HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (12) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Weis, A. E. Articles by Kossler, T. M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Weis, A. E. Articles by Kossler, T. M. Agricola Articles by Weis, A. E. Articles by Kossler, T. M.

Genetic variation in flowering time induces phenological assortative mating: quantitative genetic methods applied to Brassica rapa¹

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California–Irvine, Irvine, California 92687 USA

It has been argued from first principles that plants mate assortatively by flowering time. However, there have been very few studies of phenological assortative mating, perhaps because current methods to infer paternal phenotype are difficult to apply to natural populations. Two methods are presented to estimate the phenotypic correlation between mates—the quantitative genetic metric for assortative mating—for phenological traits. The first method uses individual flowering schedules to estimate mating probabilities for every potential pairing in a sample. These probabilities are then incorporated into a weighted phenotypic correlation between all potential mates and thus yield a prospective estimate based on mating opportunities. The correlation between mates can also be estimated retrospectively by comparing the regression of offspring phenotype over one parent, which is inflated by assortative mating, to the regression over mid-parent, which is not. In a demonstration experiment with Brassica rapa, the prospective correlation between flowering times (days from germination to anthesis) of pollen recipients and their potential donors was 0.58. The retrospective estimate of this correlation strongly agreed with the prospective estimate. The prospective method is easily employed in field studies that explore the effect of phenological assortative mating on selection response and population differentiation.

Key Words: flowering phenology • functional gender • genetic correlations • natural selection • nonrandom mating • pollination • quantitative genetics

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. J. Franks, S. Sim, and A. E. Weis Rapid evolution of flowering time by an annual plant in response to a climate fluctuation PNAS, January 23, 2007; 104(4): 1278 - 1282. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Oddou-Muratorio, E. K. Klein, B. Demesure-Musch, and F. Austerlitz Real-time patterns of pollen flow in the wild-service tree, Sorbus torminalis (Rosaceae). III. Mating patterns and the ecological maternal neighborhood Am. J. Botany, November 1, 2006; 93(11): 1650 - 1659. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]