Hybridizations and genetic relationships among Lindernia species (Scrophulariaceae): L. procumbens and two subspecies of L. dubia

Abstract

Lindernia procumbens and L. dubia are common annual weeds in flooded rice fields of Japan. Two subspecies of L. dubia, subsp. major and subsp. dubia, are usually recognized in Japan but they are both regarded as synonyms of L. dubia elsewhere. In a cluster analysis based on AFLP, most L. dubia subsp. major formed a separate cluster from L. dubia subsp. dubia although 11% of haplotypes classified using AFLP were not coincident with classification using the shape of leaf bases, which is the commonly used identification trait. Artificial F1 plants between L. procumbens and L. dubia subsp. major, and between L. procumbens and L. dubia subsp. dubia did not produce seed. Forty percent of capsules produced by F1 plants from these two subspecies were slimmer and 80% pollen were sterile in slimmer capsules. However, seed number of most F1 capsules was not different from that of self-fertilized plants, suggesting that there was no complete reproductive isolation between the subspecies. Natural hybridization of these subspecies may have occurred but we are not aware of it because F1 plants are rare and F2 plants are indistinguishable from these subspecies.