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Genetic variation, disequilibrium and natural selection on reproductive traits in Allium vineale
Author(s) -
Ceplitis A.,
Bengtsson B. O.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00678.x
Subject(s) - biology , offspring , genetic variation , asexual reproduction , sexual reproduction , natural selection , evolutionary biology , genetic correlation , reproduction , selection (genetic algorithm) , genetics , gene , pregnancy , artificial intelligence , computer science
Bulbils and seeds collected from Allium vineale plants from natural populations were grown under uniform conditions. The bulbil‐derived offspring represented the parental generation, whereas the seed‐derived offspring represented the sexually produced offspring generation. Molecular markers were used to identify maternal genets. Variation in traits determining the allocation to sexual and asexual reproduction was partitioned among genets and ramet families in the parental and offspring generations. From observations of a release of genetic variation and slippage in the mean phenotype in the offspring generation, we inferred that there exists extensive genetic disequilibrium for reproductive traits in A. vineale populations, that most of the genetic variance is because of dominance effects, and that natural selection favours a reduced allocation to sexual reproduction. No genetic correlation between sexual and asexual allocation traits was found. We discuss the implications of these results with respect to the evolution of a mixed reproductive system in A. vineale .