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DIVERGENCE OF MEIOTIC DRIVE‐SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS AS AN EXPLANATION FOR SEX‐BIASED HYBRID STERILITY AND INVIABILITY
Author(s) -
Frank Steven A.
Publication year - 1991
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.1558-5646.1991.tb04401.x
Subject(s) - meiotic drive , biology , heterogametic sex , sterility , meiosis , divergence (linguistics) , genetics , mendelian inheritance , evolutionary biology , reproductive isolation , chromosome , gene , population , linguistics , philosophy , demography , sociology
Two empirical generalizations about speciation remain unexplained: the tendency of the heterogametic sex to be sterile or inviable in F 1 hybrids (Haldane's rule), and the tendency of the X chromosome to harbor the genetic elements that cause this sex bias in hybrid fitness. I suggest that divergence of meiotic drive systems on the sex chromosomes can explain these observations. The theory follows from two simple facts. First, sex chromosomes are particularly susceptible to the forces of meiotic drive. Second, divergence of meiotic drive systems can cause hybrid sterility and in viability. The main objection to the theory is that meiotic drive is apparently rare, whereas the observed pattern of hybrid fitness is widespread. I answer this objection by showing that divergence of meiotic drive systems can explain the two generalizations even if large departures from Mendelian segregation are rarely observed.