Data from: Reproductive strategy of the polyploid species Varronia curassavica jacq. in restinga environment

This study aimed to elucidate the breeding strategies of Varronia curassavica, an important medicinal species associated with Brazilian restinga. This was accomplished by combining phenological and genetic data. Every two weeks over a period of two years, we measured flowering and fruiting phenology to evaluate the activity and intensity of phenophases (n=60). We evaluated the mating system, pollen ovule ratio and genotypes from progeny and mother plants using eight nuclear microsatellite loci. We observed flowering and fruiting of V. curassavica at low intensity throughout the entire year, but with two distinct peaks, one of which was seasonal, corresponding to the period of gradual increase of temperature and photoperiod. Overlapping of flowering and fruiting strategies favors gene flow among different groups of individuals and between populations by atraction of fauna throughout the year. Analysis of the mating system indicates that V. curassavica is a typical outcrossed species (t = 0.98; P:O ratio = 7,087.50). Combining phenology with genetic studies improved our understanding of the reproductive strategies of this species. The typical outcrossing system of V. curassavica reflects the existence of functional self-incompatibility mechanisms still unaffected by changes in genetic balance by polyploidy.

本研究旨在阐明与巴西海滨沙生植被（restinga）伴生的重要药用物种库拉索瓦里木（Varronia curassavica）的繁育策略。本研究通过整合物候学与遗传学数据达成研究目标。在为期两年的周期内，我们每两周开展一次观测，对开花与结果物候进行测定，以评估各物候期的活动情况与强度（样本量n=60）。本研究利用8对核微卫星位点，对子代与母株的交配系统、花粉-胚珠比以及基因型展开分析。观测结果显示，库拉索瓦里木全年均存在低强度的开花与结果现象，但存在两个显著峰值；其中一个峰值具有季节性，对应温度与光周期逐步升高的时段。开花与结果的重叠策略可通过全年吸引动物传粉者，促进不同个体类群间以及种群间的基因交流。交配系统分析结果表明，库拉索瓦里木为典型的异交物种（t=0.98；P:O比=7087.50）。将物候学研究与遗传学研究相结合，加深了我们对该物种繁育策略的认知。库拉索瓦里木典型的异交系统，反映出其存在功能性自交不亲和机制，且该机制未受多倍体引发的遗传平衡改变的影响。