Does a coexisting congener of a mixed mating species affect the genetic structure and selfing rate via reproductive interference?

Reproductive interference is defined as an interspecific interaction that reduces fitness via mating processes. Although its ecological and evolutionary consequences have attracted much attention, how reproductive interference affects the population genetic structures of interacting species is still unclear. In flowering plants, recent studies found that self-pollination can mitigate the negative effects of reproductive interference. Selfing-biased seed production is expected to increase population-level inbreeding and the selfing rate, and limits gene flow via pollinator outcrossing among populations. We examined the population genetics of the mixed-mating annual herb Commelina communis f. ciliata, focusing on reproductive interference by the sympatric competing congener C. communis using microsatellite markers. First, we found that almost all C. c. f. ciliata populations had relatively high inbreeding coefficients. Then, comparing sympatric and allopatric populations, we found evidence that reproductive interference from a competing congener increased the inbreeding coefficient and selfing rate. Allopatric populations exhibit varied selfing rates while almost all sympatric populations exhibit extremely high selfing rates, suggesting that population selfing rates were also influenced by unexamined factors, such as pollinator limitation. Besides, our findings revealed that reproductive interference from a competing congener did not limit gene flow among populations. We present the first report on how reproductive interference affects the genetic aspects of populations. Our results suggested that the high selfing rate of C. c. f. ciliata promotes its sympatric distribution with C. communis, even in the presence of reproductive interference, although it is not clear whether reproductive interference directly causes the high selfing rate.

The version of record of this article, first published in Oecologia, is available online at Publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-024-05607-x