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The Evolution of Traits Influencing Male and Female Fertility in Outcrossing Plants

Theoretical studies on the evolution of plant reproductive traits have often relied on simple population-genetics or phenotypic models that employ the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) approach, but a quantitative genetic perspective may sometimes be more appropriate and can offer insight into the evolutionary process. The model developed here describes the evolution of quantitative traits influencing male and female fertilities in outcrossing hermaphroditic plants, and it addresses the evolution of separate sexes by major-gene mutation occurring in a quantitative genetic background This approach is appropriate because plant reproductive traits often vary quantitatively, and their expression is likely to be influenced by genes at many loci. The model is intuitively appealing because selection is measured on the observable multivariate phenotype rather than on the abstract currency of "allocation" used in ESS models. It is applicable to traits that cannot be treated in the context of sex allocation theory in addition to those that can. The close relation between equations for evolutionary change and multiple-regression techniques of statistical analysis provide a unified and rigorous framework in which to pose and test evolutionary hypotheses. Selection will favor the evolution of separate sexes only when the multivariate phenotype resulting in maximum fertility through female function is quite different from the phenotype giving maximum male fertility. The quantitative genetic perspective enriches studies of plant reproduction by bringing to the fore aspects such as morphological adaptation and the genetic basis of reproductive traits that have not been emphasized in previous theoretical studies and by suggesting avenues for future theoretical and empirical research.