Exploring the ontogenetic scaling hypothesis during the diversification of pollination syndromes in Caiophora (Loasaceae, subfam. Loasoideae)

Phenotypic diversification of flowers is frequently attributed to selection by different functional groups of pollinators. During optimization of floral phenotype, developmental robustness to genetic and non-genetic perturbations is expected to limit the phenotypic space available for future evoluti...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Strelin, Marina Micaela, Benitez-Vieyra, Santiago Miguel, Fornoni, Juan, Klingenberg, Christian Peter, Cocucci, Andrea Aristides
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2016
Country:Argentina
Institution:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repository:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/23252
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/23252
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Loasaceae
Loasoideae
Caiophora
Loasa
Blumembachia
Adaptive Radiation
Pollination Syndrome
Reversion
Ontogenetic Allometry
Developmental Robustness
Ontogenetic Scaling
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Description
Summary:Phenotypic diversification of flowers is frequently attributed to selection by different functional groups of pollinators. During optimization of floral phenotype, developmental robustness to genetic and non-genetic perturbations is expected to limit the phenotypic space available for future evolutionary changes. Although adaptive divergence can occur without altering the basic developmental programme of the flower (ontogenetic scaling hypothesis), the rarity of reversion to ancestral states following adaptive radiations of pollination syndromes suggests that changes in the ancestral developmental programme of the flower are common during such evolutionary transitions. Evidence suggests that flower diversification into different pollination syndromes in the Loasoideae genus Caiophora took place during a recent adaptive radiation in the central Andes. This involved transitions from bee to hummingbird and small rodent pollination. The aim of this work was to examine if the adaptive radiation of pollination syndromes in Caiophora occurred through ontogenetic scaling or involved a departure from the ontogenetic pattern basal to this genus.