Slow evolution of sex-biased genes in the reproductive tissue of the dioecious plant Salix viminalis.
Mol Ecol
; 27(3): 694-708, 2018 02.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29274186
ABSTRACT
The relative rate of evolution for sex-biased genes has often been used as a measure of the strength of sex-specific selection. In contrast to studies in a wide variety of animals, far less is known about the molecular evolution of sex-biased genes in plants, particularly in dioecious angiosperms. Here, we investigate the gene expression patterns and evolution of sex-biased genes in the dioecious plant Salix viminalis. We observe lower rates of sequence evolution for male-biased genes expressed in the reproductive tissue compared to unbiased and female-biased genes. These results could be partially explained by the lower codon usage bias for male-biased genes leading to elevated rates of synonymous substitutions compared to unbiased genes. However, the stronger haploid selection in the reproductive tissue of plants, together with pollen competition, would also lead to higher levels of purifying selection acting to remove deleterious variation. Future work should focus on the differential evolution of haploid- and diploid-specific genes to understand the selective dynamics acting on these loci.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Caracteres Sexuales
/
Evolución Molecular
/
Salix
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mol Ecol
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
/
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Año:
2018
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Reino Unido