Inbreeding and the genetic variance in floral traits of Mimulus guttatus

The additive genetic variance, V(A), is frequently used as a measure of evolutionary potential in natural plant populations. Many plants inbreed to some extent; a notable observation given that random mating is essential to the model that predicts evolutionary change from V(A). With inbreeding, V(A) is not the only relevant component of genetic variation. Several nonadditive components emerge from the combined effects of inbreeding and genetic dominance. An important empirical question is whether these components are quantitatively significant. We use maximum likelihood estimation to extract estimates for V(A) and the nonadditive 'inbreeding components' from an experimental study of the wildflower Mimulus guttatus. The inbreeding components contribute significantly to four of five floral traits, including several measures of flower size and stigma-anther separation. These results indicate that inbreeding will substantially alter the evolutionary response to natural selection on floral characters.