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DELETERIOUS MUTATIONS AND GENETIC VARIATION FOR FLOWER SIZE IN MIMULUS GUTTATUS
Author(s) -
Kelly John K.,
Willis John H.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2001.tb00611.x
Subject(s) - biology , allele , genetics , dominance (genetics) , genetic variation , selection (genetic algorithm) , mutation , wildflower , evolutionary biology , botany , gene , artificial intelligence , computer science
.— Mimulus guttatus is a wildflower that exhibits substantial genetic variation in flower size. Here, we test the hypothesis that this variation is caused by deleterious mutations maintained through mutation‐selection balance. The deleterious‐mutation model predicts that rare, partially recessive alleles will be the primary source of variation. We test this prediction by measuring the change in the mean flower size (ΔM) and the directional dominance of flower size (ΔB) within a selection experiment. If variation is due to rare (partially) recessive alleles, ΔB/ΔM is expected to be positive and exceed one. However, we obtain negative values for ΔB/ΔM from three independent selection lines. This result is statistically inconsistent with the deleterious‐mutation model.