The Scope for Postmating Sexual Selection in Plants

Abstract

Sexual selection is known to shape plant traits that affect access to mates during the pollination phase, but it is less well understood to what extent it affects traits relevant to interactions between pollen and pistils after pollination. This is surprising, because both of the two key modes of sexual selection, male–male competition and female choice, could plausibly operate during pollen–pistil interactions where physical male–female contact occurs. Here, we consider how the key processes of sexual selection might affect traits involved in pollen–pistil interactions, including ‘Fisherian runaway’ and ‘good-genes’ models. We review aspects of the molecular and cellular biology of pollen–pistil interactions on which sexual selection could act and point to research that is needed to investigate them.