The relationship between sexual dimorphism and androgen response element proliferation in primate genomes

Abstract

In the males of many vertebrate species, sexual selection has led to the evolution of sexually dimorphic traits, which often are developmentally controlled by androgen signaling involving androgen response elements (AREs). Evolutionary changes in the number and genomic locations of AREs can modify patterns of receptor regulation and potentially alter gene expression. Here, we use recently sequenced primate genomes to evaluate the hypothesis that the strength of sexual selection is related to the genome‐wide number of AREs in a diversifying lineage. In humans, we find a higher incidence of AREs near male‐biased genes and androgen‐responsive genes when compared to randomly selected genes from the genome. In a set of primates, we find that gains or losses of AREs proximal to genes are correlated with changes in male expression levels and the degree of sex‐biased expression of those genes. In a larger set of primates, we find that increases in indicators of sexual selection are correlated with genome‐wide ARE counts. Our results suggest that the responsiveness of the genome to androgens in humans and their close relatives has been shaped by sexual selection that arises from competition among males for mating access to females.

Digest: Detecting genomic adaptation to sexual selection at scale using available data

“…A new study in Evolution takes a very different approach (Anderson and Jones 2022). Instead of an unbiased genome‐wide search, the authors focused on a specific set of motifs, namely, a class of transcription factor binding sites called androgen response elements (AREs), which drive transcription of neighboring genes in response to male sex hormones.…”