Production of offspring in plants can involve pollen produced within the same plant or pollen from other plants. The balance between these two modes has a profound influence on the distribution of genetic variation in the population and also its evolutionary dynamics. The proposed research will examine the extent to which individuals in a natural population reproduce via self-pollen, and examine the relative importance of several factors that favor low to moderate levels of self-pollination. These include a decline in fitness of offspring derived from self- pollination relative to those that result from cross- pollination and the potential for competition between self and cross pollen. Agriculturally important traits are often selected through breeding programs that involve many generations of self-pollination. In some cases, lines of agricultural plants have been selected for their propensity to self-pollinate since this prevents the dilution of desirable genetic traits by genes from unselected plants. The genetic implications of imposing higher than usual rates of self-pollination on plants are poorly understood. The proposed research will investigate some effects of self-pollination and contribute to our understanding of long term agricultural selection programs.
