Abstract

The mechanistic explanation of heterosis has been traditionally based on quantitative differences of gene effects. However, for outcrossing populations, heterosis is also a property of populations. In this paper, the effects of the deviation of a population from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) on the magnitude of heterosis have been examined numerically. The mating of two populations in HWE may generate directions and magnitudes of heterosis different from the mating of two populations in Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium (HWD). Such differences of heterosis between these two types of population mating may be due to the release of vigor restored in the parental populations during the process of HWD. Results from this study can provide guidance on the selection of parental populations for the effective exploitation of heterosis and the prediction of genetic structure and organization for hybrid zones in nature.

Details

Title
Population Genetics of Heterosis: Effects of Hardy-Weinberg Disequilibrium
Author
Wu, Rongling 1 ; Ma, Ch-X 2 ; J Wu 3 ; Fang, W 3 ; Casella, G 2 

 College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang Forestry University, Lin’An Zhejiang 311300, P.R. China; Department of Statistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA 
 Department of Statistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA 
 College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang Forestry University, Lin’An Zhejiang 311300, P.R. China 
Pages
1-6
Publication year
2004
Publication date
2004
Publisher
De Gruyter Poland
ISSN
00375349
e-ISSN
25098934
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3157743324
Copyright
© 2004. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.