genetic diversity and dioecy

[Dr. Nigel Barker]

Hi all

it has been a (long) while since I dablled in breeding systems, and
am very much out of touch with the recent literature, so might
be asking an obvious question... which is:

Is there any evidence that suggests dioecious species are genetically
more diverse, and what are the advantages of this?

When I last looked at the literature in this regard, I seem to recall
works from folk such as Bawa on tropical species, but maybe there is
someone out there who can help me catch up on this! Please
preferably reply to my private email adress as I am recultant to
occupy bandwidth on TAXACOM with this, but if you think the subject
is worth public airing then please go ahead!

Nigel

Dr Nigel Barker
Dept. Botany                 Phone: 27 46 603 8598
Rhodes University            Fax: 27 46 622 5524
Grahamstown
6140
South Africa

http://botany.ru.ac.za