Breakdown of sporophytic self-incompatibility: Diploids versus tetraploids
Abstract
Many angiosperm species possess self-incompatibility (SI) systems that prevent self-fertilization. Because empirical studies often report higher selfing rates in tetraploids than in diploids, we investigate whether sporophytic self-incompatibility (SSI) is more likely to break down after the introduction of a self-compatible (SC) allele in tetraploid populations. To address this question, we use analytical models and individual-based simulations to compare diploid and tetraploid populations under two main scenarios: (1) all SI alleles are codominant, and (2) SI alleles are structured into dominance classes. Overall, our results indicate that SSI is more difficult to maintain in tetraploids than in diploids, with dominance relationships playing a key role in the invasion success of an SC allele. When SI alleles are organized into dominance classes, increasing the dominance of the SC allele generally favors SSI breakdown in tetraploids, while diploids show weaker sensitivity to dominance, with SSI maintained across all dominance scenarios for the SC allele under sufficiently high inbreeding depression. However, when the SC allele is dominant over all SI alleles, SSI is more readily maintained in both the codominant and dominance-class models.
Related
- The dendrometric rules’ breakdown : where do they fail in the case of Douglas-fir?
- From Bulk Hygroscopicity to Nanoscale Water Activity: Breakdown of Continuum Theories in Sub-4 nm Secondary Organic Aerosols
- Monazite versus zircon U–Pb geochronology of leucogranites: A case study from the Yeongnam Massif, Korea
- Nanoplastic exposure induces exoskeletal misdevelopment in juvenile Tachypleus tridentatus: Compensatory hardening versus molecular suppression
- Pregnancy outcomes in women conceiving after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation versus conventional chemotherapy for childhood or adolescent acute leukemia
BibTeX
@article{douet2026breakdown,
title = {{Breakdown of sporophytic self-incompatibility: Diploids versus tetraploids}},
author = {Diane Douet and Sylvain Billiard and Xavier Vekemans and Josselin Clo},
journal = {Genetics},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/genetics/iyag293},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05836739v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Breakdown of sporophytic self-incompatibility: Diploids versus tetraploids
AU - Diane Douet
AU - Sylvain Billiard
AU - Xavier Vekemans
AU - Josselin Clo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - Genetics
DO - 10.1093/genetics/iyag293
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05836739v1
AB - Many angiosperm species possess self-incompatibility (SI) systems that prevent self-fertilization. Because empirical studies often report higher selfing rates in tetraploids than in diploids, we investigate whether sporophytic self-incompatibility (SSI) is more likely to break down after the introduction of a self-compatible (SC) allele in tetraploid populations. To address this question, we use analytical models and individual-based simulations to compare diploid and tetraploid populations under two main scenarios: (1) all SI alleles are codominant, and (2) SI alleles are structured into dominance classes. Overall, our results indicate that SSI is more difficult to maintain in tetraploids than in diploids, with dominance relationships playing a key role in the invasion success of an SC allele. When SI alleles are organized into dominance classes, increasing the dominance of the SC allele generally favors SSI breakdown in tetraploids, while diploids show weaker sensitivity to dominance, with SSI maintained across all dominance scenarios for the SC allele under sufficiently high inbreeding depression. However, when the SC allele is dominant over all SI alleles, SSI is more readily maintained in both the codominant and dominance-class models.
SN - 1943-2631
ER -