Intralocus Sexual Conflict and the Tragedy of the Commons in Seed Beetles

Berger, David; Martinossi‐Allibert, Ivain; Grieshop, Karl; Lind, Martin I.; Maklakov, Alexei A.; Arnqvist, Göran

doi:10.1086/687963

Cited by 83 publications

(141 citation statements)

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“…This implies that the risk of fixation of male-benefit/female-detriment alleles during inbreeding is higher in male-benefit/female-detriment isofemale lines, and the opposite for female-benefit/male-detriment isofemale lines. With the male-benefit SA isofemale lines of this population already having relatively low female fecundity and population productivity [26], fixation of such alleles via inbreeding would likely further depress female-specific fitness and increase the risk of extinction. We note that this effect would not involve a conventional genetic load maintained by mutation-selection balance [29, 30] but rather a gender load maintained by balancing selection at SA loci.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The population of 41 isofemale lines used in our inbreeding experiment (below) was previously shown to exhibit significant SA genetic variance for fitness under normal environmental conditions [25, 26]. The population was isolated from Vigna unguiculata seed pods collected at a small-scale agricultural field close to Lomé, Togo (06°10'N 01°13'E) during October and November, 2010.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because female offspring production is a crucial aspect of population viability, a paradox emerges: while sexual selection in males may promote population viability by purifying the genome of its SC mutation load [6], the SA genetic variation left behind [12] can pose a severe gender load on the population [15, 22–24]. For example, in a wild-caught population of the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus dominated by SA genetic variance for fitness [25], we have shown that genotypes exhibiting high male fitness exhibit low potential to contribute positively to population growth rate [26]. Indeed, Whitlock and Agrawal [6] point out that the capacity for strong sexual selection in males to purge a population’s mutation load will depend critically on what proportion of the genetic variance for fitness is SA (as well as the degree of phenotypic sexual conflict), where a strong enough gender load could nullify or even reverse the population-level benefits of sexual selection in males.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we test this prediction by measuring lineage extinction under enforced inbreeding among SA genotypes. The population of seed beetle used for this experiment exhibits predominantly SA genetic variance for fitness [25, 26] and we have demonstrated strong sexual selection in males against an induced mutation load on female/population offspring production in this population [11]. We therefore expect that this population has experienced a history of strong sexual selection in males that has contributed to purging some of its SC mutation load, and therefore also contributed to generating its predominantly SA genetic variance for fitness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Male-benefit sexually antagonistic genotypes show elevated vulnerability to inbreeding

2017

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BackgroundThere is theoretical and empirical evidence for strong sexual selection in males having positive effects on population viability by serving to purify the genome of its mutation load at a low demographic cost. However, there is also theoretical and empirical evidence for negative effects of sexual selection on female fitness, and therefore population viability, known as the gender load. This can take the form of sexually antagonistic (SA) genetic variation where alleles with a selective advantage in males pose a detriment to female fitness, and vice versa. Here, using seed beetles, we shed light on a previously unexplored manifestation of the gender load: the effect of SA genetic variation on tolerance to inbreeding.ResultsWe found that genotypes encoding high male, but low female fitness exhibited significantly greater rates of extinction upon enforced inbreeding relative to genotypes encoding high female but low male fitness. Also, genotypes encoding low fitness in both sexes exhibited greater rates of extinction relative to generally high-fitness genotypes (though marginally non-significant), an expected finding attributable to variation in mutation load across genotypes. Despite follow-up investigations aiming to identify the mechanism(s) underlying these findings, it remains unclear whether the gender load and the mutation load have independent consequences for tolerance to inbreeding, or whether these two types of genetic architecture interact epistatically to render male-benefit genetic variation relatively intolerant to inbreeding.ConclusionsRegardless of the underlying mechanism(s), our results show that male-benefit/female-detriment SA genetic variation poses a previously unseen detriment to population viability due to its elevated vulnerability to inbreeding/homozygosity. This suggests that sexual selection in the context of SA genetic variance for fitness may enhance the gender load on population viability more than previously appreciated, due to selecting for male-benefit SA genetic variation that engenders lineages to extinction upon inbreeding. We note that our results imply that SA alleles that are sexually selected for in males may be underrepresented or even lacking in panels of inbred lines.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0981-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Male-benefit sexually antagonistic genotypes show elevated vulnerability to inbreeding

2017

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“…Hence, sexual conflict results in a fitness load for the population as a whole (Berger et al . ) and the evolution of female polymorphism partly reduces this fitness load (Takahashi et al . ).…”

Section: Population Fitness and Genotypic Fitness Are Intimately Connmentioning

confidence: 99%

Back to basics: using colour polymorphisms to study evolutionary processes

Svensson

2017

Molecular Ecology

104

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Here, I suggest that colour polymorphic study systems have been underutilized to answer general questions about evolutionary processes, such as morph frequency dynamics between generations and population divergence in morph frequencies. Colour polymorphisms can be used to study fundamental evolutionary processes like frequency-dependent selection, gene flow, recombination and correlational selection for adaptive character combinations. However, many previous studies of colour polymorphism often suffer from weak connections to population genetic theory. I argue that too much focus has been directed towards noticeable visual traits (colour) at the expense of understanding the evolutionary processes shaping genetic variation and covariation associated with polymorphisms in general. There is thus no need for a specific evolutionary theory for colour polymorphisms beyond the general theory of the maintenance of polymorphisms in spatially or temporally variable environments or through positive or negative frequencydependent selection. I outline an integrative research programme incorporating these processes and suggest some fruitful avenues in future investigations of colour polymorphisms.

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Environmental Changes and Sexually Antagonistic Selection

Connallon

Hall

2018

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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Sexually antagonistic selection (SAS) occurs when the direction of natural selection on a trait, or a combination of traits, differs between the sexes. For example, the different roles of females and males in reproduction, along with different interactions between each sex and the environment, can generate selection for larger body size in one sex and smaller body size in the other – a pattern of selection that may eventually lead to the evolution of sexual size dimorphism. SAS has been documented in several animal and plant populations and is thought to constrain adaptation and reduce population fitness. Recent research has emphasised that the intensity of SAS depends, in part, on environmental conditions of the population, which may vary over time or across each species' geographic range. Theory predicts that SAS should be more common in stable compared to changing environments. These predictions have some experimental support, though the general manner with which environmental changes affect SAS remains an open question. Key Concepts Sexually antagonistic selection arises when the direction of natural selection differs between female and male traits. Sexually antagonistic selection favours the evolution of sex differences (sexual dimorphism). Conditions of the social environment, mating environment and habitat interact to influence the pattern of selection on female and male traits, including the potential for sexually antagonistic selection. Genetic correlations between the sexes constrain the evolution of sex differences and can lead to persistent sexually antagonistic selection. Environmental change can reduce or eliminate sexually antagonistic selection.

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Intralocus Sexual Conflict and the Tragedy of the Commons in Seed Beetles

Cited by 83 publications

References 103 publications

Male-benefit sexually antagonistic genotypes show elevated vulnerability to inbreeding

Male-benefit sexually antagonistic genotypes show elevated vulnerability to inbreeding

Back to basics: using colour polymorphisms to study evolutionary processes

Environmental Changes and Sexually Antagonistic Selection

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