An Evolutionary Cost of Separate Genders Revealed by Male‐Limited Evolution

2006/12/22 by N. G. Prasad, Nagaraj Guru Prasad, Stéphanie Bedhomme +5 · 198 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Adaptation (eye) #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Biology #Demography #Drosophila melanogaster #Evolution and Genetic Dynamics #Evolutionary biology #Experimental evolution #Gene #Genetic Fitness #Genetic load #Genetic variation #Genetics #Genome #Plant and animal studies #Population #Replicate #Selection (genetic algorithm) #Sexual conflict #Sexual dimorphism #Sexual selection #Zoology

paper · doi:10.1086/509941

published in The American Naturalist 169(1), 29-37 (University of Chicago Press)

openalex publication_date 2006/12/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26

Abstract

Theory predicts that intralocus sexual conflict can constrain the evolution of sexual dimorphism, preventing each sex from independently maximizing its fitness. To test this idea, we limited genome-wide gene expression to males in four replicate Drosophila melanogaster populations, removing female-specific selection. Over 25 generations, male fitness increased markedly, as sexually dimorphic traits evolved in the male direction. When male-evolved genomes were expressed in females, their fitness displayed a nearly symmetrical decrease. These results suggest that intralocus conflict strongly limits sex-specific adaptation, promoting the maintenance of genetic variation for fitness. Populations may carry a heavy genetic load as a result of selection for separate genders.

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