Sex-Biased Gene Expression Under Sexually Antagonistic and Sex-Limited Selection.

ABSTRACT: Sex differences in gene expression are ubiquitous, evolve quickly, and are expected to underlie phenotypic sexual dimorphism (SD). Despite long-standing interest, the impact of sex-specific selection on the transcriptome remains poorly understood. Here, we test fundamental questions on the role of constraints on gene expression evolution arising from the mode of selection and genetic architecture. We also test the relationship between sex-biased expression and evolved SD. We assess these using body size selection lines in the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, that have evolved variation in SD in response to either sex-limited (SL) or sexually antagonistic (SA). We find that sex differences in the phenotypic responses and expression changes are generally well aligned. SL selection, des

SUBMITTER: Wiberg RAW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12371189 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature