Variation 13

Variation in Plants
David S. Seigler
Department of Plant Biology
University of Illinois
Urbana, Illinois 61801 USA
seigler@life.illinois.edu
http://www.life.illinois.edu/seigler
OUTLINE
artificial vs natural selection

genes and alleles
heterozygous - homozygous
sources of variation
mutations (crossovers, deletions, mistakes, etc.)
outcrossing vs inbreeding
sexual vs asexual reproduction
polyploidy
non-traditional methods
scientific nomenclature
plant relationships
READING
CHAPTER 1: Read over chapter one: Plants and Their

Manipulation by People. We will refer to material from this
chapter throughout the semester.
CHAPTER 2: Origins of Agriculture.
Introduction
Humans have selected for the properties they

desired in plants. Selection has been both
unconscious and purposeful. We want to
understand why and how selection works and how
we have been able to manipulate it to our
advantage.
Artificial versus natural selection (pp. 26-27).

With either type, there must be heritable variation
upon which selection can work.
It is presumed that everyone has had an
introduction to genes and alleles. If not, reading
the appropriate section in one of the introductory
botany or biology books will be helpful.
Genes and alleles

The plant nucleus contains pairs of homologous
chromosomes that contain the genes.
A duplicate set of these homologous chromosomes
occurs in each cell of the plant (diploid number).
But, the same form of the gene may not occur in
both. Different alleles. Homozygous and
heterozygous.
Many important crop characters appear to be
controlled by one gene, but others not.
In populations of plants under natural

selection, there are often individuals with
different alleles for any particular gene.
Sexual reproduction (meiosis and
fertilization) normally tends to maintain
variation in populations. Inbreeding tends
to reduce variation.
Although we usually consider a single gene,
in practice, thousands are being crossed
each time meiosis and fertilization occur.
Genotype versus phenotype

Alleles may be either dominant, incompletely
dominant or recessive. Genes in new genetic
backgrounds may be expressed differently.
Genotype the actual genetic composition of a
plant
Phenotype the combination of alleles that are
expressed in a particular plant
Mutations
Sometimes mutations create new allelic
combinations. Ultimately, the only source
of new alleles in a population is mutation.
Mutations that are better for the plant or for
humans are quite rare. For new alleles
derived from mutations to be established in
a population of plants, sexual reproduction
must occur.
Variation
Sexual recombination is the mechanism for
maintaining variation in natural populations.
Sometimes alleles enter a population by
immigration from other populations.
"Crossing over" is an important effect in making
new combinations of genetic material.
Other changes involve deletions, duplications, or
inversions of genetic material.
In nature, gene frequencies vary in

populations of plants over geographic
distance.
At some point, limits as to how much the
plant can tolerate are reached and this helps
to define the range of a plant.
Outcrossing
The most common type of breeding system
involves fusion of gametes from different
individuals. This is called outcrossing.
Outcrossing is often obligatory. This may
occur because of self-incompatibility. Nonsynchronous release of pollen and receptive
stigmas is another common mechanism.
Inbreeding
When meiosis and fertilization occur within
one flower, it is called inbreeding.
Many crops and weeds are self-fertile.
A reason that self-compatibility is good in
many crops is that it is hard to get good
fertilization under the conditions of
cultivation.
Heterozygosity and homozygosity

In nature, variation is often great and the
game strategy appears to be maximum

variation. Outcrossing helps to accomplish
this. Outcrossing generally leads to greater
heterzygosity.
Inbreeding leads to the production of
homozygous individuals.
Backcrossing
Crosses between one of the offspring and
the parents (or parental types) is called
backcrossing. The process of making
crosses between sibs is called sib-sib
crossing. Both lead to the production of
inbred, homozygous lines. These techniques
produce uniform stands of selected
genotypes.
Polyploidy
Sometimes plants end up with more than the
diploid number of chromosomes. This often
occurs when some of the reproductive cells don't
divide properly.
Polyploids. Diploid, tetraploid, hexaploid, triploid
etc. Many crop plants involve polyploidy in their
formation.
See table p. 25. Many types of polyploids are
sterile. Polyploid plants are often larger than
diploid plants. Polyploidy often occurs by chance.
Humans often take advantage of the plants in
which it has occurred.
Hybrids
Hybrid vigor (heterosis) is important in crop
plants.
Artificial vs natural selection in plants

Humans usually want uniform plants, but in
nature just the opposite is favored. Variable
offspring tend to have better survival and
fitness under natural conditions.
Humans provide a more or less uniform
environment and enough care to make sure
crops survive.
Asexual reproduction
Another method that is especially useful for
humans. The plants produced are
genetically identical to the parents. All
resultant plants are part of a clone.
Grafting is an asexual technique that is
widely used.
Ranges of plants
At some point, limits in how much the plant can
tolerate are reached and this helps to define the
range of a plant.
These same things are true for crop plants, but
people can help the crop avoid some otherwise
limiting factors.
Originally, crop plants may have been restricted by
oceans, mountains, and deserts. Humans have
transported many of them where they would not
have gone naturally.
Newsourcesofvariation
Read: "Beyond Traditional Methods", p. 28-32.

There are various kinds of culture methods including
tissue culture, cell culture, hairy root cultures.
Genes can be introduced by "shooting them in",
by protoplast fusion, or other molecular methods.
Plant species
Botanists tend to consider a species to be a group of
populations that are derived from a single ancestor and which
can be distinguished morphologically from other groups of
populations.
Plant species are not defined well by reproductive barriers as
in many groups of animals. Polyploids are often derived from
diploid ancestors.
Many hybrids occur between related plant species. Often
cultivated plants have been given different names than their
wild progenitors. One of the big problems is deciding what are
the wild progenitors of cultivated plants.
Evolutionary relationships. How do we know how closely
related plants are?
Evolutionary relationships
How do we know how closely related plants are?

Overall similarity in features has traditionally been used.
Changes in DNA over time.
Shared changes are considered especially informative.
Methods are outlined on pp. 35-39 in the text.
Plant names
The species name has two parts. The generic or genus name
and the specific epithet. This system goes back to Linnaeus.
Every plant has only one correct name. The names are Latin
and should be underlined or italicized when written.
Problems with common names. Genus is a collection of related
species. The family is a group of related genera. These are the
units most botanists use to organize taxonomic relationships.
Most families are intuitively easy to recognize.
The meaning of some common Latin names (p. 33) is helpful
for remembering them.
Terms
natural selection
artificial selection
gene
allele
homologous chromosome
diploid
tetraploid
polyploid
homozygous
heterozygous
genotype
phenotype
hybrid vigor
asexual reproduction
clone
grafting
crossing over
deletions
duplications
inversions
Moreterms
population
species
immigration
mutation
outcrossing
self-incompatibility
hybrid
sib-sib cross
gene frequency
genus
specific epithet
family
inbreeding
self-fertile
backcross

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Variation in Plants

artificial vs natural selection

CHAPTER 1: Read over chapter one: Plants and Their

Humans have selected for the properties they

Artificial versus natural selection (pp. 26-27).

Genes and alleles

In populations of plants under natural

Genotype versus phenotype

In nature, gene frequencies vary in

Heterozygosity and homozygosity

game strategy appears to be maximum

Artificial vs natural selection in plants

Read: "Beyond Traditional Methods", p. 28-32.

How do we know how closely related plants are?

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