Self-fertilizing plants contribute to their own demise
Monday, June 10, 2013 - 10:01
in Biology & Nature
Many plants are self-fertilizing, meaning they act as both mother and father to their own seeds. This strategy -- known as selfing -- guarantees reproduction but, over time, leads to reduced diversity and the accumulation of harmful mutations. A new study shows that these negative consequences are apparent across a selfing plant's genome, and can arise more rapidly than previously thought.