Gene-poor Y-chromosomes substantially impact male trait heritabilities and may help shape sexually dimorphic evolution.

ABSTRACT: How natural selection facilitates sexually dimorphic evolution despite a shared genome is unclear. The patrilineal inheritance of Y-chromosomes makes them an appealing solution. However, they have largely been dismissed due to their gene-poor, heterochromatic nature and because the additive genetic variation necessary for adaptive evolution is theoretically difficult to maintain. Further, previous empirical work has revealed mostly Y-linked sign epistatic variance segregating within populations, which can often impede adaptive evolution. To assess the evolutionary impact of Y-linked variation, we established replicate populations in Drosophila simulans containing multiple Y-chromosomes (YN populations) or a single Y-chromosome variant (Y1 populations) drawn from a single population. We est

SUBMITTER: Nielsen TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10076275 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature