EVOGOODGENES: Deciphering the genomics and evolution of honest sexual signals

Sexual selection is responsible for the evolution of some of the most striking morphological and behavioural traits across the animal kingdom. Many of these sexually selected traits are thought to act as honest signals of male genetic quality, where only high condition males with 'good genes' can afford to invest in elaborate ornaments. However, the genes that give rise to honest sexual signals and enable their evolution are largely unknown. As such, contentious questions central to sexual selection and evolution remain unanswered, such as the role of sexual selection in phenotypic elaboration, molecular evolution and adaptation. Answering these questions is challenging as we require a precise understanding of the genomic basis of honest sexually selected traits across a range of organisms. However, new technology that deconstructs complex phenotypes to provide single-cell expression data now offers unprecedented potential to probe the genomic basis and evolution of sexual traits, heralding a new era of sexual selection research.

EvoGoodGenes is designed to capitalise on state-of-the-art sequencing technology to test classic sexual selection theory for how distinct male and female traits evolve. The focus of EvoGoodGenes is on stalk-eyed flies and their highly-exaggerated and sexually-dimorphic eye-stalks. The project is comprised of three overarching goals, each of which addresses a key pillar of the 'good genes' theory of sexual selection. I will identify the genomic basis of honest signals and the nature of 'good genes', establish how sexual selection acts on honest traits and test if the same genomic mechanisms are responsible for honest signalling across deeply diverged species. These goals will be accomplished by combining experimental, comparative and single-cell sequencing approaches and performed across multiple evolutionary levels, integrating patterns within populations and across species, to break new frontiers in our understanding of sexual selection.