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SUMMARY:On the Way to Domesticate Duckweeds: Hidden Sexuality\, Hybridizat
 ion and Polyploid Evolution
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260929T143000Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260929T144500Z
DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260916T130420Z
UID:indico-contribution-2908@cern.ch
DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Yuri Lee (Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologia Agrar
 ia (CNR-IBBA) 20133 Milano\, Italy)\nDuckweeds (Lemnaceae) are emerging as
  promising crops because of their exceptional biomass productivity and div
 erse applications. However\, progress toward duckweed domestication has be
 en limited by a poor understanding of their sexual reproduction\, which is
  essential to improve genetic information via breeding. Recent genomic stu
 dies unexpectedly revealed numerous interspecific hybrids and polyploid li
 neages in the genera *Lemna* and *Wolffia*\, suggesting that sexual reprod
 uction\, although rarely observed\, has played a much stronger evolutionar
 y role than previously recognized. We systematically investigated the repr
 oductive biology of representative *Lemna* hybrids and their parental spec
 ies. Furthermore\, we performed a comprehensive cytological analysis of me
 iosis in some selected *Lemna* species to determine the origin and frequen
 cy of unreduced gametes associated with polyploids formation. Our analyses
  revealed remarkable diversity in reproductive traits\, including protogyn
 y\, homogamy\, and variation in self-fertility among species. Except for t
 he naturally fertile allotetraploid *L*.×*aoukikusa*\, all investigated a
 llodiploid and triploid hybrids were sterile\, and artificial whole-genome
  doubling of natural allodiploid hybrids has failed to restore fertility s
 o far. Cytological analyses combined with fluorescence in situ hybridizati
 on showed both dyads and tetrads\, representing unreduced and reduced male
  meiotic cells\, respectively. Unreduced gametes occurred at variable\, bu
 t rather low frequencies (up to 6.85% in *L*. *turionifera* and 12% in *L*
 . *minor*)\, providing a plausible explanation for the absence of naturall
 y occurring tetraploids in *L*.×*japonica* and both parental species\, *L
 *. *minor* and *L*. *turionifera*. This study provides keys for elucidatin
 g evolutionary pathways of duckweeds and establishes a foundation for futu
 re domestication by sexual crossing of this emerging crop.\n\nhttps://indi
 co.unina.it/event/117/contributions/2908/
LOCATION:Department of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Napoli F
 ederico II\, Portici\, Italy Sala Cinese
URL:https://indico.unina.it/event/117/contributions/2908/
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