Intralocus sexual conflict

Intralocus sexual conflict is a type of sexual conflict that occurs when a genetic locus harbours alleles which have opposing effects on the fitness of each sex, such that one allele improves the fitness of males (at the expense of females), while the alternative allele improves the fitness of females (at the expense of males).[1] Such "sexually antagonistic" polymorphisms are ultimately generated by two forces: (i) the divergent reproductive roles of each sex, such as conflicts over optimal mating strategy,[2][3] and (ii) the shared genome of both sexes, which generates positive between-sex genetic correlations for most traits.[4] In the long term, intralocus sexual conflict is resolved when genetic mechanisms evolve that decouple the between-sex genetic correlations between traits. This can be achieved, for example, via the evolution of sex-biased or sex-limited genes.

Intralocus sexual conflict can be considered a form of maladaptation,[5] as it results in a deviation of both sexes from their fitness optima, with both sexes expressing traits that are sub-optimal for that sex's fitness. Intralocus sexual conflict can also be considered a form of pleiotropy, in which genetic variants have opposing effects on different classes of individual within a population (i.e., males and females), rather than opposing effects on different components of fitness (e.g. survival vs. mating success). Intralocus sexual conflict has important implications for the evolution of sexual dimorphism,[6] the evolution of sex chromosomes[7][8] and the maintenance of genetic variation.[9]

  1. ^ Pennell, Tanya; Morrow, Edward H (2013). "Two sexes, one genome: the evolutionary dynamics of intralocus sexual conflict". Ecology and Evolution. 3 (6): 1819–34. Bibcode:2013EcoEv...3.1819P. doi:10.1002/ece3.540. PMC 3686212. PMID 23789088.
  2. ^ Chapman, T; Arnqvist, G; Bangham, J; Rowe, L (2003). "Sexual conflict". Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 18: 41–47. doi:10.1016/s0169-5347(02)00004-6.
  3. ^ Parker, G.A. (1979), "Sexual Selection and Sexual Conflict", Sexual Selection and Reproductive Competition in Insects, Elsevier, pp. 123–166, doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-108750-0.50010-0, ISBN 9780121087500
  4. ^ Bonduriansky, Russell; Chenoweth, Stephen F (2009). "Intralocus sexual conflict". Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 24 (5): 280–8. Bibcode:2009TEcoE..24..280B. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.12.005. PMID 19307043.
  5. ^ Connallon, Tim; Hall, Matthew D (2018). "Genetic constraints on adaptation: a theoretical primer for the genomics era". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1422 (1): 65–87. Bibcode:2018NYASA1422...65C. doi:10.1111/nyas.13536. PMID 29363779.
  6. ^ Matthews, Genevieve; Hangartner, Sandra; Chapple, David G; Connallon, Tim (2019). "Quantifying maladaptation during the evolution of sexual dimorphism". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286 (1908): 20191372. doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.1372. PMC 6710593. PMID 31409252.
  7. ^ Rice, William R (1984). "Sex Chromosomes and the Evolution of Sexual Dimorphism". Evolution. 38 (4): 735–742. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1984.tb00346.x. PMID 28555827.
  8. ^ Guerrero, Rafael F; Kirkpatrick, Mark (2014). "Signatures of sex-antagonistic selection on recombining sex chromosomes". Genetics. 197 (2): 531–41. doi:10.1534/genetics.113.156026. PMC 4063913. PMID 24578352.
  9. ^ Connallon, Tim; Clark, Andrew (2012). "A general population genetic framework for antagonistic selection that accounts for demography and recurrent mutation". Genetics. 190 (4): 1477–89. doi:10.1534/genetics.111.137117. PMC 3316657. PMID 22298707.