Drift in small populations predicts mate availability and the breakdown of self-incompatibility in a clonal polyploid.

ABSTRACT: Mate limitation in small populations can reduce reproductive fitness, hinder population growth, and increase extinction risk. Mate limitation is exacerbated in self-incompatible (SI) taxa, where shared S-alleles further restrict mating. Theory suggests genetic drift as a predictor of mate limitation and the breakdown of SI systems. We tested this prediction by evaluating mate availability and S-allele number in populations of a tetraploid herb with gametophytic SI (GSI) spanning a range of effective population sizes. We performed controlled crosses in 13 populations of Argentina anserina to quantify mate availability and S-allele diversity, which were compared with simulations of tetraploid populations with GSI. We further evaluated mechanisms at the pollen-pistil interface contributing to

SUBMITTER: Cisternas-Fuentes A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11798892 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature