Editing Ploidy (section)

==Less efficient natural selection in diploid compared to haploid tissue==

The concept that those [[gene]]s of an organism that are expressed exclusively in the diploid stage are under less efficient [[natural selection]] than those genes expressed in the haploid stage is referred to as the "masking theory".<ref name="Cervantes-2023">{{cite journal |vauthors=Cervantes S, Kesälahti R, Kumpula TA, Mattila TM, Helanterä H, Pyhäjärvi T |title=Strong Purifying Selection in Haploid Tissue-Specific Genes of Scots Pine Supports the Masking Theory |journal=Mol Biol Evol |volume=40 |issue=8 |pages= |date=August 2023 |pmid=37565532 |pmc=10457172 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msad183 |url=}}</ref> Evidence in support of this masking theory has been reported in studies of the single-celled yeast ''[[Saccharomyces cerevisiae]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Gerstein AC, Cleathero LA, Mandegar MA, Otto SP |title=Haploids adapt faster than diploids across a range of environments |journal=J Evol Biol |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=531–40 |date=March 2011 |pmid=21159002 |doi=10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02188.x |url=}}</ref> In further support of the masking theory, evidence of strong purifying selection in haploid tissue-specific genes has been reported for the plant [[Pinus sylvestris|Scots Pine]].<ref name="Cervantes-2023"/>