McGill University
Ph.D. candidate
Supervisor: Daniel Schoen
Start: 2013-01-01
End: 2018-12-31
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Project

Why does self-incompatibility persist in natural populations?
Self-incompatibility (SI) is a common trait that prevents self-fertilization in flowering plants. Because of the prevalence of SI, it is puzzling that theory predicts that self-compatibility (SC; the capacity for a plant to self-pollinated) should spread through SI populations under a wide range of conditions. There are two reasons why SC might not be favoured: there is little heritable variation for SC or inbreeding depression is very high and cannot be purged. My research will describe the heritable variation for SC in SI populations and quantify how much inbreeding depression can be purged. I use experimental crosses and successive selfing in combination with genetic and genomic analyses to investigate these topics.

Publications

1- Genetic variation for pseudo-self-compatibility in self-incompatible populations ofLeavenworthia alabamica(Brassicaceae)
Baldwin, Sarah J., Daniel J. Schoen
2016 New Phytologist

2- Direct vs. indirect effects of whole-genome duplication on prezygotic isolation in Chamerion angustifolium: Implications for rapid speciation
Husband, B. C., S. J. Baldwin, H. A. Sabara
2016 American Journal of Botany

3- The association between polyploidy and clonal reproduction in diploid and tetraploidChamerion angustifolium
Baldwin, Sarah J., Brian C. Husband
2013 Molecular Ecology

4- The effects of rapid desiccation on estimates of plant genome size
Bainard, Jillian D., Brian C. Husband, Sarah J. Baldwin, Aron J. Fazekas, T. Ryan Gregory, Steven G. Newmaster, Paul Kron
2011 Chromosome Research

5- Genome duplication and the evolution of conspecific pollen precedence
Baldwin, S. J., B. C. Husband
2010 Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences