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Competitive ability not kinship affects growth of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions
Author(s) -
Masclaux Frédéric,
Hammond Robert L.,
Meunier Joël,
GouhierDarimont Caroline,
Keller Laurent,
Reymond Philippe
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03057.x
Subject(s) - arabidopsis thaliana , biology , kinship , arabidopsis , botany , genetics , gene , mutant , political science , law
Summary• In many organisms, individuals behave more altruistically towards relatives than towards unrelated individuals. Here, we conducted a study to determine if the performance of Arabidopsis thaliana is influenced by whether individuals are in competition with kin or non‐kin. • We selected seven pairs of genetically distinct accessions that originated from local populations throughout Europe. We measured the biomass of one focal plant surrounded by six kin or non‐kin neighbours in in vitro growth experiments and counted the number of siliques produced per pot by one focal plant surrounded by four kin or non‐kin neighbours. • The biomass and number of siliques of a focal plant were not affected by the relatedness of the neighbour. Depending on the accession, a plant performed better or worse in a pure stand than when surrounded by non‐kin plants. In addition, whole‐genome microarray analyses revealed that there were no genes differentially expressed between kin and non‐kin conditions. • In conclusion, our study does not provide any evidence for a differential response to kin vs non‐kin in A. thaliana . Rather, the outcome of the interaction between kin and non‐kin seems to depend on the strength of the competitive abilities of the accessions.