Orthologous genes identified by transcriptome sequencing in the spider genus Stegodyphus.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The evolution of sociality in spiders involves a transition from an outcrossing to a highly inbreeding mating system, a shift to a female biased sex ratio, and an increase in the reproductive skew among individuals. Taken together, these features are expected to result in a strong reduction in the effective population size. Such a decline in effective population size is expected to affect population genetic and molecular evolutionary processes, resulting in reduced genetic diversity and relaxed selective constraint across the genome. In the genus Stegodyphus, permanent sociality and regular inbreeding has evolved independently three times from periodic-social (outcrossing) ancestors. This genus is therefore an ideal model for comparative studies of the molecular evolutio

SUBMITTER: Mattila TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3350440 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature