POPULATION DYNAMICS OF SEX-DETERMINING ALLELES IN HONEY BEES AND SELF-INCOMPATIBILITY ALLELES IN PLANTS

[摘要] Mathematical theories of the population dynamics of sex-determining alleles in honey bees are developed. It is shown that in an infinitely large population the equilibrium frequency of a sex allele is l/ n , where n is the number of alleles in the population, and the asymptotic rate of approach to this equilibrium is 2/(3 n ) per generation. Formulae for the distribution of allele frequencies and the effective and actual numbers of alleles that can be maintained in a finite population are derived by taking into account the population size and mutation rate. It is shown that the allele frequencies in a finite population may deviate considerably from l/ n . Using these results, available data on the number of sex alleles in honey bee populations are discussed. It is also shown that the number of self-incompatibility alleles in plants can be studied in a much simpler way by the method used in this paper. A brief discussion about general overdominant selection is presented.

[学科分类] 医学（综合）