Genomic evidence for males of exceptional reproductive output (ERO) in apes and humans.

ABSTRACT: It is widely suspected that a small percentage of males have exceptional reproductive output (ERO) but progeny numbers of males are rarely measurable, even in humans. If we define the variance ratio of reproductive-output in males and females as α' = V_M /V_F , the ERO hypothesis would predict α' ≫ 1. Since autosomal, X, and, Y chromosomes are found in males 1/2, 1/3, and 100% of the time, their DNA diversities can inform about α'. For example, autosomal and Y-linked diversities are governed, respectively, by (V_M  + V_F )/2 and V_M . When comparing the chromosomal diversities, α' appears to be near 20 for chimpanzees and orangutans, and 1-10 for gorillas. The exception is bonob

SUBMITTER: Wang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12418932 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature