PopGenSexCon · Linking population genomic and behavioural data to test fundamental hypotheses of sexually antagonistic coevolution.

Linking population genomic and behavioural data to test fundamental hypotheses of sexually antagonistic coevolution.

Sexual conflict and sexually antagonistic coevolution (SAC) are compelling hypotheses to explain some of the extraordinary diversity in morphological and behavioral traits observed in nature. However, the study of the genomic foundations of this conflict and the resulting population genetic dynamics are still in their infancy. This is due to a lack of knowledge about the genetic underpinnings of the most well understood sexual conflict traits. The predictions of SAC, in particular the prediction that relative exaggeration of male and female traits should predict outcomes of mating interactions, remain untested at the genomic level. An exception to the rule are the seminal fluid and female reproductive tract proteins that interact and mediate conflicts over remating rates in the cosmopolitan model species Drosophila melanogaster. However, in this system a population-level perspective to investigate population genomic signals of SAC and the consequences for outcomes of mating interactions within and across populations is lacking. My project will address these remaining questions by taking advantage of a Europe-wide population genetic data-set, as well as an ongoing pan-European collaborative sampling and phenotyping effort of D. melanogaster. My aim is to understand how sexual conflict has shaped co-evolutionary patterns at genetic loci involved in sexually antagonistic traits. In addition, I will investigate the consequences of this genetic coevolution on contemporary male-female interactions. My project has three objectives: i) a population genomic analysis of population genomic data from European D. melanogaster populations, ii) lab-based behavioural experiments to investigate the male-female interactions for inbred lines obtained from populations with extreme patterns of coevolution, iii) and indirect study of the consequences of coevolution on natural behaviour via sampling of wild-caught females and determining mating/re-mating rates. This project will increase our understanding of the role of sexual conflict and sexually antagonistic coevolution in population divergence and set a standard for investigations of the genomic causes and consequences of SAC. I expect this project to produce one or two high-impact manuscripts to be published in top-tier journals as the first test of SAC predictions at the genomic level.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз