Editing Silene (section)

==Scientific history==
{{Further|Sex determination in Silene}}
Members of this genus have been the subject of research by preeminent plant ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and geneticists, including [[Charles Darwin]], [[Gregor Mendel]], [[Carl Correns]], [[Herbert G. Baker]], and [[Janis Antonovics]]. Many ''Silene'' species continue to be widely used to study systems, particularly in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology.<ref name="Bernasconi-2009">Bernasconi et al. 2009. Silene as a model system in ecology and evolution. Heredity. 103:5-14. PMID [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19367316 19367316]</ref> The genus has been used as a model for understanding the genetics of sex determination for over a century. ''Silene'' species commonly contain a mixture of hermaphroditic and female (or male-sterile) individuals ([[gynodioecy]]), and early studies by Correns showed that male sterility could be maternally inherited,<ref>Correns C. 1906. Die vererbung der Geshlechstsformen bei den gynodiocischen Pflanzen. Ber. Dtsch Bot. Ges. 24: 459–474.</ref><ref>Correns C. 1908. Die rolle der mannlichen Keimzellen bei der Geschlechtsbestimmung der gynodioecishen Pflanzen. Ber. Dtsch Bot. Ges. 26A: 626–701.</ref> an example of what is now known as [[cytoplasmic male sterility]]. Two independent groups of species in ''Silene'' have evolved separate male and female sexes ([[dioecy]]) with [[Sex determination in Silene|chromosomal sex determination]] that is analogous to the system found in humans and other mammals.<ref>Evolution of Sex Chromosomes: The Case of the White Campion. PLoS Biol 3(1): e28. [[doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030028]]</ref><ref>Mrackova M. et al. 2008. Independent origin of sex chromosomes in two species of the genus ''Silene''. 179(2): 1129–1133. PMID [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18558658 18558658]</ref>

''Silene'' flowers are frequently visited by flies, such as ''[[Rhingia campestris]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1111/plb.12328| pmid=25754608| title=Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers| journal=Plant Biology| volume=18| issue=1| pages=56–62| year=2015| last1=Van Der Kooi | first1=C. J.| last2=Pen | first2=I.| last3=Staal | first3=M.| last4=Stavenga | first4=D. G.| last5=Elzenga | first5=J. T. M.| url=https://research.rug.nl/files/78585910/Competition_for_pollinators_and_intra_communal_spectral_dissimilarity_of_flowers.pdf}}</ref> ''Silene'' species have also been used to study speciation, host-pathogen interactions, biological species invasions, adaptation to heavy-metal-contaminated soils, metapopulation genetics, and organelle genome evolution.<ref name="Bernasconi-2009" /> Notably, some members of the genus ''Silene'' hold the distinction of harboring the largest mitochondrial genomes ever identified.<ref>Sloan DB et al. 2012. Rapid Evolution of Multichromosomal Genomes in Flowering Plant Mitochondria with Exceptionally High Mutation Rates. PLoS Biol. 10: e1001241. [http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001241 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001241]</ref>