Article Dans Une Revue Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Année : 2025

The release of sexual conflict after sex loss is associated with evolutionary changes in gene expression

Résumé

Sexual conflict can arise because males and females, while sharing most of their genome, can have different phenotypic optima. Sexually dimorphic gene expression may help reduce conflict, but the expression of many genes may remain sub-optimal owing to unresolved tensions between the sexes. Asexual lineages lack such conflict, making them relevant models for understanding the extent to which sexual conflict influences gene expression. We investigate the evolution of sexual conflict subsequent to sex loss by contrasting the gene expression patterns of sexual and asexual lineages in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. Although asexual lineages of this aphid produce a small number of males in autumn, their mating opportunities are limited because of geographic isolation between sexual and asexual lineages. Therefore, gene expression in parthenogenetic females of asexual lineages is no longer constrained by that of other morphs. We found that the expression of genes in males from asexual lineages tended towards the parthenogenetic female optimum, in agreement with theoretical predictions. Surprisingly, males and parthenogenetic females of asexual lineages overexpressed genes normally found in the ovaries and testes of sexual morphs. These changes in gene expression in asexual lineages may arise from the relaxation of selection or the dysregulation of gene networks otherwise used in sexual lineages.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
defendini-et-al-2025-the-release-of-sexual-conflict-after-sex-loss-is-associated-with-evolutionary-changes-in-gene.pdf (2.39 Mo) Télécharger le fichier
Origine Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte

Dates et versions

hal-04928700 , version 1 (04-02-2025)

Licence

Identifiants

Citer

Hélène Defendini, Nathalie Prunier-Leterme, Stéphanie Robin, Sonia Lameiras, Sylvain Baulande, et al.. The release of sexual conflict after sex loss is associated with evolutionary changes in gene expression. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2025, 292 (2039), pp.20242631. ⟨10.1098/rspb.2024.2631⟩. ⟨hal-04928700⟩
0 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

More