Publication Date
1989
Description
At any given age, a plant must allocate limited resources to growth, survival (e.g., disease resistance, root storage) and reproduction (through male and female functions). Growth may be viewed as a way of acquiring more resources (necessary for survival or reproduction at a later time). Response to selection, whether natural or artificial, may well depend on the shape of the compensation curves that exist between those functions (Olivieri, 1987). Such a principle of resource allocation predicts the existence of negative correlations between these components of the life-cycle (see for instance Roach, 1986). As shown by Van Noordwijk and De Jong (1986), such compensations will be more easily demonstrated if there is a high genetic variability for the strategy of resource allocation, within or between species being compared. The highest genetic diversity is likely to be observed at the inter-specific level. A necessary condition for this to be true is that the different species are adapted to similar habitats, i.e. that the environment where observations are made does not favor one species over another.
Out of 54 species within the genus Medicago, 33 are annuals, 20 are perennials, and one has a variable longevity. Therefore, in the same genus, one can find an inter- (and sometimes intra-) specific variability for longevity. This allows us to test some aspects of the resource allocation theory. In particular, one may consider that the perennial habit corresponds to a pattern of resource allocation directed towards adult survival, while the annual habit must correspond to a higher resource allocation towards reproduction. We therefore predict that annual species should produce more seeds, or seed of a better quality than perennial species. We present data obtained from a study realized on seeds and seedlings of 13 perennial and 20 annual species of Medicago. Indeed, not only seed weight and seed quality, but also juvenile vigor, can be viewed as the result of the resource allocation pattern to reproduction from the mother-plant.
Citation
Olivieri, I; Bory, A; Angevain, F; Angevian, M; Prosperi, J M.; and Mansat, P, "Negative Correlations Between Resource Allocation to Survival and Reproduction: Comparisons Between Annual and Perennial Species of Medicago for Juvenile Vigor" (2025). IGC Proceedings (1989-2023). 4.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1989/session3/4
Included in
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Negative Correlations Between Resource Allocation to Survival and Reproduction: Comparisons Between Annual and Perennial Species of Medicago for Juvenile Vigor
At any given age, a plant must allocate limited resources to growth, survival (e.g., disease resistance, root storage) and reproduction (through male and female functions). Growth may be viewed as a way of acquiring more resources (necessary for survival or reproduction at a later time). Response to selection, whether natural or artificial, may well depend on the shape of the compensation curves that exist between those functions (Olivieri, 1987). Such a principle of resource allocation predicts the existence of negative correlations between these components of the life-cycle (see for instance Roach, 1986). As shown by Van Noordwijk and De Jong (1986), such compensations will be more easily demonstrated if there is a high genetic variability for the strategy of resource allocation, within or between species being compared. The highest genetic diversity is likely to be observed at the inter-specific level. A necessary condition for this to be true is that the different species are adapted to similar habitats, i.e. that the environment where observations are made does not favor one species over another.
Out of 54 species within the genus Medicago, 33 are annuals, 20 are perennials, and one has a variable longevity. Therefore, in the same genus, one can find an inter- (and sometimes intra-) specific variability for longevity. This allows us to test some aspects of the resource allocation theory. In particular, one may consider that the perennial habit corresponds to a pattern of resource allocation directed towards adult survival, while the annual habit must correspond to a higher resource allocation towards reproduction. We therefore predict that annual species should produce more seeds, or seed of a better quality than perennial species. We present data obtained from a study realized on seeds and seedlings of 13 perennial and 20 annual species of Medicago. Indeed, not only seed weight and seed quality, but also juvenile vigor, can be viewed as the result of the resource allocation pattern to reproduction from the mother-plant.
