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Sex-Biased Gene Expression Under Sexually Antagonistic and Sex-Limited Selection
R Axel W Wiberg1,2, Martyna K Zwoinska1, Philipp Kaufman1
1Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala 752 36, Sweden.
Molecular Biology and Evolution
|July 29, 2025
Summary
Sexually antagonistic selection imposes transcriptomic constraints, showing that sex-biased gene expression evolves differently depending on selection type. This impacts understanding sexual dimorphism evolution.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genomics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Sex differences in gene expression are common and drive phenotypic sexual dimorphism.
- The influence of sex-specific selection on transcriptomes is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate constraints on gene expression evolution due to selection mode and genetic architecture.
- Examine the link between sex-biased expression and evolved sexual dimorphism.
Main Methods:
- Utilized body size selection lines in seed beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus).
- Applied sex-limited (SL) and sexually antagonistic (SA) selection regimes.
- Analyzed phenotypic and transcriptomic responses to selection.
Main Results:
- Sex-limited selection led to greater expression differentiation and sex-biased expression than sexually antagonistic selection.
- Sexually antagonistic selection imposes transcriptomic constraints and is not essential for sex-bias evolution.
- Sex-biased transcripts exhibit lower cross-sex expression correlations, indicating distinct genetic architectures.
Conclusions:
- Sexually antagonistic selection constrains transcriptomic evolution and is not required for sex-bias.
- No transcriptome-wide association was found between sex-bias and sexual dimorphism.
- Findings offer insights into inferring selection history from sex-biased gene expression in natural populations.
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