Dominant, recessive, sexual selection

  • Thread starter Thread starter honestrosewater
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
The discussion explores the potential relationship between dominant and recessive traits and mate preferences in animals. It raises questions about whether individuals with certain genetic traits, such as dominant TT or recessive tt, preferentially choose mates with similar traits. The idea is that such preferences could enhance genetic compatibility and preserve specific genetic traits in offspring. However, there is no clear scientific evidence or studies supporting this trend in mate selection based on dominance or recessiveness. The conversation also touches on examples from both animal and plant genetics, highlighting the complexity of these interactions.
honestrosewater
Gold Member
Messages
2,133
Reaction score
6
(Actually, perhaps I should have dropped the sexual selection part from the title.)

Okay, stupid question that I'm curious about but don't know how to ask: Does anyone know whether there's any connection between a trait being dominant or recessive and a trait being preferred by mates?
That is, is it ever clear that something analogous to the following occurs: Say monkeys have a dominant trait T and a recessive trait t. The tt monkeys tend to choose other tt monkeys. And maybe TT monkeys prefer TT or Tt monkeys? Or maybe TT monkeys don't show a preference, but tt monkeys do. Or something - anything - like that.
What might be going on in these situations, if they did happen? It seems like this would be a case where organisms can compare parts of their DNA to each other, looking for a match that would best preserve their own DNA. That is, for instance, two tt parents produce tt offspring. tt and TT parents produce Tt offspring. So two tt parents getting together better preserves each parent's genes. ?? I realize it may not be that simple, but I don't know how much more complex it is. This is just stuff I remember from high school biology class.
 
Last edited:
Biology news on Phys.org
I am not aware of any scientific studies or statistics that suggest this trend. An example of what you are inquiring could be: those with blond hair preferring mates who also have blond hair.

Of course genetics is not limited to the animal kingdom. In Mendel's peas white flowers are recessive. In pollination by insects, the pollen from a white flower is not spread preferentially to other white flower pistils. They have an equal likelihood of reaching a red or purple flower.
 
Thread 'Did they discover another descendant of homo erectus?'
The study provides critical new insights into the African Humid Period, a time between 14,500 and 5,000 years ago when the Sahara desert was a green savanna, rich in water bodies that facilitated human habitation and the spread of pastoralism. Later aridification turned this region into the world's largest desert. Due to the extreme aridity of the region today, DNA preservation is poor, making this pioneering ancient DNA study all the more significant. Genomic analyses reveal that the...
Popular article referring to the BA.2 variant: Popular article: (many words, little data) https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/17/health/ba-2-covid-severity/index.html Preprint article referring to the BA.2 variant: Preprint article: (At 52 pages, too many words!) https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.14.480335v1.full.pdf [edited 1hr. after posting: Added preprint Abstract] Cheers, Tom
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/body-dysmorphia/ Most people have some mild apprehension about their body, such as one thinks their nose is too big, hair too straight or curvy. At the extreme, cases such as this, are difficult to completely understand. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/health/other/why-would-someone-want-to-amputate-healthy-limbs/ar-AA1MrQK7?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=68ce4014b1fe4953b0b4bd22ef471ab9&ei=78 they feel like they're an amputee in the body of a regular person "For...
Back
Top