Impact of polyploidy on fertility variation of Mediterranean Arundo L. (Poaceae)

Laurent Hardion (1, 2) , Régine Verlaque (2) , Marcela Rosato , Josep A. Rossello (3, 4) , Bruno Vila (2)

1 LIVE - Laboratoire Image, Ville, Environnement
2 IMBE - Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale
3 Universidad de Valencia
4 Marimurtra Botanical Garden

Failure of seed production in the genus Arundo L. (Poaceae) is often attributed to polyploidy. This study tested the impact of two ploidy levels (2n = 12 and 18x) on the fertility of four Mediterranean Arundo. Viable pollen was screened from its production to its germination, and seed occurrence was monitored in admixture or isolated conditions. In addition, insights on restructuration of polyploid genornes were analysed using molecular cytogenetics. Our results show that high ploidy levels do not automatically induce failure of sexual reproduction. The two ploidy levels are able to produce viable pollen and seed set depending on species and cultural conditions. The sterility of A. micrantha (2n = 12x) and A. donax (2n = 18x) is due to the early failures of gametogenesis steps. For 18x cytotypes of A. donaciformis and A. plinii, seed absence for isolated genotype vs. seed production in admixed culture support their auto-incompatibility. (C) 2015 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Domaines: Biodiversité et Ecologie

Laurent Hardion, Régine Verlaque, Marcela Rosato, Josep A. Rossello, Bruno Vila. Impact of polyploidy on fertility variation of Mediterranean Arundo L. (Poaceae). Comptes Rendus Biologies, 2015, 338 (5), pp.298--306. ⟨10.1016/j.crvi.2015.03.013⟩. ⟨hal-01444821⟩