Inflated Ovary May Increase the Dispersal Ability of Three Species in the Cold Deserts of Central Asia

Jannathan Mamut; Kewei Chen; Carol C Baskin; Dunyan Tan

doi:10.3390/plants12101950

Inflated Ovary May Increase the Dispersal Ability of Three Species in the Cold Deserts of Central Asia

Plants (Basel). 2023 May 10;12(10):1950. doi: 10.3390/plants12101950.

Authors

Jannathan Mamut^{1

2}, Kewei Chen¹, Carol C Baskin^{1

3

4}, Dunyan Tan^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Life Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Ürümqi 830052, China.
² Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Western Arid Region Grassland Resources and Ecology, College of Grassland Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Ürümqi 830052, China.
³ Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
⁴ Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA.

Abstract

Among the diaspores of angiosperms an inflated ovary (IO) is a novel morphological trait, but no studies have evaluated its effects on dispersal. The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of the IO on diaspore dispersal in three cold desert species (Carex physodes, Calligonum junceum, and Sphaerophysa salsula). Various morphological features and the mass of fruits and seeds of each species were measured. The role of an IO in diaspore dispersal by wind and water was determined by comparing responses of intact (inflated) IOs and flattened fruits and seeds. Mature diaspores of three species were dispersed by wind, and the IO significantly increased dispersal distance in the field and at different wind speeds in the laboratory. The floating time on water was greater for inflated fruits than flattened fruits and seeds. Since the seed remains inside the IO until after dispersal is completed, the IO of the three species enhances diaspore dispersal. This is the first detailed study on how an IO increases diaspore/seed dispersal. Furthermore, after primary dispersal by wind, secondary dispersal can occur via wind or surface runoff of water, and each method is enhanced by the presence of an IO.

Keywords: cold desert; inflated ovary; morphological traits; seed dispersal.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, grant number 2022D01E49; the National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 32071668, 31960053, and the Grant of Innovation Environment Construction of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, grant number PT2224.