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The pollen morphology of nine species of Macroptilium (Benth.) Urb.: M. panduratum (Benth.) Maréchal & Baudet, M. longepedunculatum (Benth.) Urb., M. lathyroides (L.) Urb., M. bracteatum (Benth.) Maréchal & Baudet, M. erythroloma (Benth.) Urb., M. fraternum (Piper) Juárez & Pérez, M. psammodes (Lindman) Drewes & Palacios, M. prostratum (Benth.) Urb. and M. arenarium (Bacigalupo) Drewes & Palacios were studied with the photonic and scanning electron microscope. It is possible to differenciate them in two groups: 1) an homogeneous one, section Macroptilium, with colporate, spherical and reticulate or microreticulate grains; 2) an heterogeneous one, section Microcochle (Benth.) Lackey, with porate or colporate, suboblate grains with different ornamentation. In the section Macroptilium the separation at species level is difficult due to the similarity of their grains, but in the section Microcochle they can be recognized by the type of ornamentation. The main purpose of this paper is to determine the pollen diagnostic characters that allow species identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A polymorphic population of Phaseolus vulgaris var. aborigineus growing at the Northwest of Argentina was studied. In order to know the origin of this polymorphism, some plants belonging to the var. aborigineus, other plants showing floral dimorphism and other individuals with particular characters were collected. Their seeds, obtained after field-work treatments of autogamy and free pollination, were sown in a greenhouse, isolated of the access of pollinators. The growth of each plant was followed until its fructification, and the number of plants that died due to infections was recorded. The number of plants that flowered and fructified was registered in order to study their reproductive success. The floral, fruit and seed qualitative and quantitative characters were documented. With the results obtained, the authors concluded that those individuals that showed floral dimorphism are probably a result of hybridization and introgression between the var. aborigineus and "old cultivars". This hypothesis is supported by the presence of divergent segregation, observed in the offspring of the plants with this segregation. Other crops should allow the genic flow between the parental entities, with the consequence of the establishment of an hybrid population coexistent with their ancestors. Perhaps, as a result of introgression, the stabilized lines exhibit characters different from their parental varieties. The results of autopollination and free pollination in those individuals assigned to var. aborigineus, showed that free pollination brings a great genetic plasticity, because next generations can persist and resist infections. The offspring of the F1 was followed. The plants that belonged to var. aborigineus, product of free pollination, exhibited fast growth and were healthy, while the descendant of the individuals with the floral dimorphism showed characteristics that allowed to conclude the possible existence of degeneration of the hybrid progeny; this characteristics were: curled radicles with cotyledons that never emerge, plantule's apex that soon die with the following development of branches from the cotyledon's axil, and death after some weeks. This degeneration indicates that an unwanted gene flow in the area could lead to a decline in the wild bean population. The vigor, high reproductive success and resistance to illnesses of the individuals corresponding to the var. vulgaris, whose progenitor was treated for free fecundation, and the offspring of the plants with cultivated characteristics, are indicative of the necessity of preserving this germplasm to evaluate its agronomic potential to brief term. The DNA analyses already initiated, will allow the confirmation of the hypotheses outlined in this work.

Observations about the floral biology and the reproductive system of Macroptilium fraternum were made in two populations in Argentina, with different edaphic conditions, situated at the southern area of distribution of the species. The coexistence of two kind of flowers in the same plant was detected in both populations and in herbarium material from other localities: a) cleistogamous preanthesis flowers and b) pseudocleistogamous flowers. The cleistogamous preanthesis flowers possessed wings longer than 5 mm and were disposed in pubescent, erect, racemes exposed above the level of the foliage. The anthesis lasted approximately 5 hours on sunny days or 9 hours on rainy days, the right wing covered the left wing, the corolla acquired a bilabiate aspect, offering the left wing as landing platform; they produced a low quantity of nectar (0.18 +/- 0.13 microliter); they did not receive pollinator visits; approximately four hours after the beginning of the anthesis on sunny days the ovary started to grow; in the bud, the receptive stigma was covered with germinating pollen grains from the same floral unit. The pseudocleistogamous flowers possessed wings shorter than 5 mm that were disposed in brief, hirsute and prostrate racemes, non subterranean as in other Macroptilium species; the banner started to spread exposing partially the wings, the left wing limb surrounded the keel and never spread; the right wing started to spread and after 2 seconds refolded and began to wither, the ovary began to grow immediately; the flower did not offer a surface to allow visitors to settle; in the buds the stigma was receptive and found with pollen grains from the same floral unit emitting their tubes. The relative reproductive success was low (natural pollination = 8%; spontaneous self-pollination = 3%), probably due to the low pollen viability, the high percentage of seed abortion and the lack of pollinator's visits. The production of both flower types is not conditioned by edaphic factors, as they were found in plants belonging to different environments. Study of the progeny of both floral types in both populations has demonstrated that each one produces a similar amount of seeds contributing to the next generation with plants of similar characteristics (slow development, low resistance to infections and high mortality). The absence of pollinators in these flowers (in part because they preferred to visit flowers of other species with more reward and in part because of the fragmentation of the habitats), would be producing inbreeding depression in the studied populations; if the germplasm variability is not preserved, these populations situated at the Southern end of the distribution range of the species could become extinguished.