Distinct seeds in contrasting habitats: Morphological and reproductive responses in Butia eriospatha to new environmental conditions

Phenotypic and molecular basis for genetic variation in jelly palms (Butia sp.): where are we now and where are we headed to?

“…As per our review, jelly palms have a broad phenotypic variation and populations are usually separated by considerable distances and in distinct climates and soils. Therefore, we believe that not only genetic adaptive mechanisms, such as Candido-Ribeiro et al (2019) reported, but also epigenetic(epigenomic) processes are adaptive among the distinct populations.…”

“…The transformation of one population located in an Araucaria Forest to an open grassland environment may have shifted phenotypic variation related to fruit morphology and reproduction. Changes in fruit production, seedling survival and seed dispersal could have occurred, affecting the dynamics of the local population (Candido-Ribeiro et al, 2019). In a population of B. capitata in the Cerrado biome, fruit productivity differed among the sites evaluated and was directly related to the weight of the individuals and their leaf mass (da Silva and Scariot, 2013).…”

“…Morphometric characterization of fruits and seeds is important for taxonomic studies, allowing the identification of varieties with economic value, verification of the phenotypic and genetic variation occurrence and association with the environment, both within and between plant populations (Padilha et al, 2016;Rios et al, 2016). Fruit and seed size variability within and among populations are an important component for studying the adaptation and evolution of trees in tropical and subtropical ecosystems (Candido-Ribeiro et al, 2019). For Butia palms, a wide phenotypic diversity is observed, which provides fruits varying for biometric, physicochemical and sensorial traits (Dal Magro et al, 2006, Sganzerla, 2010.…”