CORRELATED MATINGS IN THE PARTIAL SELFER MIMULUS GUTTATUS

Area of Science:

• Population Genetics
• Plant Mating Systems

Background:

• Siblings in partially selfing populations exhibit correlations in both selfing and paternity.
• Understanding these correlations is crucial for analyzing genetic covariance and paternity within populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and apply a model for analyzing mating systems in partially selfing populations.
• To separate correlations of selfing from outcrossed paternal alleles.
• To estimate the average number of fathers in a maternal sibship.

Main Methods:

• A novel model was developed based on sampling pairs of progeny from a maternal parent.
• Electrophoretic markers were utilized to estimate correlated matings in two Mimulus guttatus populations.
• The model's parameters quantify components of genetic covariance between siblings.

Main Results:

• Approximately 50% selfing was observed in both Mimulus guttatus populations.
• Correlations of selfing between siblings within the same capsule were 17% and 12%.
• Paternity correlations (proportion of full-sibs among outcrossed pairs) were 37% and 44% within capsules, dropping to ~20% between capsules.

Conclusions:

• The developed model effectively separates selfing and paternity correlations, aiding paternity analysis in larger populations.
• Estimates of correlated matings can have high variance and statistical challenges.
• Utilizing marker loci with numerous alleles can improve the reliability of these estimates.