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Updated: Mar 1, 2026
10:39
Functional Manipulation of Maternal Gene Products Using In Vitro Oocyte Maturation in Zebrafish
Published on: April 22, 2017
11.9K
THE EVOLUTION OF MATERNAL CHARACTERS.
Mark Kirkpatrick1, Russell Lande2
1Department of Zoology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712.
Summary
Maternal inheritance and selection impact evolution with time lags, altering evolutionary rates and directions. These non-Mendelian factors can lead to unexpected evolutionary outcomes, even maladaptive ones.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Quantitative genetics
Background:
- Maternal inheritance involves non-Mendelian transmission alongside Mendelian mechanisms.
- Maternal selection links offspring fitness to maternal phenotype, introducing frequency-dependent dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop quantitative-genetic models for trait evolution under maternal inheritance and maternal selection.
- To analyze the impact of time lags and frequency dependence on evolutionary trajectories.
Main Methods:
- Development of quantitative-genetic models incorporating maternal inheritance and selection.
- Analysis of evolutionary dynamics under varying selection pressures and inheritance parameters.
Main Results:
- Maternal inheritance introduces evolutionary time lags, causing evolution to persist after selection stops.
- Evolutionary rates and directions can fluctuate unpredictably due to maternal effects.
- Maternal selection can drive populations away from fitness peaks, potentially leading to maladaptive evolution.
Conclusions:
- Maternal inheritance and selection significantly alter evolutionary dynamics compared to purely Mendelian inheritance.
- These models highlight the complex interplay between inheritance, selection, and evolutionary outcomes.
- Understanding maternal effects is crucial for predicting population-level evolutionary trajectories.
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