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Genetics of Response to Atmospheric Pollutants

  • Chapter
Ecological Genetics and Air Pollution

Abstract

Human activities have altered the composition of the atmosphere on both a local and global scale (Chapter 4, this volume). For many plant species, these environmental changes represent a novel stress to which they may or may not adapt. The alternatives to adaptation include range reduction and local or global extinction. The capacity of plant populations to adapt to an environmental stress is considerably influenced by several aspects of their genetic system. Adaptation can only occur if the population possesses or generates heritable genetic variation influencing fitness in the new environment. During the period of adaptation, phenotypic characteristics of the population (such as plant health and density) will also be influenced by the frequency and pleiotropic effects of the genes being selected. The purpose of this paper is to consider these genetic issues. It does not include a comprehensive review of the literature on the genetics of pollution resistance, but rather compares the various approaches which can be taken to characterize the genetics of resistance in natural populations.

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Authors
  1. Mikeal L. Roose
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Desert Research Institute and Department of Environmental and Resource Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada, 89506-0220, USA

    George E. Taylor Jr.

  2. Ecological Studies Program, Electric Power Research Institute, 3412 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California, 94303, USA

    Louis F. Pitelka

  3. Department of Botany and Plant Science, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, California, 92521, USA

    Michael T. Clegg

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© 1991 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

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Roose, M.L. (1991). Genetics of Response to Atmospheric Pollutants. In: Taylor, G.E., Pitelka, L.F., Clegg, M.T. (eds) Ecological Genetics and Air Pollution. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3060-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3060-1_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7780-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-3060-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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