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Sex chromosomes manipulate mate choice

Female mate choice in some species selects for traits that are harmful to males. A hypothesis to explain how such mating preferences might evolve puts the spotlight on sex chromosomes.
  1. Mark Kirkpatrick

    1. Mark Kirkpatrick is in the Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.

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Among some of the most spectacular sights in nature are the bizarre mating displays of certain animals. These displays risk decreasing male survival because the bright colours and loud calls of the males might attract predators (Fig. 1). Yet despite this risk of harm, these traits have nevertheless evolved because only the males that can make the most exaggerated displays are chosen by females as mates. An enduring mystery in evolutionary biology is why females of these species have evolved such mating preferences. Writing in Nature, Muralidhar1 uses a population-genetics model to show how these types of preference can evolve if the versions of genes that contribute to the male mating display have beneficial effects when those versions of genes are present in females.

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Nature 570, 311-312 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01714-5

References

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