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Haldane's rule has multiple genetic causes

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Abstract

HALDANE'S rule states that "When in the F1 offspring of two different animal races one sex is absent, rare, or sterile, that sex is the heterozygous [heterogametic or XY] sex"1. This rule represents one of the few patterns characterizing animal speciation2,3. Traditional explanations of Haldane's rule1,4–6 claim that heterogametic hybrids are unfit because they lack an X chromosome that is 'compatible' with the autosomes of one species. Recent work2,7 shows that this explanation is incorrect for hybrid sterility: contrary to prediction, homogametic hybrids carrying both X chromosomes from the same species remain fertile. Until now, similar tests have not been performed for hybrid inviability. Here I show that homogametic hybrids who carry both X chromosomes from the same species are inviable. These results show that the genetic causes of Haldane's rule differ for hybrid sterility versus inviability. Haldane's rule does not, therefore, have a single genetic basis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, USA

    H. Alien Orr

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  1. H. Alien Orr
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Orr, H. Haldane's rule has multiple genetic causes. Nature 361, 532–533 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/361532a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/361532a0

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