Quantitative developmental analysis of two phenotypes of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis in the context of Homeosis

The flowers of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. (Malvaceae) exist in two floral morphologies: a single phenotype and a double phenotype. This study focused on the early stages of floral development, just before the initiation of petal primordia and up until the bifurcation of the stamen primordia. The two phenotypes were compared using logistic regression and bootstrapping techniques. Four aspects of floral development were considered: (a) organogenesis of petal and stamen primordia, and stamen bifurcation, (b) stamen primordia allometry (c) stamen primordia morphology and (d) stamen primordia size. The single and double buds initiated petal primordia at the same bud radii, but double buds initiated stamen primordia and stamen bifurcation at larger bud radii than the single phenotype. Double stamen primordia were shorter, wider, and more spherical than single stamen primordia, although the sizes of the single and double stamen primordia (defined as the sum of their length and width measurements) were not different. Results suggest that the additional space on the floral meristem of the double phenotype is linked to the divergent development of stamen primordia occupying this extra space.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author