Data from: The role of infectious disease in the evolution of females: evidence from anther-smut disease on a gynodioecious alpine carnation
Data files
Nov 05, 2018 version files 255.56 KB
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bag-experiment.xlsx
9.66 KB
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Closing data from floral array experiment.xlsx
19.65 KB
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Flower size -field.R
520 B
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Flower size.xlsx
17.08 KB
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inbreeding depression data for aster.xlsx
28.33 KB
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infloresence numbers in the field.xlsx
12.03 KB
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ovule.data.dryad.xlsx
12.80 KB
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Phenology plot data.xlsx
92.98 KB
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seed set greenhouse.xlsx
14.80 KB
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sex ratio across valley transects.xlsx
13.70 KB
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spore-data on tagged flowers.xlsx
15.40 KB
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tagged-plants longevity.xlsx
18.62 KB
Abstract
In flowering plants, the evolution of females is widely hypothesized to be the first step in the evolutionary pathway to separate male and female sexes, or dioecy. Natural enemies have the potential to drive this evolution if they preferentially attack hermaphrodites over females. We studied sex-based differences in exposure to anther-smut (Microbotryum), a sterilizing pollinator-transmitted disease, in Dianthus pavonius, a gynodioecious perennial herb. We found that within a heavily diseased population, females consistently had lower levels of Microbotryum spore deposition relative to hermaphrodites and that this is difference was driven by rapid floral closing in females following successful pollination. We further show that this protective closing behavior is frequency-dependent; females close faster when they are rare. These results indicate that anther-smut disease is an important source of selection for females, especially since we found in a common garden experiment no evidence that females have any inherent fecundity advantages over hermaphrodites. Finally, we show that among populations, those where anther-smut is present have a significantly higher frequency of females than those where the disease is absent. Taken together our results indicate that anther-smut disease is likely an important biotic factor driving the evolution and maintenance of females in this gynodioecious species.