Quantitatively determined self-incompatibility : 1. Theoretical considerations.

It has been reported that incomplete self-incompatibility could be determined in Borago officinalis by many genes. Simple ten-gene models for such enforced cross-fertilization have been developed and their properties examined by computer simulation. Mutation rates necessary to maintain a given level of variability in small populations are high, as already determined theoretically for oligogenic self-incompatibility systems. However, the extent of ineffective pollination is very much greater in the ten-gene system. This finding may be verifiable in borage if it is indeed self-incompatible.