An X-linked sex ratio distorter in Drosophila simulans that kills or incapacitates both noncarrier sperm and sons.

ABSTRACT: Genomic conflict occurs when a genomic component gains a reproductive advantage at the expense of the organism as a whole. X-linked segregation distorters kill or incapacitate Y-bearing sperm, thereby gaining a transmission advantage but also reducing male fertility and generating a female-biased sex ratio. When some damaged, Y-bearing sperm survive and fertilize eggs, then the segregation distortion phenotype could be expanded by harming or killing sons in the next generation. X-linked son-killers are predicted by theory to be favored by natural selection and evolve when brothers and sisters compete for shared limiting resources and/or when brothers reduce the inclusive fitness of their sisters via sib-mating-a phenomenon called SA-zygotic drive. Here I develop and use a process-of-elimin

SUBMITTER: Rice WR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4199691 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature