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Developmental stability in Brassica cretica: the effect of crossing distance on fluctuating asymmetry in cotyledon morphology

Rao, G Y ; Andersson, Stefan LU and Widén, Björn LU (2002) In Heredity 88(3). p.197-202
Abstract
In the present investigation of Brassica cretica, a wild relative of the cultivated cabbage, B. oleracea, we performed an extensive crossing experiment, involving self-pollinations, random outcrosses within populations and hybridizations between populations or species, to evaluate the relationship between crossing distance and developmental stability, estimated as the absolute difference between the right and left lobe of the cotyledons. The frequency distribution of the right-minus-left scores had a narrower peak than expected for normally-distributed data, but there was no directional asymmetry or antisymmetry. Despite evidence for inbreeding depression in seedling biomass and cotyledon size, the type of cross had negligible influence on... (More)
In the present investigation of Brassica cretica, a wild relative of the cultivated cabbage, B. oleracea, we performed an extensive crossing experiment, involving self-pollinations, random outcrosses within populations and hybridizations between populations or species, to evaluate the relationship between crossing distance and developmental stability, estimated as the absolute difference between the right and left lobe of the cotyledons. The frequency distribution of the right-minus-left scores had a narrower peak than expected for normally-distributed data, but there was no directional asymmetry or antisymmetry. Despite evidence for inbreeding depression in seedling biomass and cotyledon size, the type of cross had negligible influence on cotyledon asymmetry. Separate analyses of between-population hybrids revealed differences among progenies from different pairs of populations and a tendency for the F1 hybrid means to decrease with the geographic distance separating the parent populations, but only for the two size variables. Based on these and other observations, we propose that the degree of cotyledon asymmetry is unrelated to genome-wide characteristics, such as the level of heterozygosity and genomic co-adaptation, and that cotyledon asymmetry is unrelated to the level of genetic stress experienced by each individual. Hence, there is no reason to consider measures of asymmetry as more sensitive indicators of genetic health than conventional fitness variables. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Heredity
volume
88
issue
3
pages
197 - 202
publisher
Macmillan
external identifiers
  • wos:000176215400006
  • pmid:11920121
  • scopus:0036010103
ISSN
1365-2540
DOI
10.1038/sj/hdy/6800027
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
573e8f91-759e-4876-beb0-e52a21a63d34 (old id 131605)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:58:30
date last changed
2022-02-26 00:02:35
@article{573e8f91-759e-4876-beb0-e52a21a63d34,
  abstract     = {{In the present investigation of Brassica cretica, a wild relative of the cultivated cabbage, B. oleracea, we performed an extensive crossing experiment, involving self-pollinations, random outcrosses within populations and hybridizations between populations or species, to evaluate the relationship between crossing distance and developmental stability, estimated as the absolute difference between the right and left lobe of the cotyledons. The frequency distribution of the right-minus-left scores had a narrower peak than expected for normally-distributed data, but there was no directional asymmetry or antisymmetry. Despite evidence for inbreeding depression in seedling biomass and cotyledon size, the type of cross had negligible influence on cotyledon asymmetry. Separate analyses of between-population hybrids revealed differences among progenies from different pairs of populations and a tendency for the F1 hybrid means to decrease with the geographic distance separating the parent populations, but only for the two size variables. Based on these and other observations, we propose that the degree of cotyledon asymmetry is unrelated to genome-wide characteristics, such as the level of heterozygosity and genomic co-adaptation, and that cotyledon asymmetry is unrelated to the level of genetic stress experienced by each individual. Hence, there is no reason to consider measures of asymmetry as more sensitive indicators of genetic health than conventional fitness variables.}},
  author       = {{Rao, G Y and Andersson, Stefan and Widén, Björn}},
  issn         = {{1365-2540}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{197--202}},
  publisher    = {{Macmillan}},
  series       = {{Heredity}},
  title        = {{Developmental stability in Brassica cretica: the effect of crossing distance on fluctuating asymmetry in cotyledon morphology}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj/hdy/6800027}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/sj/hdy/6800027}},
  volume       = {{88}},
  year         = {{2002}},
}