Abstract
We have studied a multi-locus selection model in which mutations to deleterious alleles occur that may affect not only the diploid stage, but also the haploid stage before zygote formation. We investigated the reduction in inbreeding depression (as measured in the diploid stage of the life cycle) caused by the lowering of mutant allele frequencies due to selection in the pollen. This is important for our understanding of the rle of inbreeding depression in the maintenance of outcrossing. We also studied the theoretically expected relationship generated in this situation between the pollen fitness of different donor genotypes and the fitness of the diploid progeny that they would sire. We show that the covariance between these fitnesses is small, and that experimentally subjecting pollen to strong selection is expected to increase sporophyte fitness only slightly, unless pollen selection is weak under natural conditions.
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© 1992 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
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Charlesworth, D., Charlesworth, B. (1992). The Effects on Genetic Load of Selection in the Gametophyte Stage. In: Ottaviano, E., Gorla, M.S., Mulcahy, D.L., Mulcahy, G.B. (eds) Angiosperm Pollen and Ovules. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2958-2_65
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2958-2_65
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