TY - JOUR
T1 - Inbreeding-stress interactions:
T2 - evolutionary and conservation consequences
AU - Reed, David H
AU - Fox, Charles W
AU - Enders, Laramy S
AU - Kristensen, Torsten N
N1 - © 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.
PY - 2012/5
Y1 - 2012/5
N2 - The effect of environmental stress on the magnitude of inbreeding depression has a long history of intensive study. Inbreeding-stress interactions are of great importance to the viability of populations of conservation concern and have numerous evolutionary ramifications. However, such interactions are controversial. Several meta-analyses over the last decade, combined with omic studies, have provided considerable insight into the generality of inbreeding-stress interactions, its physiological basis, and have provided the foundation for future studies. In this review, we examine the genetic and physiological mechanisms proposed to explain why inbreeding-stress interactions occur. We specifically examine whether the increase in inbreeding depression with increasing stress could be due to a concomitant increase in phenotypic variation, using a larger data set than any previous study. Phenotypic variation does usually increase with stress, and this increase can explain some of the inbreeding-stress interaction, but it cannot explain all of it. Overall, research suggests that inbreeding-stress interactions can occur via multiple independent channels, though the relative contribution of each of the mechanisms is unknown. To better understand the causes and consequences of inbreeding-stress interactions in natural populations, future research should focus on elucidating the genetic architecture of such interactions and quantifying naturally occurring levels of stress in the wild.
AB - The effect of environmental stress on the magnitude of inbreeding depression has a long history of intensive study. Inbreeding-stress interactions are of great importance to the viability of populations of conservation concern and have numerous evolutionary ramifications. However, such interactions are controversial. Several meta-analyses over the last decade, combined with omic studies, have provided considerable insight into the generality of inbreeding-stress interactions, its physiological basis, and have provided the foundation for future studies. In this review, we examine the genetic and physiological mechanisms proposed to explain why inbreeding-stress interactions occur. We specifically examine whether the increase in inbreeding depression with increasing stress could be due to a concomitant increase in phenotypic variation, using a larger data set than any previous study. Phenotypic variation does usually increase with stress, and this increase can explain some of the inbreeding-stress interaction, but it cannot explain all of it. Overall, research suggests that inbreeding-stress interactions can occur via multiple independent channels, though the relative contribution of each of the mechanisms is unknown. To better understand the causes and consequences of inbreeding-stress interactions in natural populations, future research should focus on elucidating the genetic architecture of such interactions and quantifying naturally occurring levels of stress in the wild.
KW - biodiversity conservation
KW - environmental stress
KW - evolution
KW - omics
KW - inbreeding
U2 - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06548.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06548.x
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 22583046
SN - 0077-8923
VL - 1256
SP - 33
EP - 48
JO - New York Academy of Sciences. Annals
JF - New York Academy of Sciences. Annals
IS - 1
ER -