Inbreeding depression and low between-population heterosis in recently diverged experimental populations of a selfing species.

ABSTRACT: In fragmented populations, genetic drift and selection reduce genetic diversity, which in turn results in a loss of fitness or in a loss of evolvability. Genetic rescue, that is, controlled input of diversity from distant populations, may restore evolutionary potential, whereas outbreeding depression might counteract the positive effect of this strategy. We carried out self-pollination and crosses within and between populations in an experimental subdivided population of a selfing species, Triticum aestivum L., to estimate the magnitude of these two phenomena. Surprisingly, for a self-fertilizing species, we found significant inbreeding depression within each population for four of the six traits studied, indicating that mildly deleterious mutations were still segregating in these populati

SUBMITTER: Rousselle Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3183886 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature