource allocation to the offspring, which could drive imprinted loci to evolve by positive selection. We investigate whether positive selection is associated with genomic imprinting in the inbreeding species Arabidopsis thaliana. Our analysis of 140 genes regulated by genomic imprinting in the A. thaliana seed endosperm demonstrates they are evolving more rapidly than expected. To investigate whether positive selection drives this evolutionary acceleration, we identified orthologs of each imprinted gene across 34 plant species and elucidated their evolutionary trajectories. Increased positive selection was sought by comparing its incidence among imprinted genes with nonimprinted controls. Strikingly, we find a statistically significant enrichment of imprinted paternally expressed genes (iPEGs) evolving under positive selection, 50.6% of the total, but no such enrichment for positive selection among imprinted maternally expressed genes (iMEGs). This suggests that maternally- and paternally expressed imprinted genes are subject to different selective pressures. Almost all positively selected amino acids were fixed across 80 sequenced A. thaliana accessions, suggestive of selective sweeps in the A. thaliana lineage. The imprinted genes under positive selection are involved in processes important for seed development including auxin biosynthesis and epigenetic regulation. Our findings support a genomic imprinting model for plants where positive selection can affect paternally expressed genes due to continued conflict with maternal sporophyte tissues, even when parental conflict is reduced in predominantly inbreeding species.

Heterosis-related genes under different planting densities in maize

Heterosis and increasing planting density have contributed to improving maize grain yield (GY) for several decades. As planting densities increase, the GY per plot also increases, whereas the contribution of heterosis to GY decreases. There are trade-offs between heterosis and planting density, and the transcriptional characterization of heterosis may explain the mechanism involved. In this study, 48 transcriptome libraries were sequenced from four inbred Chinese maize lines and their F1 hybrids. They were planted at densities of 45000 and 67500 plants ha-1. Maternal-effect differentially expressed genes (DEGs) played important roles in processes related to photosynthesis and carbohydrate biosynthesis and metabolism. Paternal-effect DEGs participated in abiotic/biotic stress response and plant hormone production under high planting density. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed that high planting density induced heterosis-related genes regulating abiotic/biotic stress response, plant hormone biosynthesis, and ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, but repressed other genes regulating energy formation. Under high planting density, maternal genes were mainly enriched in the photosynthesis reaction center, while paternal genes were mostly concentrated in the peripheral antenna system. Four important genes were identified in maize heterosis and high planting density, all with functions in photosynthesis, starch biosynthesis, auxin metabolism, gene silencing, and RNAi.

Dividing a Maternal Pie among Half-Sibs: Genetic Conflicts and the Control of Resource Allocation to Seeds in Maize

Resource allocation to offspring is the battleground for various intrafamilial conflicts. Understanding these conflicts requires knowledge of how the different actors (mother, siblings with different paternal genotypes) influence resource allocation. In angiosperms, allocation of resources to seeds happens postfertilization, and the paternally inherited genome in offspring can therefore influence resource allocation. However, the precise mode of resource allocation-and, in particular, the occurrence of sibling rivalry-has rarely been investigated in plants. In this article, we develop a new method for analyzing the resource-allocation traits of the different actors (maternal sporophyte and half-sibs) using data obtained from a large-scale diallel cross experiment in maize involving mixed hand pollination and color markers to assess seed weight of known paternity. We found strong evidence for the occurrence of sibling rivalry: resources invested in an ear were allocated competitively, and offspring with different paternal genotypes aggressively competed for these resources, entailing a measurable direct cost to the mother. We also show how resource allocation can be described for each genotype by two maternal traits (source effect, average sink responsiveness) and two offspring traits (ability to attract maternal resources, competitive ability toward siblings). We will discuss how these findings help to understand how genetic conflicts shape resource-allocation traits in angiosperms.

Does stronger pollen competition improve offspring fitness when pollen load does not vary?

PREMISE OF THE STUDY

Competition among pollen grains from a single donor is expected to increase the quality of the offspring produced because of the recessive deleterious alleles expressed during pollen-tube growth. However, evidence for such an effect is inconclusive; a large number of studies suffer from confounding variation in pollen competition with variation in pollen load.

METHODS

In this study, we tested the effect of pollen competition on offspring performance independently of pollen-load variation. We compared seed mass and early seedling performance in Dalechampia scandens (Euphorbiaceae) between crosses in which variation in pollen competition was achieved, without variation in pollen load, by manipulating the dispersion of pollen grains on the stigmas.

KEY RESULTS

Despite a large sample size (211 crosses on 20 maternal plants), we failed to find an effect of pollen competition on seed characteristics or early seedling performance. Paternal effects were always limited, and pollen competition never reduced the within-father (residual) variance.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that limited within-donor variation in genetic quality of pollen grains reduces the potential benefits of pollen competition in the study population. The lack of paternal effects on early sporophyte performance further suggests that benefits of pollen competition among pollen from multiple donors should be limited as well, and it raises questions about the significance of pollen competition as a mechanism of sexual selection.

Quantitative Genetics Identifies Cryptic Genetic Variation Involved in the Paternal Regulation of Seed Development

Embryonic development requires a correct balancing of maternal and paternal genetic information. This balance is mediated by genomic imprinting, an epigenetic mechanism that leads to parent-of-origin-dependent gene expression. The parental conflict (or kinship) theory proposes that imprinting can evolve due to a conflict between maternal and paternal alleles over resource allocation during seed development. One assumption of this theory is that paternal alleles can regulate seed growth; however, paternal effects on seed size are often very low or non-existent. We demonstrate that there is a pool of cryptic genetic variation in the paternal control of Arabidopsis thaliana seed development. Such cryptic variation can be exposed in seeds that maternally inherit a medea mutation, suggesting that MEA acts as a maternal buffer of paternal effects. Genetic mapping using recombinant inbred lines, and a novel method for the mapping of parent-of-origin effects using whole-genome sequencing of segregant bulks, indicate that there are at least six loci with small, paternal effects on seed development. Together, our analyses reveal the existence of a pool of hidden genetic variation on the paternal control of seed development that is likely shaped by parental conflict.

The genetic basis of natural variation in seed size and seed number and their trade-off using Arabidopsis thaliana MAGIC lines

Offspring number and size are key traits determining an individual's fitness and a crop's yield. Yet, extensive natural variation within species is observed for these traits. Such variation is typically explained by trade-offs between fecundity and quality, for which an optimal solution is environmentally dependent. Understanding the genetic basis of seed size and number, as well as any possible genetic constraints preventing the maximization of both, is crucial from both an evolutionary and applied perspective. We investigated the genetic basis of natural variation in seed size and number using a set of Arabidopsis thaliana multiparent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) lines. We also tested whether life history affects seed size, number, and their trade-off. We found that both seed size and seed number are affected by a large number of mostly nonoverlapping QTL, suggesting that seed size and seed number can evolve independently. The allele that increases seed size at most identified QTL is from the same natural accession, indicating past occurrence of directional selection for seed size. Although a significant trade-off between seed size and number is observed, its expression depends on life-history characteristics, and generally explains little variance. We conclude that the trade-off between seed size and number might have a minor role in explaining the maintenance of variation in seed size and number, and that seed size could be a valid target for selection.

Intraspecific Arabidopsis hybrids show different patterns of heterosis despite the close relatedness of the parental genomes

Heterosis is important for agriculture; however, little is known about the mechanisms driving hybrid vigor. Ultimately, heterosis depends on the interactions of specific alleles and epialleles provided by the parents, which is why hybrids can exhibit different levels of heterosis, even within the same species. We characterize the development of several intraspecific Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) F1 hybrids that show different levels of heterosis at maturity. We identify several phases of heterosis beginning during embryogenesis and culminating in a final phase of vegetative maturity and seed production. During each phase, the hybrids show different levels and patterns of growth, despite the close relatedness of the parents. For instance, during the vegetative phases, the hybrids develop larger leaves than the parents to varied extents, and they do so by exploiting increases in cell size and cell numbers in different ratios. Consistent with this finding, we observed changes in the expression of genes known to regulate leaf size in developing rosettes of the hybrids, with the patterns of altered expression differing between combinations. The data show that heterosis is dependent on changes in development throughout the growth cycle of the hybrid, with the traits of mature vegetative biomass and reproductive yield as cumulative outcomes of heterosis at different levels, tissues, and times of development.

Heritability of seed weight in Maritime pine, a relevant trait in the transmission of environmental maternal effects

Quantitative seed provisioning is an important life-history trait with strong effects on offspring phenotype and fitness. As for any other trait, heritability estimates are vital for understanding its evolutionary dynamics. However, being a trait in between two generations, estimating additive genetic variation of seed provisioning requires complex quantitative genetic approaches for distinguishing between true genetic and environmental maternal effects. Here, using Maritime pine as a long-lived plant model, we quantified additive genetic variation of cone and seed weight (SW) mean and SW within-individual variation. We used a powerful approach combining both half-sib analysis and parent-offspring regression using several common garden tests established in contrasting environments to separate G, E and G × E effects. Both cone weight and SW mean showed significant genetic variation but were also influenced by the maternal environment. Most of the large variation in SW mean was attributable to additive genetic effects (h(2)=0.55-0.74). SW showed no apparent G × E interaction, particularly when accounting for cone weight covariation, suggesting that the maternal genotypes actively control the SW mean irrespective of the amount of resources allocated to cones. Within-individual variation in SW was low (12%) relative to between-individual variation (88%), and showed no genetic variation but was largely affected by the maternal environment, with greater variation in the less favourable sites for pine growth. In summary, results were very consistent between the parental and the offspring common garden tests, and clearly indicated heritable genetic variation for SW mean but not for within-individual variation in SW.

New Arabidopsis advanced intercross recombinant inbred lines reveal female control of nonrandom mating

Female control of nonrandom mating has never been genetically established, despite being linked to inbreeding depression and sexual selection. In order to map the loci that control female-mediated nonrandom mating, we constructed a new advanced intercross recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) accessions Vancouver (Van-0) and Columbia (Col-0) and mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for nonrandom mating and seed yield traits. We genotyped a population of 490 RILs. A subset of these lines was used to construct an expanded map of 1,061.4 centimorgans with an average interval of 6.7±5.3 centimorgans between markers. QTLs were then mapped for female- and male-mediated nonrandom mating and seed yield traits. To map the genetic loci responsible for female-mediated nonrandom mating and seed yield, we performed mixed pollinations with genetically marked Col-0 pollen and Van-0 pollen on RIL pistils. To map the loci responsible for male-mediated nonrandom mating and seed yield, we performed mixed pollinations with genetically marked Col-0 and RIL pollen on Van-0 pistils. Composite interval mapping of these data identified four QTLs that control female-mediated nonrandom mating and five QTLs that control female-mediated seed yield. We also identified four QTLs that control male-mediated nonrandom mating and three QTLs that control male-mediated seed yield. Epistasis analysis indicates that several of these loci interact. To our knowledge, the results of these experiments represent the first time female-mediated nonrandom mating has been genetically defined.

Mediation of seed provisioning in the transmission of environmental maternal effects in Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton)

Although maternal environmental effects are increasingly recognized as an important source of phenotypic variation with relevant impacts in evolutionary processes, their relevance in long-lived plants such as pine trees is largely unknown. Here, we used a powerful sample size and a strong quantitative genetic approach to analyse the sources of variation of early seedling performance and to identify seed mass (SM)-dependent and -independent maternal environmental effects in Maritime pine. We measured SM of 8924 individual seeds collected from 10 genotypes clonally replicated in two environments of contrasting quality (favourable and stressful), and we measured seedling growth rate and biomass allocation to roots and shoots. SM was extremely variable (up to 14-fold) and strongly determined by the maternal environment and the genotype of the mother tree. The favourable maternal environment led to larger cones, larger seeds and reduced SM variability. The maternal environment also determined the offspring phenotype, with seedlings coming from the favourable environment being 35% larger and with greater root/shoot ratio. Transgenerational plasticity appears, thus, to be a relevant source of phenotypic variation in the early performance of this pine species. Seed provisioning explained most of the effect of the maternal environment on seedling total biomass. Environmental maternal effects on seedling biomass allocation were, however, determined through SM-independent mechanisms, suggesting that other epigenetic regulation channels may be involved.

The battle of the sexes over seed size: support for both kinship genomic imprinting and interlocus contest evolution

Outcrossing creates a venue for parental conflict. When one sex provides parental care to offspring fertilized by several partners, the nonproviding sex is under selection to maximally exploit the caring sex. The caring sex may counteradapt, and a coevolutionary arms race ensues. Genetic models of this conflict include the kinship theory of genomic imprinting (parent-of-origin-specific expression of maternal-care effectors) and interlocus conflict evolution (interaction between male selfish signals and female abatement). Predictions were tested by measuring the sizes of seeds produced by within-population crosses (diallel design) and between-population crosses in outcrossing and selfing populations of Arabidopsis lyrata. Within-population diallel crosses revealed substantial maternal variance in seed size in most populations. The comparison of between- and within-population crosses showed that seeds were larger when pollen came from another outcrossing population than when pollen came from a selfing or the same population, supporting interlocus contest evolution between male selfish genes and female recognition genes. Evidence for kinship genomic imprinting came from complementary trait means of seed size in reciprocal between-population crosses independent of whether populations were predominantly selfing or outcrossing. Hence, both kinship genomic imprinting and interlocus contest are supported in outcrossing Arabidopsis, whereas only kinship genomic imprinting is important in selfing populations.

Defining the genetic architecture underlying female- and male-mediated nonrandom mating and seed yield traits in Arabidopsis

Postpollination nonrandom mating among compatible mates is a widespread phenomenon in plants and is genetically undefined. In this study, we used the recombinant inbred line (RIL) population between Landsberg erecta and Columbia (Col) accessions of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) to define the genetic architecture underlying both female- and male-mediated nonrandom mating traits. To map the genetic loci responsible for male-mediated nonrandom mating, we performed mixed pollinations with Col and RIL pollen on Col pistils. To map the genetic loci responsible for female-mediated nonrandom mating, we performed mixed pollinations with Col and Landsberg erecta pollen on RIL pistils. With these data, we performed composite interval mapping to identify two quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that control male-mediated nonrandom mating. We detected epistatic interactions between these two loci. We also explored female- and male-mediated traits involved in seed yield in mixed pollinations. We detected three female QTLs and one male QTL involved in directing seed number per fruit. To our knowledge, the results of these experiments represent the first time the female and male components of seed yield and nonrandom mating have been separately mapped.