Interlocus sexual conflict

Interlocus sexual conflict is a type of sexual conflict that occurs through the interaction of a set of antagonistic alleles at two or more different loci in males and females, resulting in the deviation of either or both sexes from the fitness optima for the traits.

Interlocus sexual conflict involves a co-evolutionary arms race between the two sexes in which either sex evolves a set of antagonistic adaptations that are detrimental to the fitness of the other sex. Interlocus sexual conflict can occur over aspects of male–female interactions such as mating frequency, fertilization, relative parental effort, female remating behavior, and female reproductive rate. The evolutionary pathways resulting from interlocus sexual conflict form part of interlocus contest evolution.

The genetic basis of the distinction between interlocus sexual conflict and intralocus sexual conflict is the location of the interacting antagonistic alleles. Conflict in which the antagonistic alleles are located at the same locus is termed intralocus sexual conflict, and conflict in which the antagonistic alleles are located at different loci in both sexes is termed interlocus sexual conflict.Intralocus sexual conflict occurs when males and females undergo different selective pressures at the same locus, resulting in either sex limiting the evolution of the other sex. In contrast, interlocus sexual conflict occurs when males and females undergo different selective pressures at different loci, potentially leading to agonistic coevolution.

Interlocus sexual conflict has been proposed as a cause of sexually agonistic coevolution. The model of sexual coevolution is as follows: When an allele at one locus in males increases their fitness while reducing the fitness of the females interacting with them, the females would evolve a counter-adaptation at a different locus to reduce the harm. In other words, females may exhibit resistance by developing favorable traits to reduce the direct costs implemented by males. For interlocus sexual conflict to be a valid cause of agonistic coevolution, the harm induced by the males across all loci has to outweigh the indirect benefits that the females gain by interacting with males.

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