Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Thea F. Rogers, Daniela H. Palmer, Alison E. Wright
Summary: Research shows that sex-specific patterns of splicing are correlated with phenotypic sex differences and may offer an important route to sex-specific adaptation. Understanding the role of gene regulation in males and females is crucial for the evolution of phenotypic sexual dimorphism.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Evan Mitchell, Andrea L. Graham, Francisco Ubeda, Geoff Wild
Summary: Women generally exhibit stronger immune responses and pathogens tend to be more virulent in men, which current explanations cannot account for. This study proposes an alternative explanation based on the transmission of pathogens from mother to child, using a mathematical model of the co-evolution of host immunocompetence and pathogen virulence.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Tyler N. Wittman, Christopher D. Robinson, Joel W. McGlothlin, Robert M. Cox
Summary: This study experimentally demonstrated that hormonal pleiotropy structures genetic variance and covariance, suggesting that hormones play an important role in mediating evolutionary responses to selection. Hormones, like testosterone, can alter genetic parameters that determine how a population will respond to selection, with implications for the evolution of sexually dimorphic traits.
Article
Biology
Leslie M. Kollar, Scott Kiel, Ashley J. James, Cody T. Carnley, Danielle N. Scola, Taylor N. Clark, Tikahari Khanal, Todd N. Rosenstiel, Elliott T. Gall, Karl Grieshop, Stuart F. McDaniel
Summary: The study identified genetic variation for fitness in natural populations can be maintained by sexual antagonism and revealed the genetic architecture of sexual dimorphism in a moss species. The findings suggest that the response to sexually antagonistic or sexually concordant selection is dependent on the traits experiencing selection, and sex-specific genetic architectures have evolved to partly resolve multivariate genetic constraints.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fleur van Eyndhoven, Elissa Z. Cameron, Sarah P. Flanagan
Summary: This study reports courtship displays in the wide-bodied pipefish, a species with extreme sexual dimorphism. Surprisingly, females also use their sex-specific ornament during courtship, while males initiate chasing behaviors in some cases. These findings provide important insights into the potential roles of sexual selection and sexual conflict in shaping sexual dimorphism.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Peipei Huang, Wenjie Guo, Yuhong Wang, Yang Xiong, Si Ge, Gaorui Gong, Qiaohong Lin, Zhen Xu, Jian-Fang Gui, Jie Mei
Summary: This study used GWAS to identify candidate SNPs and genes related to body length and body weight in yellow catfish. Significant associations were found, and a gene related to sexual size dimorphism was also discovered.
Review
Neurosciences
Olesya Shirokova, Olga Zaborskaya, Pavel Pchelin, Elizaveta Kozliaeva, Vladimir Pershin, Irina Mukhina
Summary: In recent years, there has been increasing attention on the various aspects of sexual dimorphism in theoretical and applied biomedicine and neurobiology. This is because male and female brain cells demonstrate differences during aging, such as a dimorphic response to therapy for neurodegenerative disorders, different age of onset and prevalence of such disorders, and symptomatic differences between genders. This review aims to outline the genetic and epigenetic differences in brain cells during aging in males and females, showing that these differences are influenced by factors associated with sex chromosomes and subsequent changes in signal cascades in somatic cells.
Article
Biology
Rok Golobinek, Matjaz Gregoric, Simona Kralj-Fiser
Summary: The study focuses on the Mediterranean black widow spider species, investigating how body size and aggressive behaviors influence mating behavior, mating success, and sexual cannibalism. Results show that individual variation in aggression levels does not play a direct role in mating behavior, but body size affects male mating success and the occurrence of sexual cannibalism in females.
Article
Ecology
Simona Kralj-Fiser, Jutta M. Schneider, Matjaz Kuntner, Kate Laskowski, Francisco Garcia-Gonzalez
Summary: Genetic differences in aggression, activity, and exploration were found between sexes in a sexually size-dimorphic spider species, while no differences were observed in boldness. However, the high degree of uncertainty in the estimates prevents a robust conclusion on sex differences in genetic influences.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biology
Patrick T. Rohner, David M. Linz, Armin P. Moczek
Summary: The study found that gene networks associated with trait exaggeration are highly dependent on precise developmental contexts, and the doublesex gene shapes morphological exaggeration differently in different developmental contexts. The context-specific dsx-mediated trait exaggeration may diversify rapidly.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biology
Basabi Bagchi, Quentin Corbel, Imroze Khan, Ellen Payne, Devshuvam Banerji, Johanna Liljestrand-Ronn, Ivain Martinossi-Allibert, Julian Baur, Ahmed Sayadi, Elina Immonen, Goran Arnqvist, Irene Soderhall, David Berger
Summary: Our study reveals that female seed beetles have higher phenoloxidase (PO) activity compared to males, and there are sex differences in the expression of genes in the prophenoloxidase activating cascade. Experimental evolution under enforced monogamy led to a decrease in female PO activity and an increase in tolerance to bacterial infection unrelated to mating. Additionally, female PO activity is correlated with male genitalia harmfulness across 12 species of seed beetles, suggesting that sexual conflict influences sexual dimorphisms in immunity in this group of insects.
Article
Ecology
Jane M. Reid
Summary: Sex-specific dominance reversals (SSDRs) can simultaneously maintain genetic variation in fitness and resolve sexual conflict, shaping evolutionary outcomes. Recent studies show the possibility of SSDRs in threshold traits, which could promote their emergence. Under certain genetic architectures and competitive reproductive systems, SSDRs can easily emerge in threshold traits. Further research is needed to understand the basis and occurrence of SSDRs in nature, as well as their impact on sexual conflict.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Caihong Han, Qionglin Peng, Mengshi Sun, Xinyu Jiang, Xiangbin Su, Jiangtao Chen, Mingze Ma, Huan Zhu, Xiaoxiao Ji, Yufeng Pan
Summary: Most animal species exhibit dimorphic sexual behaviors, with males showing higher levels of aggression. Current models have focused on the male-specific product of the fruitless gene, fruM, which controls male courtship and male-specific aggression patterns in fruit flies and describes a male-specific mechanism underlying sexually dimorphic behaviors. This study demonstrates that the doublesex gene (dsx), which produces male-specific DsxM and female-specific DsxF transcription factors, also plays a role in the nervous system to control both male and female sexual and aggressive behaviors.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pamela C. Lovejoy, Kate E. Foley, Melissa M. Conti, Samantha M. Meadows, Christopher Bishop, Anthony C. Fiumera
Summary: Toxicant resistance is a complex trait influenced by genetics and environment, with sexual dimorphism and significant interactions between sexes in susceptibility genes. Despite a positive correlation, differences in susceptibility and gene associations between males and females highlight the importance of considering both sexes in toxicant susceptibility studies.
Article
Ecology
Xiang-Yi Li Richter, Brian Hollis
Summary: Sexual selection and sexual conflict are important in driving the evolution of male and female traits. Experimental evolution studies provide a powerful approach for comparing evolutionary trajectories under different treatments, such as mating systems, but clear theoretical predictions on the effects of different mating systems are lacking.
