Heterozygosity as a target of mate choice has received much attention in recent years and there is growing evidence supporting its role in the evolution of mate preferences. In this study we analyse mating patterns in relation to heterozygosity in a lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) population intensively monitored over six study years (2002-2007). The magnitude of heterozygosity-based assortativ...

Deer antlers are costly structures subjected to directional sexual selection that may be sensitive to heterozygosity. However, a relationship between heterozygosity and antler development has only been found for select protein-coding loci and MHC genes in one deer species (the white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus). Here, we study the relationship between multilocus heterozygosity at 11 micr...

In natural populations, mating between relatives can have important fitness consequences due to the negative effects of reduced heterozygosity. Parental level of inbreeding or heterozygosity has been also found to influence the performance of offspring, via direct and indirect parental effects that are independent of the progeny own level of genetic diversity. In this study, we first analysed t...

Heterozygosity has been associated with components of fitness in numerous studies across a wide range of taxa. Because heterozygosity is associated with individual performance it is also expected to be associated with population dynamics. However, investigations into the association between heterozygosity and population dynamics have been rare because of difficulties in linking evolutionary and...

Recent evidence indicates that the mutation of retinoblastoma suscep tibility (RB) gene is also involved in the development of osteosarcoma. We studied 30 cases of osteosarcoma for the structural anomalies of the RB gene by Southern hybridization analysis with cDNA probes of the RB gene. Thirteen cases (43%) showed structural anomalies of the RB gene. They included the total or partial deletion...

Recent evidence indicates that the mutation of retinoblastoma susceptibility (RB) gene is also involved in the development of osteosarcoma. We studied 30 cases of osteosarcoma for the structural anomalies of the RB gene by Southern hybridization analysis with cDNA probes of the RB gene. Thirteen cases (43%) showed structural anomalies of the RB gene. They included the total or partial deletion,...

Recent evidence indicates that the mutation of retinoblastoma suscep tibility (RB) gene is also involved in the development of osteosarcoma. We studied 30 cases of osteosarcoma for the structural anomalies of the RB gene by Southern hybridization analysis with cDNA probes of the RB gene. Thirteen cases (43%) showed structural anomalies of the RB gene. They included the total or partial deletion...

Mathematical properties of the overdominance model with mutation and random genetic drift are studied by using the method of stochastic differential equations (Itô and McKean 1974). It is shown that overdominant selection is very powerful in increasing the mean heterozygosity as compared with neutral mutations, and if 2Ns (N = effective population size; s = selective disadvantage for homozygote...

Coltman and Slate (2003) recently performed a meta-analysis on studies that investigated the association between genetic variation at microsatellite loci and phenotypic trait variation. One factor not explicitly addressed in their meta-analysis is the actual estimation of genome-wide heterozygosity via molecular markers. Many authors still associate marker-estimated heterozygosity with genome-w...