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The effect of the reproductive system on mutation load.
F A Hopf1, R E Michod, M J Sanderson
1Optical Sciences Center, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721.
Theoretical Population Biology
|June 1, 1988
Summary
Haldane's principle that mutation rate, not severity, determines population fitness holds true for many reproductive systems. This finding extends to various genetic models, impacting understanding of mutation accumulation.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary genetics
- Population genetics
- Theoretical biology
Background:
- J. B. S. Haldane's 1937 principle stated equilibrium population fitness depends on mutation rate, not mutation severity.
- The formula e-microH, where microH is the haploid genomic mutation rate, describes this equilibrium fitness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend Haldane's principle to diverse reproductive systems.
- To analyze the impact of deleterious mutations on population fitness across different genetic models.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of mutation frequency classes in populations.
- Mathematical modeling and computer simulations.
- Extension of Haldane's principle to various reproductive strategies.
Main Results:
- Haldane's principle holds exactly for haploid systems and approximately for diploid systems with heterozygous effects.
- The principle is exact for recessive lethal mutations in K-ploid apomixis, diploid endomitosis, and haplodiploidy.
- Simulations suggest the principle extends to diploid out-crossing sexuals in the large loci limit.
Conclusions:
- Diverse reproductive systems achieve equal equilibrium fitness, but harbor different numbers of recessive mutations.
- Disparities in mutation load may create transient selective pressures between different reproductive strategies.