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THE EVOLUTION OF MATERNAL CHARACTERS
Author(s) -
Kirkpatrick Mark,
Lande Russell
Publication year - 1989
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.1558-5646.1989.tb04247.x
Subject(s) - mendelian inheritance , selection (genetic algorithm) , inheritance (genetic algorithm) , biology , non mendelian inheritance , evolutionary biology , population , maternal effect , offspring , genetics , natural selection , disruptive selection , stabilizing selection , directional selection , genetic variation , gene , demography , artificial intelligence , sociology , computer science , mitochondrial dna , pregnancy
We develop quantitative‐genetic models for the evolution of multiple traits under maternal inheritance, in which traits are transmitted through non‐Mendelian as well as Mendelian mechanisms, and maternal selection, in which the fitness of offspring depends on their mother's phenotype as well as their own. Maternal inheritance results in time lags in the evolutionary response to selection. These cause a population to evolve for an indefinite number of generations after selection ceases and make the rate and direction of evolution change even when the strength of selection and parameters of inheritance remain constant. The rate and direction of evolution depend on the inheritance of traits that are not under selection, unlike under classical Mendelian inheritance. The models confirm earlier findings that the response to selection can be larger or smaller than what is possible with simple Mendelian inheritance, and even in a direction opposite to what selection favors. Maternal selection, in which a mother's phenotype influences her offspring's fitness, is frequency‐dependent and can cause a population to evolve maladaptively away from a fitness peak, regardless of whether traits are transmitted by Mendelian or maternal inheritance. Maternal selection differs from other forms of selection in that its force depends not only on the fitness function but also on the phenotypic resemblance of parents and offspring.