TY - JOUR
T1 - Y chromosome-linked variation affects locomotor activity in male Drosophila melanogaster and is robust to differences in thermal environment
AU - Layh, Sean
AU - Nagarajan-Radha, Venkatesh
AU - Lemos, Bernardo
AU - Dowling, Damian K.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the Dowling lab for their support, especially Dr Winston Yee for maintaining the genetic lines. The study received no external funding. SL was funded by an Australian RTP scholarship and Monash Graduate Excellence Scholarship and DKD’s salary was funded by an ARC Future Fellowship (FT160100022) while writing the paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/3/13
Y1 - 2023/3/13
N2 - Although containing genes important for sex determination, genetic variation within the Y chromosome was traditionally predicted to contribute little to the expression of sexually dimorphic traits. This prediction was shaped by the assumption that the chromosome harbours few protein-coding genes, and that capacity for Y-linked variation to shape adaptation would be hindered by the chromosome’s lack of recombination and holandric inheritance. Consequently, most studies exploring the genotypic contributions to sexually dimorphic traits have focused on the autosomes and X chromosome. Yet, several studies have now demonstrated that the Y chromosome harbours variation affecting male fitness, moderating the expression of hundreds of genes across the nuclear genome. Furthermore, emerging results have shown that expression of this Y-linked variation may be sensitive to environmental heterogeneity, leading to the prediction that Y-mediated gene-by-environment interactions will shape the expression of sexually dimorphic phenotypes. We tested this prediction, investigating whether genetic variation across six distinct Y chromosome haplotypes affects the expression of locomotor activity, at each of two temperatures (20 and 28 °C) in male fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Locomotor activity is a sexually dimorphic trait in this species, previously demonstrated to be under intralocus sexual conflict. We demonstrate Y haplotype effects on male locomotor activity, but the rank order and magnitude of these effects were unaltered by differences in temperature. Our study contributes to a growing number of studies demonstrating Y-linked effects moderating expression of traits evolving under sexually antagonistic selection, suggesting a role for the Y chromosome in shaping outcomes of sexual conflict.
AB - Although containing genes important for sex determination, genetic variation within the Y chromosome was traditionally predicted to contribute little to the expression of sexually dimorphic traits. This prediction was shaped by the assumption that the chromosome harbours few protein-coding genes, and that capacity for Y-linked variation to shape adaptation would be hindered by the chromosome’s lack of recombination and holandric inheritance. Consequently, most studies exploring the genotypic contributions to sexually dimorphic traits have focused on the autosomes and X chromosome. Yet, several studies have now demonstrated that the Y chromosome harbours variation affecting male fitness, moderating the expression of hundreds of genes across the nuclear genome. Furthermore, emerging results have shown that expression of this Y-linked variation may be sensitive to environmental heterogeneity, leading to the prediction that Y-mediated gene-by-environment interactions will shape the expression of sexually dimorphic phenotypes. We tested this prediction, investigating whether genetic variation across six distinct Y chromosome haplotypes affects the expression of locomotor activity, at each of two temperatures (20 and 28 °C) in male fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Locomotor activity is a sexually dimorphic trait in this species, previously demonstrated to be under intralocus sexual conflict. We demonstrate Y haplotype effects on male locomotor activity, but the rank order and magnitude of these effects were unaltered by differences in temperature. Our study contributes to a growing number of studies demonstrating Y-linked effects moderating expression of traits evolving under sexually antagonistic selection, suggesting a role for the Y chromosome in shaping outcomes of sexual conflict.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149909317&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41437-023-00604-x
DO - 10.1038/s41437-023-00604-x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85149909317
SN - 0018-067X
VL - 130
SP - 312
EP - 319
JO - Heredity
JF - Heredity
ER -