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Variability of individual genetic load: consequences for the detection of inbreeding depression

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Abstract

Inbreeding depression is a key factor affecting the persistence of natural populations, particularly when they are fragmented. In species with mixed mating systems, inbreeding depression can be estimated at the population level by regressing the average progeny fitness by the selfing rate of their mothers. We applied this method using simulated populations to investigate how population genetic parameters can affect the detection power of inbreeding depression. We simulated individual selfing rates and genetic loads from which we computed fitness values. The regression method yielded high statistical power, inbreeding depression being detected as significant (5 % level) in 92 % of the simulations. High individual variation in selfing rate and high mean genetic load led to better detection of inbreeding depression while high among-individual variation in genetic load made it more difficult to detect inbreeding depression. For a constant sampling effort, increasing the number of progenies while decreasing the number of individuals per progeny enhanced the detection power of inbreeding depression. We discuss the implication of among-mother variability of genetic load and selfing rate on inbreeding depression studies.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support to Gwendal Restoux during his Ph.D. was provided by INRA-EFPA and The Provence Alpes Côtes dAzur Regional Government. The study was partially funded by the European Network of Excellence EVOLTREE. The authors are grateful to Jacqui Shykoff for helpful comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Gwendal Restoux

    Present address: ESE, UMR 8079, Université Paris-Sud, 91405, Orsay, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecologie des Forêts Mediterranéennes, INRA, UR 629, 84914, Avignon cedex, France

    Gwendal Restoux, Priscille Huot de Longchamp & Bruno Fady

  2. Biostatistique et Processus Spatiaux, INRA, UR 546, 84914, Avignon cedex, France

    Gwendal Restoux & Etienne K. Klein

Authors
  1. Gwendal Restoux
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  2. Priscille Huot de Longchamp
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Correspondence to Gwendal Restoux.

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Restoux, G., Huot de Longchamp, P., Fady, B. et al. Variability of individual genetic load: consequences for the detection of inbreeding depression. Genetica 140, 39–51 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-012-9656-7

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