Potential inbreeding in a small population of a mass flowering species, Xanthorrhoea johnsonii (Xanthorrhoaceae): is your mother my father?

King, Rachel and Zalucki, Jacinta M. (2012) Potential inbreeding in a small population of a mass flowering species, Xanthorrhoea johnsonii (Xanthorrhoaceae): is your mother my father? American Journal of Plant Sciences, 3 (3). pp. 303-312. ISSN 2158-2742

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Abstract

Xanthorrhoea johnsonii is a long lived slow growing perennial understorey species, that produces a large quantity of passively dispersed seed every 3-5 years. Reproductive maturity is not reached until 20-30 years of age. The temporal asynchrony of the flowering event in this population was analogous to geographic isolation through fragmentation. A small population of plants flowering in isolation provided the opportunity to examine outcrossing rates, genetic diversity and the paternity of progeny at a small spatial scale (0.2 ha). The geographic location and physical characteristics of the adult plants were recorded, and both adults and their seed were sampled for genetic analysis. Four microsatellite loci were screened for genetic diversity and spatial structure analysis. A population outcrossing rate was estimated, as well as the number of paternal parents required to resolve the progeny multilocus genotypes. High genetic diversity was found in both adults and progeny with an estimated 97% outcrossing rate. All maternal lines required several paternal contributors, with no evidence of dominant paternal genotypes. Pollen transfer occurred between both geographically close and distant plants.

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Item Type:	Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	This is an Open Access journal.
Faculty / Department / School:	Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Maths and Computing
Date Deposited:	31 Jul 2012 10:48
Last Modified:	02 Sep 2014 22:11
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Xanthorrhoaceae; inbreeding; mass flowering; microsatellite; paternity; outcrossing; pollen dispersal; genetic structure; isolated population; Xanthorrhoea johnsonii
Fields of Research :	01 Mathematical Sciences > 0104 Statistics > 010401 Applied Statistics 06 Biological Sciences > 0607 Plant Biology > 060799 Plant Biology not elsewhere classified 06 Biological Sciences > 0604 Genetics > 060411 Population, Ecological and Evolutionary Genetics
Socio-Economic Objective:	E Expanding Knowledge > 97 Expanding Knowledge > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences D Environment > 96 Environment > 9608 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity > 960806 Forest and Woodlands Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity
Identification Number or DOI:	10.4236/ajps.2012.33036
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/20756

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