Abstract Detail

Recent Topics Posters

Klooster, Matthew R. [1], Culley, Theresa M. [1].

A comprehensive survey of the occurrence and evolution of the cleistogamous breeding system in angiosperms..

The evolution of angiosperm breeding systems has led to the development of many floral morphologies, including cleistogamy. In this dimorphic breeding system, both open (chasmogamous) and closed (cleistogamous) flowers are typically produced on the same individual. Chasmogamous flowers are primarily outcross-pollinated while cleistogamous flowers are autogamous, producing fruits through self-fertilization. The occurrence of cleistogamy in angiosperms was last extensively examined over twenty years ago by Lord (1981) and Campbell et al. (1983). Due to a recent resurgence of interest in cleistogamy, our goal was to conduct an updated survey and determine where this breeding system has evolved within the angiosperms. A comprehensive list of cleistogamous species was constructed primarily by searching through online literature databases. Our focus was on studies published since the mid nineteenth century, including the two aforementioned reviews. The number of times that cleistogamy evolved within the angiosperms was determined by mapping its occurrence onto the recently developed phylogeny of Soltis et al. (2000). We found that cleistogamy occurs in over 300 species, nearly a two-fold increase since the last review was published. Cleistogamy has been reported most often in the Poaceae, as well as the Violaceae and Fabaceae. It has evolved independently multiple times and is found throughout the angiosperms, including some basal lineages. These results may be underestimates because the breeding systems of many angiosperm taxa are not yet completely understood. Our review offers insight into the importance and diversity of cleistogamy, and suggests that further investigations are necessary to more fully understand the evolution of this breeding system.

1 - University of Cincinnati, Department of Biological Sciences, 614 Rieveschl Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45221-0006, USA

Keywords:
cleistogamy
chasmogamy
angiosperms
phylogeny.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 32-142
Location: Special Event Center (Cliff Lodge)
Date: Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004
Time: 12:30 PM
Abstract ID:1006