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PubMed2006

Post-mating sexual selection increases lifetime fitness of polyandrous females in the wild.

Females often mate with several males before producing offspring. Field studies of vertebrates suggest, and laboratory experiments on invertebrates confirm, that even when males provide no material benefits, polyandry can enhance offspring survival. This enhancement is widely attributed to genetic benefits that arise whenever paternity is biased towards males that sire more viable offspring. Field studies suggest that post-mating sexual selection biases fertilization towards genetically more compatible males and one controlled experiment has shown that, when females mate with close kin, polyandry reduces the relative number of inbred offspring. Another potential genetic benefit of polyandry is that it increases offspring survival because males with more competitive ejaculates sire more viable offspring. Surprisingly, however, there is no unequivocal evidence for this process. Here, by experimentally assigning mates to females, we show that polyandry greatly increases offspring survival in the Australian marsupial Antechinus stuartii. DNA profiling shows that males that gain high paternity under sperm competition sire offspring that are more viable. This beneficial effect occurs in both the laboratory and the wild. Crucially, there are no confounding non-genetic maternal effects that could arise if polyandry increases female investment in a particular reproductive event because A. stuartii is effectively semelparous. Our results therefore show that polyandry improves female lifetime fitness in nature. The threefold increase in offspring survival is not negated by a decline in maternal lifespan and is too large to be offset by an equivalent decline in the reproductive performance of surviving offspring.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

A new genus of long-legged flies displaying remarkable wing directional asymmetry.

A previously unknown group of flies is described whose males exhibit directional asymmetry, in that the left wing is larger than, and of a different shape from, the right wing. To our knowledge, wing asymmetry of this degree has not previously been reported in an animal capable of flight. Such consistent asymmetry must result from a left-right axis during development, a level of differentiation whose existence has been questioned for insects. Wing asymmetry of this magnitude has implications for questions in areas of development, natural selection, flight, mate selection and communication in insects. The 'handicap principle' provides a possible explanation: females will choose a mate with the greatest handicap because his survival, in spite of his handicap, is a measure of his genetic superiority.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Evidence of social effects on mate choice in vertebrates.

Study of determinants of mate selection by animals has a long history in evolutionary biology and behavioural ecology. However, only during the past decade have investigators begun to conduct experiments exploring the various ways in which observation of the behaviour of others might influence mate selection. Here, we review both field and laboratory studies of behavioural processes that underlie non-independence in mate choice, discussing both direct and indirect social influences on mate selection. We focus on laboratory studies in which guppies and Japanese quail, species that have received greatest attention from investigators, have served as subjects. Although much is now known about how public information can affect mate selection in controlled environments, there are still significant gaps in our knowledge of whether and how such information contributes to mate selections by members of free-living populations.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

On the relative importance of haplodiploidy, assortative mating and social synergy on the evolutionary emergence of social behavior.

Advances in multiagent simulation techniques make it possible to study more realistic dynamics of complex systems and allow evolutionary theories to be tested. Here I use simulations to assess the relative importance of reproductive systems (haplodiploidy vs. diploidy), mate selection (assortative mating vs. random mating) and social economics (pay-off matrices of evolutionary games) in the evolutionary dynamics leading to the emergence of social cooperation in the provision of parental care. The simulations confirm that haplo-diploid organisms and organisms mating assortatively have a higher probability for fixing alleles and require less favorable conditions for their fixation, than diploids or organisms mating randomly. The simulations showed that social behavior was most likely to emerge a) when the cost for parental investment was much lower than the benefits to the offspring, b) when cooperation improved synergistically the fitness of offspring compared to the corresponding egoistic behavior and c) when alleles coding for altruistic or social behavior could be rapidly fixed in the population, thanks to mechanisms such as haplo-diploidy and/or assortative mating. Cooperative social behavior always appeared if sociality conferred much higher fitness gains compared to non cooperative alternatives suggesting that the most important factors for the emergence and maintenance of social behavior are those based on energetic or efficiency considerations. The simulations, in congruence with the scant experimental evidence available, suggest that economic considerations rather than genetic ones are critical in explaining the emergence and maintenance of sociality.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

From vigilance to violence: mate retention tactics in married couples.

Although much research has explored the adaptive problems of mate selection and mate attraction, little research has investigated the adaptive problem of mate retention. We tested several evolutionary psychological hypotheses about the determinants of mate retention in 214 married people. We assessed the usage of 19 mate retention tactics ranging from vigilance to violence. Key hypothesized findings include the following: Men's, but not women's, mate retention positively covaried with partner's youth and physical attractiveness. Women's, but not men's, mate retention positively covaried with partner's income and status striving. Men's mate retention positively covaried with perceived probability of partner's infidelity. Men, more than women, reported using resource display, submission and debasement, and intrasexual threats to retain their mates. Women, more than men, reported using appearance enhancement and verbal signals of possession. Discussion includes an evolutionary psychological analysis of mate retention in married couples.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The advantage of factorial mating under selection is uncovered by deterministically predicted rates of inbreeding.

Rates of inbreeding (DeltaF) in selected populations were predicted using the framework of long-term genetic contributions and validated against stochastic simulations. Deterministic predictions decomposed DeltaF into four components due to: finite population size, directional selection, covariance of genetic contribution of mates, and deviation of variance of family size from that expected from a Poisson distribution. Factorial (FM) and hierarchical (HM) mating systems were compared under mass and sib-index selection. Prediction errors were in most cases for DeltaF less than 10% and for rate of gain less than 5%. DelatF was higher with index than mass selection. DeltaF was lower with FM than HM in all cases except random selection. FM reduced the variance of the average breeding value of the mates of an individual. This reduced the impact of the covariance of contributions of mates on DeltaF. Thus, contributions of mates were less correlated with FM than HM, causing smaller deviations of converged contributions from the optimum contributions. With index selection, FM also caused a smaller variance of number of offspring selected from each parent. This reduced variance of family size reduced DeltaF further. FM increases the flexibility in breeding schemes for achieving the optimum genetic contributions.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Role of alpha2 protein in donor locus selection during mating type interconversion.

The homeodomain protein alpha2p plays a role both in transcriptional repression in the process of cell type determination and in donor selection during mating interconversion. We have explored the mechanism of alpha2p-directed donor selection by examining the effects on donor preference of mutants deficient in alpha2p-mediated transcriptional repression. As a transcriptional regulator, alpha2p interacts with Mcm1p, Tup1p, and Ssn6p to repress a-specific genes and with a1p, Tup1p, and Ssn6p to repress haploid-specific genes. We have found that mutant alleles of MATalpha2 that specifically diminish the interaction of alpha2p with Mcm1p or Tup1p behave as null alleles with regard to donor preference, while mutations of MATalpha2 that specifically diminish interaction of alpha2p with a1p behave as wild-type MATalpha2 in this capacity. Tup1p plays an essential role in alpha2p-mediated transcriptional repression, while Ssn6p has only a modest effect in repression. In a similar vein, we find that TUP1, but not SSN6, is required for proper donor selection. These results suggest that, in addition to regulating a-specific gene expression to establish the mating type of the cell, alpha2p-Mcm1p-Tup1p complex may indirectly regulate donor preference through transcriptional control of an a-specific gene. Alternatively, this complex may play a direct role in establishing donor preference via its DNA binding and chromatin organization capacity.

Alleles↗

PubMed1981

Fertility of chickens from lines divergently selected for mating frequency.

Fertility comparisons of males under natural and artificial mating situations were made among lines of chickens selected for high and low mating frequency and the randombred population from which the selected lines originated. Although highly significant differences existed among lines for the frequency of sexual behaviors, there were no significant differences in fertility among lines either when males were with females for extended periods of time or when hens were artificially inseminated. Significant differences were found between mating systems for days to peak and duration of fertility.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Selection and mating considering expected inbreeding of future progeny.

Animals most related or least related to current members of their breed were revealed by calculating the expected inbreeding of their future progeny. A sample of potential mates was chosen by randomly selecting 600 females from a recent birth year (1995). Relationships among the sample were computed by the tabular method. Relationships of other animals to the sample population were computed quickly from the relationships of their parents or ancestors. To-Mar Blackstar-ET and Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation were most related to the Holstein breed with expected inbreeding of 7.9 and 7.7%, respectively. Corresponding Jersey bulls were Highland Magic Duncan and Soldierboy Boomer Sooner of CJF with expected inbreeding of 10.9 and 9.5%, respectively. The highest expected inbreeding was 11.1% for Selwood Bettys Commander, 8.6% for Forest Lawn Simon Jetway, 10.1% for Dutch Mill Telestars Fayette, and 7.4% for Korncrest Pacesetter for Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, and Milking Shorthorn breeds, respectively. Regression on inbreeding in the genetic evaluation model removed effects of past inbreeding. Future inbreeding effects could be included for each potential mating or by adjusting breeding values for average inbreeding expected with random mating. The correlation between Holstein breeding values unadjusted and adjusted for inbreeding was 0.9976. The estimated genetic trend was 6% lower with future inbreeding included.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Assortative mating for cigarette smoking and for alcohol consumption in female Australian twins and their spouses.

BACKGROUND: Non-random mating affects population variation for substance use and dependence. Developmentally, mate selection leading to positive spousal correlations for genetic similarity may result in increased risk for substance use and misuse in offspring. Mate selection varies by cohort and thus, assortative mating in one generation may produce marked changes in rates of substance use in the next. We aim to clarify the mechanisms contributing to spousal similarity for cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption. METHODS: Using data from female twins and their male spouses, we fit univariate and bivariate twin models to examine the contribution of primary assortative mating and reciprocal marital interaction to spousal resemblance for regular cigarette smoking and nicotine dependence, and for regular alcohol use and alcohol dependence. RESULTS: We found that assortative mating significantly influenced regular smoking, regular alcohol use, nicotine dependence and alcohol dependence. The bivariate models for cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption also highlighted the importance of primary assortative mating on all stages of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption, with additional evidence for assortative mating across the two stages of alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Women who regularly used, and subsequently were dependent on cigarettes or alcohol were more likely to marry men with similar behaviors. After mate selection had occurred, one partner's cigarette or alcohol involvement did not significantly modify the other partner's involvement with these psychoactive substances.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1975

Selection for mating ability in Japanese quail.

Results are presented for a replicated mass selection experiment for high and low cumulative number of completed matings. Through six generations of selection heritabilities of the selected trait averaged .07 for the high lines and .25 for the low lines. No correlated responses were noted for body weight at either 4 or 8 weeks of age, whereas the relationships of the selected trait with size of the cloacal gland and relative aggressiveness were positive.

Aggression↗

PubMed2006

Sexual selection and mate choice.

The past two decades have seen extensive growth of sexual selection research. Theoretical and empirical work has clarified many components of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection, such as aggressive competition, mate choice, sperm utilization and sexual conflict. Genetic mechanisms of mate choice evolution have been less amenable to empirical testing, but molecular genetic analyses can now be used for incisive experimentation. Here, we highlight some of the currently debated areas in pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection. We identify where new techniques can help estimate the relative roles of the various selection mechanisms that might work together in the evolution of mating preferences and attractive traits, and in sperm-egg interactions.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed1998

Forty generations of bidirectional selection for mating frequency in male Japanese quail.

A bidirectional replicated selection experiment for high (H1 and H2) or low (L1 and L2) cumulative number of complete matings (CNCM) in male Japanese quail was conducted for 40 generations. In the S32 generation, a subline was taken from each selected line and selection was relaxed. In the randombred control line (C), CNCM and unselected traits changed significantly over generations. Means of the selected lines were adjusted each generation for deviations from the control means. After 40 generations of selection, there was a 21-fold difference in CNCM (59.4 vs 2.8) between Lines H1 and L1. Whereas means increased and variation decreased in the high lines, means decreased and variation increased in the low lines. Regressions of mean CNCM on generation of Lines H1, H2, L1, and L2 were 1.15 +/- 0.08, 0.61 +/- 0.08, -0.26 +/- 0.04, and -0.34 +/- 0.03, respectively. Although responses to selection were observed throughout the 40 generations in Line H1, the low lines appeared to have reached a limit to selection after the S30 generation. Relaxed lines provided supporting evidence for this conclusion. Mean CNCM decreased in the relaxed high lines to that of the control, whereas the low relaxed lines remained at the same level as their corresponding selected lines. Line H2 went into extinction in the 37th generation as a result of reduced fitness. Realized heritabilities of CNCM were 0.09, 0.07, 0.06, and -0.15 in Lines H1, H2, L1, and L2, respectively. As correlated responses to the selection, male quail in the high lines were heavier, exhibited greater relative aggressiveness, and had larger cloacal glands than those of the control and low lines.

Animals↗

PubMed1979

The use of twins in the analysis of assortative mating.

The simulations illustrated show that a plausible model for mate selection can generate data on the similarity of twins and their spouses which are remarkably consistent with a transitive model for the effects of mate selection. This is, biological considerations impose constraints upon the relative values of correlations which are not foreseen, for example, by the some advocates of conventional path models although they might be predicted by common sense. In particular, the correlation between the spouses of twins is expected to be non-zero under a model of phenotypic assortment and turns out to be approximately equal to the product of the twin correlation and the square of the marital correlation. The relative magnitudes of the correlations derived from an empirical study of such relationships should enable models of phenotypic assortment to be tested more rigorously. Including both identical and non-identical twins in the sample studied should permit the inherited and cultural components of the mating system to be identified with more conviction. In the event of one sex playing a more significant role in mate selection for particular traits, such studies should reveal diagnostic patterns of familial correlations as long as male and female twins and their spouses are analysed separately. If the analysis is restricted to phenotypic correlations of the parents, the qualitative findings do not appear to be greatly affected by selection due to assortative mating although a reduction in variance is to be expected if a large proportion of individuals is unable to mate. In such cases twins will also be significantly concordant for mating. The consequences of such varied regimes of assortation for the population structure and the relationship between traits in subsequent generations remain the object of future inquiry.

Female↗

PubMed1995

Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells execute a default pathway to select a mate in the absence of pheromone gradients.

During conjugation, haploid S. cerevisiae cells find one another by polarizing their growth toward each other along gradients of pheromone (chemotropism). We demonstrate that yeast cells exhibit a second mating behavior: when their receptors are saturated with pheromone, wild-type a cells execute a default pathway and select a mate at random. These matings are less efficient than chemotropic matings, are induced by the same dose of pheromone that induces shmoo formation, and appear to use a site near the incipient bud site for polarization. We show that the SPA2 gene is specifically required for the default pathway: spa2 delta mutants cannot mate if pheromone concentrations are high and gradients are absent, but can mate if gradients are present. ste2 delta, sst2 delta, and far1 delta mutants are chemotropism-defective and therefore must choose a mate by using a default pathway; consistent with this deduction, these strains require SPA2 to mate. In addition, our results suggest that far1 mutants are chemotropism-defective because their mating polarity is fixed at the incipient bud site, suggesting that the FAR1 gene is required for inhibiting the use of the incipient bud site during chemotropic mating. These observations reveal a molecular relationship between the mating and budding polarity pathways.

Cell Cycle↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Non-random mating for selection with restricted rates of inbreeding and overlapping generations.

Minimum coancestry mating with a maximum of one offspring per mating pair (MC1) is compared with random mating schemes for populations with overlapping generations. Optimum contribution selection is used, whereby DeltaF is restricted. For schemes with DeltaF restricted to 0.25% per year, 256 animals born per year and heritability of 0.25, genetic gain increased with 18% compared with random mating. The effect of MC1 on genetic gain decreased for larger schemes and schemes with a less stringent restriction on inbreeding. Breeding schemes hardly changed when omitting the iteration on the generation interval to find an optimum distribution of parents over age-classes, which saves computer time, but inbreeding and genetic merit fluctuated more before the schemes had reached a steady-state. When bulls were progeny tested, these progeny tested bulls were selected instead of the young bulls, which led to increased generation intervals, increased selection intensity of bulls and increased genetic gain (35% compared to a scheme without progeny testing for random mating). The effect of MC1 decreased for schemes with progeny testing. MC1 mating increased genetic gain from 11-18% for overlapping and 1-4% for discrete generations, when comparing schemes with similar genetic gain and size.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1975

Papago Indian admixture and mating patterns in a mining town: a genetic cauldron.

Problems of delineation of population units and sub-units and the poor fit of genetic models make populations with high mobility and low stability difficult to analyze by present means. Examination of three processes īn-migration, admixture, and dispersal as well as the mate selection factors involved in out-mating and changing population boundaries are suggested as alternate procedures in these cases. The Papago Indian community of Ajo, Arizona, is characterized by historical instability, an in-migration rate of 72.3%, a dispersal rate of 20.6%, and an admixture rate of 36.7%. In-migrant parents continue to come from all parts of the reservation, reservation ties are strong, and families often fragmented between reservation and Ajo homes. For these and other reasons the community cannot be delineated as a population unit nor incorporated into models of subdivided populations. Ajo's function as a cauldron in which genes are mixed and from which they are scattered is evident in sharp increases in the percentage of mixed Papagos among residents and out-migrants. Among the latter more than twice as many mixed Papago leave Ajo as entered in the parental generation. Mate selection factors possibly involved in admixture are considered.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Improving the efficiency of artificial selection: more selection pressure with less inbreeding.

The use of population genetic variability in present-day selection schemes can be improved to reduce inbreeding rate and inbreeding depression without impairing genetic progress. We performed an experiment with Drosophila melanogaster to test mate selection, an optimizing method that uses linear programming to maximize the selection differential applied while at the same time respecting a restriction on the increase in inbreeding expected in the next generation. Previous studies about mate selection used computer simulation on simple additive genetic models, and no experiment with a real character in a real population had been carried out. After six selection generations, the optimized lines showed an increase in cumulated phenotypic selection differential of 10.76%, and at the same time, a reduction of 19.91 and 60.47% in inbreeding coefficient mean and variance, respectively. The increased selection pressure would bring greater selection response, and in fact, the observed change in the selected trait was on average 31.03% greater in the optimized lines. These improvements in the selection scheme were not made at the expense of the long-term expectations of genetic variability in the population, as these expectations were very similar for both mate selection and conventionally selected lines in our experiment.

Animals↗