| Abstract Detail
Functional Genetics/Genomics Kollar, Leslie [3], Eppley, Sarah [1], Rosenstiel, Todd [2], McDaniel, Stuart [3]. The role of volatile organic compounds in antagonistic selection in the moss Ceratodon purpureus. A central goal in evolution is to understand the mechanisms that maintain genetic variation for fitness. Across much of the tree of life, males and females are clearly differentiated in many non-reproductive traits, presumably because selection favors different trait optima in each sex. Thus, an allele that increases fitness in one sex can be deleterious in the opposite sex, causing genetic conflict. The role of genetic conflict in maintaining variation for fitness depends upon the degree to which males and females respond similarly to an allelic substitution (i.e., the cross-sex correlation) and the difference in optimum phenotypes between the sexes, both poorly understood quantities. Here, I estimated the cross-sex correlation for several life history traits in the moss, Ceratodon purpureus using a common greenhouse experiment with 46 haploid-sibling families, each comprising three male and three female offspring. I focused on sexual dimorphic volatile organic compound (VOC) production. Analogous to flowering plant-pollinator mutualisms, female C. purpureus gametophytes emit abundant VOCs to attract sperm-dispersing microarthropods, which significantly increase fertilization rates in moss. Male mosses produce fewer VOCs than female mosses, suggesting that VOC production may be costly. The cross-sex correlations across all traits were less than one but greater than zero, suggesting that intersexual genetic conflict can maintain genetic variation for fitness. Next I plan to conduct competitive mating experiments in controlled mesocosms to identify traits linked with female and male reproductive success.
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1 - Portland State University, Biology, PO Box 751, Portland, OR, 97207, United States
2 - Portland State Biology, 1719 SW 10th Ave. SRTC 246, Portland, OR, 97201.0, United States
3 - Biology Department, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States
Keywords:
conflict
Bryophytes
volatile organic compounds
Sexual Selection.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 8, Functional Genetics and Genomics
Location: 109/Mayo Civic Center
Date: Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Time: 11:00 AM
Number: 8010
Abstract ID:656
Candidate for Awards:Margaret Menzel Award |
