Population dynamics of mutant alleles under maternal effect in plant populations.

Fitness interactions via maternal effects were analyzed by constructing a mathematical model. Here, the fitness of an individual is determined by its own phenotype and the maternal phenotype. It is assumed that two alternative phenotypic states are determined by two alleles at a single locus. Under this assumption, the model developed here reduces to a social selection model of human populations that considers that the fitness of an individual is determined by the individual as well as the parental phenotypes. The effect on genetic variability of random fluctuations in the magnitude of maternal effects was studied by considering the fixation probability and the equilibrium frequency of mutant genes. It is shown that genetic variability decreases as the magnitude of variation in maternal effect intensity increases.