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Female-limited X-chromosome evolution effects on male pre- and post-copulatory success

Manat, Yesbol LU ; Lund-Hansen, Katrine K. LU orcid ; Katsianis, Georgios and Abbott, Jessica K. LU orcid (2021) In Biology letters 17(3).
Abstract

Intralocus sexual conflict arises when the expression of shared alleles at a single locus generates opposite fitness effects in each sex (i.e. sexually antagonistic alleles), preventing each sex from reaching its sex-specific optimum. Despite its importance to reproductive success, the relative contribution of intralocus sexual conflict to male pre- and post-copulatory success is not well-understood. Here, we used a female-limited X-chromosome (FLX) evolution experiment in Drosophila melanogaster to limit the inheritance of the X-chromosome to the matriline, eliminating possible counter-selection in males and allowing the X-chromosome to accumulate female-benefit alleles. After more than 100 generations of FLX evolution, we studied the... (More)

Intralocus sexual conflict arises when the expression of shared alleles at a single locus generates opposite fitness effects in each sex (i.e. sexually antagonistic alleles), preventing each sex from reaching its sex-specific optimum. Despite its importance to reproductive success, the relative contribution of intralocus sexual conflict to male pre- and post-copulatory success is not well-understood. Here, we used a female-limited X-chromosome (FLX) evolution experiment in Drosophila melanogaster to limit the inheritance of the X-chromosome to the matriline, eliminating possible counter-selection in males and allowing the X-chromosome to accumulate female-benefit alleles. After more than 100 generations of FLX evolution, we studied the effect of the evolved X-chromosome on male attractiveness and sperm competitiveness. We found a non-significant increase in attractiveness and decrease in sperm offence ability in males expressing the evolved X-chromosomes, but a significant increase in their ability to avoid displacement by other males' sperm. This is consistent with a trade-off between these traits, perhaps mediated by differences in body size, causing a small net reduction in overall male fitness in the FLX lines. These results indicate that the X-chromosome in D. melanogaster is subject to selection via intralocus sexual conflict in males.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
intralocus sexual conflict, male attractiveness, male fitness, sperm competition, X-chromosome
in
Biology letters
volume
17
issue
3
article number
20200915
publisher
Royal Society Publishing
external identifiers
  • pmid:33653095
  • scopus:85102327712
ISSN
1744-9561
DOI
10.1098/rsbl.2020.0915
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
97f69628-12af-451e-ba5f-19a86b9cca0d
date added to LUP
2021-03-24 13:55:41
date last changed
2024-06-15 08:33:55
@article{97f69628-12af-451e-ba5f-19a86b9cca0d,
  abstract     = {{<p>Intralocus sexual conflict arises when the expression of shared alleles at a single locus generates opposite fitness effects in each sex (i.e. sexually antagonistic alleles), preventing each sex from reaching its sex-specific optimum. Despite its importance to reproductive success, the relative contribution of intralocus sexual conflict to male pre- and post-copulatory success is not well-understood. Here, we used a female-limited X-chromosome (FLX) evolution experiment in Drosophila melanogaster to limit the inheritance of the X-chromosome to the matriline, eliminating possible counter-selection in males and allowing the X-chromosome to accumulate female-benefit alleles. After more than 100 generations of FLX evolution, we studied the effect of the evolved X-chromosome on male attractiveness and sperm competitiveness. We found a non-significant increase in attractiveness and decrease in sperm offence ability in males expressing the evolved X-chromosomes, but a significant increase in their ability to avoid displacement by other males' sperm. This is consistent with a trade-off between these traits, perhaps mediated by differences in body size, causing a small net reduction in overall male fitness in the FLX lines. These results indicate that the X-chromosome in D. melanogaster is subject to selection via intralocus sexual conflict in males.</p>}},
  author       = {{Manat, Yesbol and Lund-Hansen, Katrine K. and Katsianis, Georgios and Abbott, Jessica K.}},
  issn         = {{1744-9561}},
  keywords     = {{intralocus sexual conflict; male attractiveness; male fitness; sperm competition; X-chromosome}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
  series       = {{Biology letters}},
  title        = {{Female-limited X-chromosome evolution effects on male pre- and post-copulatory success}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0915}},
  doi          = {{10.1098/rsbl.2020.0915}},
  volume       = {{17}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}