The Role of Gene Duplication in Resolving Sexually Antagonistic Selection in Drosophila

性选择是进化的主要驱动力，往往会导致男性和女性的特征截然不同。最近发现，基因复制也是进化多样化的一个重要因素。这项研究试图了解年轻的基因复制是如何在性对抗选择下进化出性别特有的基本功能的。雄性和雌性虽然分享了大部分DNA，但满足了生殖和生存的不同功能要求。在具有共同遗传基础的特征上进行性别选择可能会对两性产生相反的影响，导致性别冲突(SC)，这可能会降低适应度，直到通过新的基因变化解决冲突。这个项目提出了这样的假设，即基因复制是解决性别冲突的有效机制，将果蝇作为一种方便的模式生物。在追求这些目标的过程中，博士后、毕业生、本科生和高中生将接受分子和进化生物学方面的培训。该项目还将与伊利诺伊州数学和科学学院合作，通过讲座和暑期实习让不同的高中生参与到这项研究中。该项目专注于最近在果蝇中复制的一对基因(APL和ART)，它们对两性健康的影响相反。将对蛋白质序列中的功能进化进行表征，以了解蛋白质差异在缓解性冲突中的作用。APL和ARTS的祖先基因随后将通过计算重建和实验合成。然后，将使用基因编辑技术创造一系列基因工程果蝇品系，用不同版本的合成祖先基因取代携带APL和ART的野生型基因座。不同调控区域的结构表达的差异将揭示它们在缓解性冲突中的作用。复制介导的SC解析模型的通用性将通过使用基因敲除和救援分析检查一系列具有性别互补表达模式的最近基因复制来测试。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Sexual selection is a major driver of evolution, often resulting in drastically different characteristics between males and females. Recently it has become clear that gene duplication is also a powerful contributor to evolutionary diversification. This research seeks to understand how young gene duplicates evolve sex-specific essential functions under sexually antagonistic selection. Males and females, while sharing most of their DNA, satisfy different functional requirements for reproduction and survival. Sexual selection on traits with a shared genetic basis can have opposing effects in the two sexes, causing sexual conflict (SC) that may reduce fitness until the conflict is resolved by new genetic changes. This project addresses the hypothesis that gene duplication is an effective mechanism to resolve sexual conflict, using the fruit fly as a convenient model organism. In pursuing these aims, postdocs, graduates, undergraduates and high school students will be trained in molecular and evolutionary biology. The project will also partner with the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy to involve diverse high school students in the research through lectures and summer internships.This project focuses on a pair of recently duplicated genes (Apl and Arts) in Drosophila that have opposing fitness effects in the two sexes. The functional evolution in the protein sequences will be characterized to understand the role of protein divergence in mitigation of sexual conflict. The ancestral gene from which Apl and Arts were derived will then be computationally reconstructed and experimentally synthesized. A series of engineered Drosophila strains will then be created using gene editing technology, with different versions of the synthesized ancestral gene replacing the wildtype gene locus which harbors Apl and Arts. Divergence in expression of constructs with different regulatory regions will reveal their role in mitigating sexual conflict. The generality of the duplication-mediated SC resolution model will be tested by examining a score of recent gene duplicates with sex complementary expression patterns using gene knockout and rescue analyses.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.