Mentor effects in wild species of Helianthus (Asteraceae).

Self-incompatibility (SI) is an effective method for limiting self-fertilization in flowering plant species, but there are circumstances in which an otherwise functional SI system may fail. One of the most intriguing of these is the induction of selfing by mixed loads of self and heterospecific pollen (the mentor effect) because it is likely to occur under natural conditions, such as in hybrid zones. Here we conducted a series of controlled crosses to determine whether mentor effects operate in two SI annual species, Helianthus annuus and H. petiolaris, and whether the failure of SI results in a decrease in the frequency of hybridization between these two species. Of the 1396 achenes examined from pollen mixtures that included varying ratios of self, intraspecific compatible, and interspecific pollen, 71 (5.1%) were selfed. Selfing frequencies were significantly less than expected based on pollen ratios, except when the proportion of intraspecific compatible pollen was low. Hybridization frequencies from these same pollen ratios averaged 41.8% with H. annuus as the maternal species and 13.3% with H. petiolaris as the mother. Analysis of 1404 achenes from pollen mixtures that excluded self pollen resulted in hybridization frequencies for H. annuus (42.2%) and H. petiolaris (18.2%) that do not differ significantly from those including self pollen. Thus, mentor effects do not appear to play an important role in reproductive isolation between these species. On the other hand, even a modest increase in self-fertilization in hybrid populations, such as that due to mentor effects, could enhance the probability of hybrid species establishment.