GAMETOPHYTIC APOMIXIS AND EVOLUTION IN PLANTS

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Abstract
Summary: Apomixis is not necessary. Neither agamospermy, nor its common companion polyploidy, confer selective advantages on populations that are not equally well provided for in the diploid sexual breeding system. Yet, gametophytic apomixis is widely distributed among diverse families of flowering plants, and agamospecies are frequently as widely distributed as their most successful sexual relatives. The principal adaptive advantage of apomixis is that it can restore fertility in sexually sterile individuals. Polyploidy enhances interspecific hybridization, and it is among such hybrid complexes where apomixis is commonly encountered. Once established, apomixis contributes toward immediate fitness by fixing and reproducing advantageous genotypes. Continuous progressive evolution, however, depends on an essential equilibrium between sexual and asexual reproduction.
Funding Information
  • National Science Foundation (GB‐40136‐X)