Support for Y-compensation of mother's curse affecting lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster.

Mother's curse refers to male-biased deleterious mutations that may accumulate on mitochondria due to its strict maternal inheritance. If these mutations persist, males should ideally compensate through mutations on Y-chromosomes given its strict paternal inheritance. Previous work addressed this hypothesis by comparing coevolved and non-coevolved Y-mitochondria pairs placed alongside completely foreign autosomal backgrounds, expecting males with coevolved pairs to exhibit greater fitness due to Y-compensation.

Gene-poor Y-chromosomes substantially impact male trait heritabilities and may help shape sexually dimorphic evolution.

How natural selection facilitates sexually dimorphic evolution despite a shared genome is unclear. The patrilineal inheritance of Y-chromosomes makes them an appealing solution. However, they have largely been dismissed due to their gene-poor, heterochromatic nature and because the additive genetic variation necessary for adaptive evolution is theoretically difficult to maintain.

Y-chromosomes can constrain adaptive evolution via epistatic interactions with other chromosomes.

Background: Variation in the non-coding regions of Y-chromosomes have been shown to influence gene regulation throughout the genome in some systems; a phenomenon termed Y-linked regulatory variation (YRV). This type of sex-specific genetic variance could have important implications for the evolution of male and female traits. If YRV contributes to the additive genetic variation of an autosomally coded trait shared between the sexes (e.

A test for Y-linked additive and epistatic effects on surviving bacterial infections in Drosophila melanogaster.

Y- and W-chromosomes offer a theoretically powerful way for sexual dimorphism to evolve. Consistent with this possibility, Drosophila melanogaster Y-chromosomes can influence gene regulation throughout the genome; particularly immune-related genes. In order for Y-linked regulatory variation (YRV) to contribute to adaptive evolution it must be comprised of additive genetic variance, such that variable Ys induce consistent phenotypic effects within the local gene pool.

Cold temperature preference in bacterially infected Drosophila melanogaster improves survival but is remarkably suboptimal.

Altering one's temperature preference (e.g. behavioral fever or behavioral chill) is a common immune defense among ectotherms that is likely to be evolutionarily conserved.