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Related Concept Videos

Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

Frequency-dependent Selection

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When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
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Flowers are the reproductive, seed-producing structures of angiosperms. Typically, flowers consist of sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. Sepals and petals are the vegetative flower organs. Stamens and carpels are the reproductive organs.  
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Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

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Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
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Overview
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Incomplete Dominance01:43

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Gregor Mendel's work (1822 - 1884) was primarily focused on pea plants. Through his initial experiments, he determined that every gene in a diploid cell has two variants called alleles inherited from each parent. He suggested that amongst these two alleles, one allele is dominant in character and the other recessive. The combination of alleles determines the phenotype of a gene in an organism.
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Chi-square Analysis

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The chi-square test is a statistical hypothesis test. It is used to check whether there is a significant difference between an expected value and an observed value. In the context of genetics, it enables us to either accept or reject a hypothesis, based on how much the observed values deviate from the expected values.
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Updated: Dec 31, 2025

Author Spotlight: A High-Resolution, Single-Grain, In Vivo Pollen Hydration Bioassay for Arabidopsis thaliana
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Active pollination drives selection for reduced pollen-ovule ratios.

Olle Pellmyr1, Finn Kjellberg2, Edward Allen Herre3

  • 1Department of Biology, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, 83844, USA.

American Journal of Botany
|January 1, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Active pollination significantly reduces pollen-ovule ratios, indicating higher pollen transfer efficiency. This study confirms pollen-ovule ratios as reliable indicators of pollination effectiveness in various plant-pollinator systems.

Keywords:
mating systemspollen productionpollinationsister-group comparisons

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Plant Sciences
  • Ecology

Background:

  • Pollen-ovule ratio (POR) is theorized to reflect pollination efficiency.
  • Active pollination mutualisms involve pollinators purposefully transferring pollen, suggesting high efficiency.
  • Few studies have directly linked POR to pollen transfer efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if increased pollen transfer efficiency in active pollination systems leads to reduced pollen-ovule ratios.
  • To test the hypothesis using evolutionary transitions from passive to active pollination.

Main Methods:

  • Collected pollen and ovule data from plant species across four active pollination brood mutualisms.
  • Employed phylogenetically controlled tests and sister-group comparisons.
  • Examined the impact of shifts from passive to active pollination on POR.

Main Results:

  • Actively pollinated plants exhibited significantly lower pollen-ovule ratios compared to closely related passively pollinated taxa.
  • Phylogenetically corrected analyses revealed an average 76% reduction in POR for actively pollinated species.
  • Demonstrated a consistent pattern across multiple independent evolutionary transitions.

Conclusions:

  • The findings support the utility of pollen-ovule ratios as indicators of pollination efficiency.
  • Pollen transfer efficiency plays a central role in the evolutionary dynamics of pollen-ovule ratios.
  • Active pollination mutualisms represent a key evolutionary pathway towards reduced POR and enhanced pollination effectiveness.