| Presentation Detail
Selection, Sexual Jacobs-Palmer, Emily [1], Fisher, Heidi [1], Hoekstra, Hopi [2]. Prkar1a shapes the development of a sexually selected sperm trait in Peromyscus mice. Post-copulatory sexual selection leads to the exceptionally rapid evolution of genes expressed in reproductive tissues, but little is known of the relationship between these genetic changes and their phenotypic and fitness consequences in natural populations. In a cross between promiscuous and monogamous species of wild mice, which differ in their levels of post-copulatory sexual selection, we demonstrate that a single morphological trait, sperm midpiece length, correlates with sperm performance and male reproductive success. Using a QTL mapping strategy, we further show that the Prkar1a gene underlies this variation in both midpiece length and paternity. Although Prkar1a is expressed throughout the body, we identify differences in mRNA transcript levels between promiscuous and monogamous mice that are particular to the testis. We thus link genotype, phenotype, and fitness for a sexually selected trait, and demonstrate that the rapid evolution of such traits may occur via tissue-specific changes to ubiquitously expressed genes.
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1 - Harvard University, Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Hoekstra Laboratory, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States
2 - Harvard University, Organismic & Evolutionary Biology / Molecular & Cellular Biology, Hoekstra Laboratory, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States
Keywords:
sexual selection
sperm competition
Quantitative Genetics
Adaptation
Peromyscus.
Presentation Type: Regular Oral Presentation
Session: 4
Location: Cotton A/Snowbird Center
Date: Saturday, June 22nd, 2013
Time: 9:30 AM
Number: 4005
Abstract ID:308
Candidate for Awards:W.D. Hamilton Award for Outstanding Student Presentation |
