Genetic war between the sexes

The evolutionary interests of males and females are often worlds apart, and traits considered beneficial to one may be detrimental to the other. Such 'sexual conflict' results in a genetic tug-of-war, a relatively common occurrence but one that has received little attention, despite its importance to evolution.

In a first-of-its-kind field study, the EU-funded 'Genetic architecture of intralocus sexual conflict in a wild bird population' (SEXUAL CONFLICT) project explored this phenomenon's genetic architecture. Specifically, the project focused on a long-term study of the great tit bird to assess the importance of genetic sexual conflict in population dynamics and species evolution.

Scientists used genetic mapping to determine if the genes controlling body size in each sex changed in relation to the environment over time. Statistics were used to predict whether the hereditary traits favoured the success of one sex over another or changed the ratio of male-to-female offspring.

They found that the traits were highly heritable and that they were controlled by the same genes in both sexes. The traits were also genetically correlated between the sexes, and they affected the rate of adaptation over time.

Overall, this research project has made significant contributions to our understanding of the role of genetic sexual conflict in the evolutionary process. Knowledge about the genetic basis of differences in males and females is pertinent to plant and animal breeding, as well as human medical genetics.