Influence of Sex on Selection I. Contribution of Sex-Linked Genes

Abstract

Consequences of individual selection and relaxation from selection are examined for genotypes generated by sex-linked genes. Two levels of complexity are studied. At the first level genotypes are derived from an arbitrary number of alleles at one locus. This situation is sufficiently general to include any pattern of dominance parameters. It is shown that the increment responses to selection for the two sexes may be different since they are different functions of genotypic variances and covariances. As a result of selection, the frequencies for the same allele diverge in the two sexes. Hence, on relaxation from selection, both male and female means fluctuate until gene equilibrium is reached.