E&E PhD Dissertation Seminar: Self-incompatibility and biosystematics in the wild Chilean tomato group (solanum sect. lycopersicum) by Andrew Raduski
May 7, 2019
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Faculty Advisor: Boris Igic
Abstract: Understanding the forces that influence the patterns of plant reproduction is a shared concern of plant evolutionary biologists. Self-incompatibility (SI), the molecular rejection of self-pollen by an otherwise fertile hermaphroditic plant, is a widespread mechanism that promotes outcrossing. The descriptions of the patterns of phylogenetic distribution of SI, as well as its strength in natural populations, and geographic distribution, have lead many to proclaim the importance of SI in the development and maintenance of plant species diversity. The transition from SI to self-compatibility (SC) in plant lineages is one of the most common pathways in plant evolution. The loss of enforced outcrossing leads to a reduction of genetic diversity and increased linkage disequilibrium within species. This has lead many to conclude that habitual self-fertilization is an evolutionary dead-end. Despite longstanding interest in patterns of SI occurrence and its maintenance and loss, relatively few empirical details are known about the evolution of SI and its relationship with realized mating patterns in natural populations.
Date posted
Jan 31, 2019
Date updated
Apr 29, 2019