Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, 331 Funchess Hall, Auburn, AL 36849-5414, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2013 Aug 14;280(1768):20131314. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1314. Print 2013 Oct 7.
Why females assess ornaments when choosing mates remains a central question in evolutionary biology. We hypothesize that the imperative for a choosing female to find a mate with nuclear oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes that are compatible with her mitochondrial OXPHOS genes drives the evolution of ornaments. Indicator traits are proposed to signal the efficiency of OXPHOS function thus enabling females to select mates with nuclear genes that are compatible with maternal mitochondrial genes in the formation of OXPHOS complexes. Species-typical pattern of ornamentation is proposed to serve as a marker of mitochondrial type ensuring that females assess prospective mates with a shared mitochondrial background. The mitonuclear compatibility hypothesis predicts that the production of ornaments will be closely linked to OXPHOS pathways, and that sexual selection for compatible mates will be strongest when genes for nuclear components of OXPHOS complexes are Z-linked. The implications of this hypothesis are that sexual selection may serve as a driver for the evolution of more efficient cellular respiration.
为什么女性在选择配偶时会评估装饰品仍然是进化生物学中的一个核心问题。我们假设，对于选择女性来说，找到一个与她的线粒体 OXPHOS 基因相容的核氧化磷酸化 (OXPHOS) 基因的伴侣是至关重要的，这推动了装饰品的进化。指标性状被提议来信号 OXPHOS 功能的效率，从而使女性能够选择与母体线粒体基因在 OXPHOS 复合物形成中相容的核基因的伴侣。物种典型的装饰模式被提议作为线粒体类型的标志物，以确保女性评估具有共同线粒体背景的潜在伴侣。线粒体核相容性假说预测，装饰品的产生将与 OXPHOS 途径密切相关，并且当 OXPHOS 复合物的核成分基因为 Z 连锁时，对相容伴侣的性选择将最强。这一假说的含义是，性选择可能是推动更高效细胞呼吸进化的驱动力。
