Question

How would you expect heritability to change if the same population of organisms was put in a stressful environment? For example, how would you predict heritability of plant flower size would change if there were a severe drought? Why? (1 pt)

Answer 1

Heritability is used in the fields of breeding and genetics that estimates the degree of variation in a phenotypic trait in a population that is due to genetic variation between individuals in that population.

Heritability does not change in the intense environment. However, changes are made in the form of adaptations which accommodate the new characters. As far as drought is concerned which is a kind of abiotic stress, brings a lot of changes in the plant. Drought treatment from just after the onset of flowering to seed maturation caused an early arrest of floral development and sterility. Floral defects included abnormal anther development, lower pollen viability, reduced filament elongation, ovule abortion, and failure of flowers to open.

Thus, plants have evolved different strategies to cope with water deficit, including modification of their growth and timing of developmental events such as flowering.