Gene duplication might resolve intralocus sexual conflict

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 558-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Gallach ◽  
Esther Betrán
Keyword(s):  
Gene Duplication ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Intralocus Sexual Conflict

scholarly journals Genomic signatures of globally enhanced gene duplicate accumulation in the megadiverse higher Diptera fueling intralocus sexual conflict resolution

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10012
Author(s):  
Riyue Bao ◽  
Markus Friedrich
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Gene Duplication ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Sequence Divergence ◽  
Gene Families ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Background Rate ◽  
Intralocus Sexual Conflict ◽  
Evolutionary Innovation ◽  
Gene Duplicate

Gene duplication is an important source of evolutionary innovation. To explore the relative impact of gene duplication during the diversification of major insect model system lineages, we performed a comparative analysis of lineage-specific gene duplications in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Brachycera), the mosquito Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicomorpha), the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera), and the honeybee Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera). Focusing on close to 6,000 insect core gene families containing maximally six paralogs, we detected a conspicuously higher number of lineage-specific duplications in Drosophila (689) compared to Anopheles (315), Tribolium (386), and Apis (223). Based on analyses of sequence divergence, phylogenetic distribution, and gene ontology information, we present evidence that an increased background rate of gene duplicate accumulation played an exceptional role during the diversification of the higher Diptera (Brachycera), in part by providing enriched opportunities for intralocus sexual conflict resolution, which may have boosted speciation rates during the early radiation of the megadiverse brachyceran subclade Schizophora.

scholarly journals Contrasting effects of intralocus sexual conflict on sexually antagonistic coevolution

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (8) ◽  
pp. E978-E986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya M. Pennell ◽  
Freek J. H. de Haas ◽  
Edward H. Morrow ◽  
G. Sander van Doorn
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Arms Races ◽  
Female Partners ◽  
Intralocus Sexual Conflict ◽  
Antagonistic Coevolution ◽  
Evolutionary Conflict ◽  
Quantitative Genetic Model ◽  
Female Specific ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences

Evolutionary conflict between the sexes can induce arms races in which males evolve traits that are detrimental to the fitness of their female partners, and vice versa. This interlocus sexual conflict (IRSC) has been proposed as a cause of perpetual intersexual antagonistic coevolution with wide-ranging evolutionary consequences. However, theory suggests that the scope for perpetual coevolution is limited, if traits involved in IRSC are subject to pleiotropic constraints. Here, we consider a biologically plausible form of pleiotropy that has hitherto been ignored in treatments of IRSC and arrive at drastically different conclusions. Our analysis is based on a quantitative genetic model of sexual conflict, in which genes controlling IRSC traits have side effects in the other sex, due to incompletely sex-limited gene expression. As a result, the genes are exposed to intralocus sexual conflict (IASC), a tug-of-war between opposing male- and female-specific selection pressures. We find that the interaction between the two forms of sexual conflict has contrasting effects on antagonistic coevolution: Pleiotropic constraints stabilize the dynamics of arms races if the mating traits are close to evolutionary equilibrium but can prevent populations from ever reaching such a state. Instead, the sexes are drawn into a continuous cycle of arms races, causing the buildup of IASC, alternated by phases of IASC resolution that trigger the next arms race. These results encourage an integrative perspective on the biology of sexual conflict and generally caution against relying exclusively on equilibrium stability analysis.

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