Identifying the genetic targets of sexual selection

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Sexual selection influences genomic divergence, for example genes which show sex-biased gene expression are often the most divergent between species. This is sometimes more pronounced in sexually dimorphic species and is therefore thought to reflect the strength of sexual selection. Currently different (even contrasting) patterns of genomic divergence can be interpreted as supporting an influence of sexual selection and conflict on genomic divergence. The resolution and reliability of such patterns is highly debated and unclear. Identifying the precise targets of sexual selection and the signature this leaves in the genome is critical to understanding the importance of this form of selection in evolutionary divergence and speciation. The proposed work will provide an exceptional contribution to resolving how sexual selection acts on genotypes, by leveraging an experimental evolution study which has identified several candidate genes. We will complete functional genetic analyses to confirm the role of these genes and measure the fitness consequences of gene knock outs. We will then upscale this to natural populations and assess the performance of genomic signatures of divergence in natural populations from a range of ecological contexts and levels of evolutionary divergence. This work will provide unprecedented insight into the role of sexual selection in genomic divergence.