Abstract Detail

Plant reproductive strategies under environmental stress

Seshadri, Arathi [1], Molano-Flores, Brenda [2].

Plant reproductive strategies under environmental stress.

With increasing evidence for wide ranging changes in climatic conditions, evolutionary responses of plant sexual reproduction can have wide spread implications on population changes and food production. We aim to bring together researchers addressing different aspects of plant reproductive strategies and thus provide a synthesis of current research. It has become increasingly evident that global climate change is bound to have large impacts on many biological processes. Changes in phenotypic traits of different plant species strongly suggest that natural populations are responding to these altered environmental conditions. The sexual phase of plant reproduction, a particularly vulnerable developmental process, under active selection offers the unique potential to understand the role of environmental stress in the adaptive processes that modulate plant reproduction. While sexual strategies in flowering plants are diverse and a majority of plants are hermaphrodites, the extent and manifestation of reproductive functions differs based on sexuality, breeding systems and life histories. Understanding the impacts of climate change on the evolutionary potential of plant populations is the need of the hour especially given the fact that a successful food production from agricultural crops depends on successful functioning of plant reproduction. In this symposium, we aim to bring together diverse researchers to present their current research and share ideas on consequences of environmental stress on plant reproductive strategies.

Broader Impacts:

1 - Colorado State University, Biology, 1878 Biology, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
2 - ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY, CENTER FOR WILDLIFE And PLANT ECOLOGY, 1816 South Oak Street, CHAMPAIGN, IL, 61820-6970, USA

Keywords:
Reproductive biology
climate change
environmental stress
sexual strategies.

Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation
Session: SY11
Location: Westminster Room/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
Time: 8:30 AM
Number: SY11SUM001
Abstract ID:931