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ANALYSIS OF INBREEDING DEPRESSION IN MIXED‐MATING PLANTS PROVIDES EVIDENCE FOR SELECTIVE INTERFERENCE AND STABLE MIXED MATING
Author(s) -
Winn Alice A.,
Elle Elizabeth,
Kalisz Susan,
Cheptou PierreOlivier,
Eckert Christopher G.,
Goodwillie Carol,
Johnston Mark O.,
Moeller David A.,
Ree Richard H.,
Sargent Risa D.,
VallejoMarín Mario
Publication year - 2011
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.1558-5646.2011.01462.x
Subject(s) - selfing , biology , inbreeding depression , outcrossing , mating , inbreeding , mating system , evolutionary biology , zoology , ecology , population , pollen , demography , sociology
Hermaphroditic individuals can produce both selfed and outcrossed progeny, termed mixed mating. General theory predicts that mixed‐mating populations should evolve quickly toward high rates of selfing, driven by rapid purging of genetic load and loss of inbreeding depression (ID), but the substantial number of mixed‐mating species observed in nature calls this prediction into question. Lower average ID reported for selfing than for outcrossing populations is consistent with purging and suggests that mixed‐mating taxa in evolutionary transition will have intermediate ID. We compared the magnitude of ID from published estimates for highly selfing ( r > 0.8), mixed‐mating (0.2 ≤ r ≥ 0.8), and highly outcrossing ( r < 0.2) plant populations across 58 species. We found that mixed‐mating and outcrossing taxa have equally high average lifetime ID (δ= 0.58 and 0.54, respectively) and similar ID at each of four life‐cycle stages. These results are not consistent with evolution toward selfing in most mixed‐mating taxa. We suggest that prevention of purging by selective interference could explain stable mixed mating in many natural populations. We identify critical gaps in the empirical data on ID and outline key approaches to filling them.