Assessing the Association Between Sex-Linkage and Sexual Dimorphism: A Novel Quantitative Genetic Approach.

同一物种中的雄性和雌性通常在大小和形状上有很大的不同，这种现象被称为两性二态性。这个项目想知道，尽管男性和女性的基因组基本相同，但这种二态性是如何产生的。它以水黾为模型系统，验证了两性二态性状特别受性染色体上基因（性连锁基因）影响的假设。一种新的实验育种设计将使研究人员能够测量性别连锁基因对一系列性状的影响，从性单态到性二态再到性限制性（仅在雄性中发现）。这项研究的一个主要进展是量化遗传变异的各个方面，这些方面在以前所有的性别连锁效应研究中都被混为一谈。研究结果将揭示允许对性分化选择作出反应的遗传机制，更广泛地说，将增加我们对性染色体功能的理解。此外，这项研究将为遗传分析提供新的统计算法，这些算法将被纳入一个软件包以供传播。该项目还为许多研究生和本科生提供研究机会，为外联和非专业课程提供教学材料，并支持一个专门的研究基础设施，吸引国内和国际合作者。

Males and females within species often differ dramatically in size and shape, a phenomenon known as sexual dimorphism. This project asks how such dimorphisms can arise despite the substantively identical genomes of males and females. It tests the hypothesis that sexually dimorphic traits are particularly influenced by genes on the sex chromosomes (sex-linked genes), using water striders as a model system. A novel experimental breeding design will enable the investigators to measure the influence of sex-linked genes on a suite of traits ranging from sexually monomorphic, through sexually dimorphic to sex-limited (found only in males). A major advance of this research is quantifying aspects of genetic variance that have been conflated in all previous investigations of sex-linked effects. The results will reveal the genetic mechanisms that allow response to sexually-divergent selection and, more generally, will increase our understanding of the functionality of sex-chromosomes.In addition, this research will contribute new statistical algorithms for genetic analyses and these will be incorporated into a software package for dissemination. The project also provides research opportunities for many graduate and undergraduate students, contributes pedagogical materials for outreach and non-specialist courses, and supports a specialized research infrastructure that draws national and international collaborators.