A crucial step in the transition from outcrossing to self-fertilization is the loss of genetic self-incompatibility (SI). In the Brassicaceae, SI involves the interaction of female and male ...

Previous models of self-incompatibility accounted for only one-to-one interactions between male and female-determinant proteins. The new model allows for a more general network of interactions, where ...

Justin Havird, Erik Iverson and their colleagues have identified genes involved in hybrid incompatibility in swordtail fishes. The sheepshead swordtail fish (Xiphophorus birchmanni). Photo credit: Dan ...

Researchers at the University of Maine are theorizing that human beings may be in the midst of a major evolutionary shift—driven not by genes, but by culture. "Human evolution seems to be changing ...

Plants, with their unique immune systems, sometimes launch 'autoimmune responses' by mistakenly identifying their own protein structures as pathogens. In particular, 'hybrid necrosis,' a phenomenon ...

Commercial seeds of Brassicaceae vegetable crops are mostly F₁ hybrids, the production of which depends on self-incompatibility during pollination. Self-incompatibility is known to be weakened by ...

Many bird species are monogamous. However, genetic studies have shown that the social partner is often not the genetic father of all offspring. Some studies found biased sex ratios: more males than ...