Selection for recombination in partially self-fertilizing populations

Abstract

This paper confirms Holden's (1979) suggestion that certain types of fitness interactions between a pair of loci in partially self-fertilizing populations may promote selection for increased recombination between them. Our results are based on both algebraic and computer calculations of the fate of alleles at a third locus, which control the level of recombination between the selected pair. We also show that the behavior of the population mean fitness as a function of recombination fraction is not necessarily an indicator of the direction of selection on recombination in partially selfing populations.