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Maternal inheritance, epigenetics and the evolution of polyandry.
1Department of Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA. jaz@unr.edu
Genetica
|August 21, 2007
Summary
Female polyandry may persist due to non-Mendelian inheritance. Mitochondria and epigenetics explain persistent variation in male fitness traits, impacting sperm competition and offspring success.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Genetics
- Reproductive science
Background:
- Polyandry in females is observed to avoid genetic incompatibility or favor genetically superior males.
- Traditional "good genes" models struggle to explain the maintenance of male fitness variation.
- Non-Mendelian inheritance mechanisms offer potential explanations for persistent variation in male fitness traits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To discuss how maternal inheritance of mitochondria and epigenetic regulation of gene expression can explain the persistence of variation in male fitness traits.
- To highlight the overlooked role of female-limited response to selection in sexual selection.
- To explore the implications of epigenetic variation in sperm for post-copulatory sexual selection.
Main Methods:
- Review and discussion of existing literature on non-Mendelian inheritance (mitochondria, epigenetics) in the context of sexual selection.
- Analysis of how mitochondrial inheritance and epigenetic modifications influence male fitness traits.
- Examination of evidence linking sperm epigenetic variation to offspring fitness.
Main Results:
- Maternal inheritance of mitochondria prevents direct selection on male-fitness-related mitochondrial mutations, thus maintaining variation.
- Mitochondrial mutations are implicated as a cause of reduced sperm count and motility in humans.
- Epigenetic variation, influenced by environment and potentially heritable, is prevalent in sperm and may affect offspring fitness.
Conclusions:
- Mitochondrial and epigenetic inheritance mechanisms are crucial for understanding the persistence of variation in male fitness traits.
- Female-limited response to selection and epigenetic contributions to heritable variation in male fitness warrant further evolutionary consideration.
- Epigenetic variation in sperm may play a significant role in post-copulatory sexual selection and offspring quality.
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