Endosperm genome dosage, hybrid seed failure, and parental imprinting: sexual selection as an alternative to parental conflict
Abstract
The "vendange en vert" in French wine production consists of cutting some of the unripe grapes off the plant in the early season. By doing so, winegrowers ensure that the remaining fruits contain a higher amount of sugar and aromas (Anon, n.d.).
The consequence of this practice shows that maternal plant resources are limited and that seeds/fruits compete for those resources. In outcrossing species, maternal plants are equally related to all of their offspring, but seeds may have different sires.
This way of mating implies that paternal contributors compete for the maternal resources allocated to their respective progeny. The female, on the other hand, may have no or even opposite selective interest in this competition.
This parental asymmetry is the basis for the kinship evolutionary theory (Haig and Westoby, 1989), which stipulates that male and female parents have antagonistic interests regarding resource allocation to progeny-a "selfish" paternal drive and an equitable maternal influence (Haig and Westoby, 1989).