Open AccessPOPULATION DYNAMICS OF SEX-DETERMINING ALLELES IN HONEY BEES AND SELF-INCOMPATIBILITY ALLELES IN PLANTS
Author(s) -
Shozo Yokoyama,
Masatoshi Nei
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.792
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1943-2631
pISSN - 0016-6731
DOI - 10.1093/genetics/91.3.609
Subject(s) - allele , biology , population , genetics , allele frequency , selection (genetic algorithm) , honey bee , population genetics , evolutionary biology , zoology , gene , demography , computer science , artificial intelligence , sociology
Mathematical theories of the population dynamics of sex-determining alleles in honey bees are developed. It is shown that in an infinitely large population the equilibrium frequency of a sex allele is 1/n, where n is the number of alleles in the population, and the asymptotic rate of approach to this equilibrium is 2/(3n) per generation. Formulae for the distribution of allele frequencies and the effective and actual numbers of alleles that can be maintained in a finite population are derived by taking into account the population size and mutation rate. It is shown that the allele frequencies in a finite population may deviate considerably from 1/n. Using these results, available data on the number of sex alleles in honey bee populations are discussed. It is also shown that the number of self-incompatibility alleles in plants can be studied in a much simpler way by the method used in this paper. A brief discussion about general overdominant selection is presented.