Sexual dimorphism at different life stages: early life sexual differences in root growth in Silene latifolia

Pérez-Llorca, M., Hewett, A., de la Peña Pita, A., Hailer, F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2340-1726 and Sánchez Vilas, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4049-8443 2024. Sexual dimorphism at different life stages: early life sexual differences in root growth in Silene latifolia. Plant Biology 10.1111/plb.13723

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Abstract

Male and female dioecious plants often show sexual dimorphism, differing in morphological, physiological and life-history traits. Most previous studies have focused on differences between males and females during or after reproduction, paying little attention to the pre-reproductive stages of the individuals. Here we assessed the response of male and female individuals of the dioecious plant Silene latifolia to abiotic stress at different life stages, including pre-reproductive (i.e. seedlings and young plants) and reproductive individuals. We measured growth, resource allocation and discrimination against 13C under nutrient deficiency, water stress, as well as their interaction. We observed sexual dimorphism in root growth, with female seedlings having longer main roots than male plants. Pre-reproductive male and female plants also responded differently, in terms of root allocation, to nutrient and water availability. At reproduction, females grew more roots than males when water was not limiting. These differences could help explain the female-skewed sex ratios found in natural populations of S. latifolia. We found no evidence of sexual dimorphism in aboveground dry mass, although females had longer leaves than males at the seedling stage. We conclude that sexual dimorphism in S. latifolia may occur not as a consequence of reproduction, but well before it.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1435-8603
Funders:	School of Biosciences
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	15 October 2024
Date of Acceptance:	5 September 2024
Last Modified:	12 Nov 2024 11:29
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/172901

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