Apomixis or asexual reproduction through seeds, enables the preservation of hybrid vigor. Hybrids are heterozygous and segregate for genotype and phenotype upon sexual reproduction. While apomixis, that is, clonal reproduction, is intuitively antithetical to diversity, it is rarely obligate and actually provides a mechanism to recover and maintain superior hybrid gene combinations for which sexual reproduction would reveal deleterious alleles in less fit genotypes. Apomixis, widespread across flowering plant orders, does not occur in major crop species, yet its introduction could add a valuable tool to the breeder's toolbox. In the past decade, discovery of genetic mechanisms regulating meiosis, embryo and endosperm development have facilitated proof-of-concept for the synthesis of apomixis, bringing apomictic crops closer to reality.

中文翻译：

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通过种子进行作物的无性繁殖。

无融合生殖或通过种子的无性繁殖能够保持杂种的活力。杂种是杂合的，并且在有性繁殖时就基因型和表型而言是分离的。无融合生殖，即克隆繁殖，在直觉上与多样性相对立，但它几乎没有必要，实际上提供了一种机制来恢复和维持优良的杂种基因组合，对于这些杂种，有性生殖将揭示不良适应性基因型的有害等位基因。在整个开花植物中普遍存在的无融合生殖，在主要的农作物物种中没有发生，但是它的引入可能为育种者的工具箱增加了一种有价值的工具。在过去的十年中，调控减数分裂，胚胎和胚乳发育的遗传机制的发现促进了无融合生殖合成的概念验证，使无融合生殖作物更接近现实。