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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 5, 2026

Age-dependent Dynamics of Locomotion in Caenorhabditis elegans: A Lyapunov Exponent Analysis

Age-dependent Dynamics of Locomotion in Caenorhabditis elegans: A Lyapunov Exponent Analysis

Published on: September 23, 2025

Selfing ability and drift load evolve with range expansion.

Matthew H Koski^1,2, Nathan C Layman³, Carly J Prior³

¹Department of Biology University of Virginia Charlottesville Virginia 22902.

Evolution Letters

|October 23, 2019

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Historical range expansions, not current ecology, may drive the evolution of self-fertilization in plants. Leading-edge populations show increased selfing ability due to genetic drift and mutation accumulation during colonization.

Keywords:

Baker's rule bottleneck expansion load genetic drift heterosis inbreeding depression mating system postglacial range expansion

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Plant Sciences
Population Genetics

Background:

Colonization of new habitats often involves small founding populations, reducing genetic diversity.
Self-fertilization can evolve in small populations, but historical factors driving this are hard to establish.
Contemporary ecological factors like mate limitation are often cited as drivers of self-fertilization.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of historical biogeography in shaping mating system diversity.
To test if range expansion and genetic drift influence the evolution of self-fertilization.
To examine the relationship between genetic load, heterosis, and selfing ability in plant populations.

Main Methods:

Studied 24 populations of the widespread plant *Campanula americana*.
Used spatial genetic drift patterns to identify a glacial refugium.
Assessed effective population size, rare allele frequency, heterosis, mutation load, and inbreeding depression.

Main Results:

Identified a glacial refugium in the southern Appalachian Mountains.
Populations distant from the refugium had smaller effective sizes and fewer rare alleles.
Self-fertilization ability strongly correlated with distance from refugium and mutation accumulation, not contemporary ecological factors.

Conclusions:

Mating system diversity may be a legacy of past colonization events in small populations.
Historical processes, rather than current ecological pressures, can be primary drivers of self-fertilization evolution.
The evolution of selfing in *Campanula americana* reflects past range expansions and genetic drift.