The plant size and the spine characteristics of the first generation progeny obtained through the cross-pollination of different genotypes of Cactaceae

Abstract

The main characteristics (plant diameter, number of spine/areoles and length of spines) of 16 cactus hybrids were analysed and the genetic variability and broad-sense heritability was studied. The descendants were obtained through a cyclic crosspollination pattern, with the parental forms chosen based on aesthetic considerations. Cross-pollination among Rebutia senilis 9 Aylostera muscula, Rebutia tarvitaensis 9 Aylostera muscula, Aylostera flavistyla 9 Rebutia senilis, Rebutia senilis 9 Aylostera flavistyla, Aylostera muscula 9 Aylostera albiflora and Rebutia senilis 9 Aylostera albiflora did not succeed, whereas all of the other hand-pollinated crosses succeeded and produced viable seeds. The highest values of the analysed characters were observed in the progeny of A. fiebrigii var. densiseta 9 R. senilis and A. buiningiana 9 A. vallegardensis and the artificial selection to identify plants with special decorative traits was extremely efficient among them. In the F 1 population of the studied crosses, a large genetic diversity was found within hybrid combinations (families), between combinations and a different variation was recorded among the analysed traits. The broad-sense heritability ranged between 0.909 (plant diameter) and 0.948 (spines length). All of the characters analysed, in the present experience, have a strong genetic determinism, being greatly influenced by the genotype and to a lesser extent, by the cultivation conditions (greenhouse).

Anatomical and morphological spine variation in Gymnocalycium kieslingii subsp. castaneum (Cactaceae)

“…On the other hand, S l and S a were the most variable spine traits. In another study, spine length was also found to be the most variable trait in 30 Aylostera and Rebutia ( Cactoideae ) hybrids ( Mihalte and Sestras 2012 ). It has already been found that spine variation occurs even within a single species, reflecting environmental conditions during cactus growth (e.g.…”

“…Hunt et al 2006 , Mosco 2009 , Řepka and Gebauer 2012 ). Although, there is evidence that spine development is influenced by genetic ( Mihalte and Sestras 2012 ) and environmental conditions as water availability or solar radiation can modified spine growth (e.g. Peharec et al 2010 , Menezes et al 2015 ).…”

Spines and ribs of Pilosocereus arrabidae (Lem.) Byles & G.D. Rowley and allies (Cactaceae): Ecologic or genetic traits?

“…An implicit assumption that these traits are innate (or at least widely influenced by genetics) underlies their use in taxonomy. Although, there is some evidence that they are inheritable (Mihalte and Sestras, 2012), the factors involved with spine and rib morphogenesis are still poorly known (Mauseth, 2006). Furthermore, it is also known that spine and rib traits can be influenced by the environment, including growth conditions (e.g.…”