diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/PersistentCollection.php b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/PersistentCollection.php
index 98e3b91d8..7564133b9 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/PersistentCollection.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/PersistentCollection.php
@@ -101,16 +101,18 @@ final class PersistentCollection extends AbstractLazyCollection implements Selec
     /**
      * Creates a new persistent collection.
      *
-     * @param EntityManagerInterface $em    The EntityManager the collection will be associated with.
-     * @param ClassMetadata          $class The class descriptor of the entity type of this collection.
-     * @param Collection             $coll  The collection elements.
+     * @param EntityManagerInterface $em         The EntityManager the collection will be associated with.
+     * @param ClassMetadata          $class      The class descriptor of the entity type of this collection.
+     * @param Collection|array|null  $collection The collection elements.
      */
-    public function __construct(EntityManagerInterface $em, $class, $coll)
+    public function __construct(EntityManagerInterface $em, $class, $collection)
     {
-        $this->collection  = $coll;
         $this->em          = $em;
         $this->typeClass   = $class;
         $this->initialized = true;
+        $this->collection  = $collection instanceof Collection
+            ? $collection
+            : new ArrayCollection((array) $collection);
     }
 
     /**