Some observations on asymmetrical correlated responses to selection

Abstract

The pattern of changes of the genetic covariance between two characters on selection was examined in an effort to explain the asymmetry of correlated responses in two traits, or of the same trait in two environments, frequently observed in experimental results.The algebraic conclusions were further examined by model selection experiments using a computer. The computer was programmed to calculate the change in gene frequency from generation to generation and to calculate from it the expected changes in genetic variances and covariance as selection proceeded. This procedure was carried out with several models of gene effects and gene frequencies.Asymmetry of the genetic covariance, and consequently of the correlated responses, resulted when the relative change in gene frequency at the loci contributing positively and negatively to the covariance depended on the trait selected. The conditions necessary for the development of asymmetry were examined and the results suggest that any symmetry found in an experiment is perhaps more surprising than asymmetry. Probably the most frequent contribution to asymmetry in practice will be from loci contributing negatively to the covariance and having frequencies other than 0·5.Accurate prediction of correlated response over many generations is therefore not possible without prior knowledge of the composition of the genetic covariance, as well as its magnitude. The validity of existing theory for the prediction of correlated responses is likely to be much poorer than for the prediction of direct responses. Predictions would then have to be based on the genetic parameters estimated in each generation.