Sexual differences and sex ratios of dioecious plants under stressful environments

雌雄异株植物对环境胁迫响应的性别差异与性别比例

Dioecious plants exhibit sexual dimorphism in both sexual features(reproductive organs)and secondary sex characteristics(vegetative traits).Sexual differences in secondary traits,including morphological,physiological and ecological characters,have been commonly associated with trade-offs between the cost of reproduction and other plant functions.Such trade-offs may be modified by environmental stressors,although there is evidence that sexually dimorphic responses to stress do not always exist in all plant species.When sexual dimorphism exists,sexually different responses appear to depend on the species and stress types.Yet,further studies on dioecious plant species are needed to allow the generalization of stress effects on males and females.Additionally,sexual dimorphism may influence the frequency and distribution of the sexes along environmental gradients,likely causing niche differentiation and spatial segregation of sexes.At the present,the causes and mechanisms governing sex ratio biases are poorly understood.This review aims to discuss sex-specific responses and sex ratio biases occurring under adverse conditions,which will advance our knowledge of sexually dimorphic responses to environmental stressors.

雌雄异株植物在性特征(繁殖器官)和次级性特征(植物的特征)均表现出性二态。形态、生理与生态特征等次级性特征的性别差异,通常在繁殖成本和其他功能性状之间存在着权衡。尽管有证据表明性二态对环境胁迫的响应不一定存在于所有植物中,但次级性特征的权衡可能受到环境胁迫的影响。当植物表现出性二态时,不同的物种与胁迫因子可以导致性别特异性的响应。因此,胁迫作用对雌雄异株植物影响的概括性研究是必须的。另外,性二态可能会影响雌雄异株植物沿着环境梯度的频率和分布,引起生态位分化与性别空间分异。目前,控制性别比例偏差的原因和机制还知之甚少。本综述旨在讨论不利环境下的性别特异性响应与性别比例偏差,有利于深入的理解性二态对环境胁迫的响应。