Molecular Population Genetics of the SRK and SCR Self-incompatibility Genes in the Wild Plant Species Brassica cretica (Brassicaceae).
Author
Summary, in English
Self-incompatibility (SI) in plants is a classic example of a trait evolving under strong frequency-dependent selection. As a consequence, population genetic theory predicts that the S locus, which controls SI, should maintain numerous alleles, display a high level of nucleotide diversity, and, in structured populations, show a lower level of among-population differentiation compared to neutral loci. Population-level investigations of DNA sequence variation at the S locus have recently been carried out in the genus Arabidopsis, largely confirming results from theoretical models of S-locus evolutionary dynamics, but no comparable studies have been done in wild Brassica species. In this study, we sequenced parts of the S-locus genes SRK and SCR, two tightly linked genes that are directly involved in the determination of SI specificity, in samples from four natural populations of the wild species Brassica cretica. The amount and distribution of nucleotide diversity, as well as the frequency spectrum of putative functional haplotypes, observed at the S locus in B. cretica fit very well with expectations from theoretical models, providing strong evidence for frequency-dependent selection acting on the S locus in a wild Brassica species.
Department/s
- Department of Biology
- Evolutionary Genetics
Publishing year
2009
Language
English
Pages
985-995
Publication/Series
Genetics
Volume
181
Issue
3
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Genetics Society of America
Topic
- Genetics
- Ecology
Status
Published
Research group
- Evolutionary Genetics
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0016-6731