Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (150)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Brown, J. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Brown, J. L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 1997 International Society for Behavioral Ecology

research-article

A theory of mate choice based on heterozygosity

Jerram L. Brown

Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York Albany, NY 12222, USA

ABSTRACT

In theories of mate choice that rely on genetic benefits, the nature of the"good genes" involved has received little attention. A review of genetic studies of mate choice in a variety of species and situations suggests that individual heterozygosity is more important than previously realized. Females are predicted to value heterozygosity in their offspring and under some conditions in their males. The expression of vigor, condition-sensitive ornaments, and symmetry in males may be a direct reflection not of "good genes" but of individual heterozygosity at key loci or at many loci. Like sexuality itself, mate choice based on heterozygosity and genic diversity may be an adaptation that favors the production of diverse and superior competitors. Female choice is made meaningful by sexuality, and the adaptive value of choice probably depends on some of the same factors that maintain sexuality

Key words: genetic quality, heterozygosity, mate choice, sexual selection.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
J. Ruther, M. Matschke, L.-A. Garbe, and S. Steiner
Quantity matters: male sex pheromone signals mate quality in the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis
Proc R Soc B, September 22, 2009; 276(1671): 3303 - 3310.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
V. Garcia-Navas, J. Ortego, and J. J. Sanz
Heterozygosity-based assortative mating in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus): implications for the evolution of mate choice
Proc R Soc B, August 22, 2009; 276(1669): 2931 - 2940.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
L. S. Johnson, C. F. Thompson, S. K. Sakaluk, M. Neuhauser, B. G.P. Johnson, S. S. Soukup, S. J. Forsythe, and B. S. Masters
Extra-pair young in house wren broods are more likely to be male than female
Proc R Soc B, June 22, 2009; 276(1665): 2285 - 2289.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
R. Duraes, B. A. Loiselle, P. G. Parker, and J. G. Blake
Female mate choice across spatial scales: influence of lek and male attributes on mating success of blue-crowned manakins
Proc R Soc B, May 22, 2009; 276(1663): 1875 - 1881.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
S. Schjorring
Sex allocation and mate choice of selfed and outcrossed Schistocephalus solidus (Cestoda)
Behav. Ecol., May 1, 2009; 20(3): 644 - 650.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
M. Boerner and O. Kruger
Aggression and fitness differences between plumage morphs in the common buzzard (Buteo buteo)
Behav. Ecol., January 1, 2009; 20(1): 180 - 185.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
C. Husseneder and D. M. Simms
Size and heterozygosity influence partner selection in the Formosan subterranean termite
Behav. Ecol., July 1, 2008; 19(4): 764 - 773.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
S. M Suter, M. Keiser, R. Feignoux, and D. R Meyer
Reed bunting females increase fitness through extra-pair mating with genetically dissimilar males
Proc R Soc B, November 22, 2007; 274(1627): 2865 - 2871.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
P. A. Gowaty, W. W. Anderson, C. K. Bluhm, L. C. Drickamer, Y.-K. Kim, and A. J. Moore
The hypothesis of reproductive compensation and its assumptions about mate preferences and offspring viability
PNAS, September 18, 2007; 104(38): 15023 - 15027.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
J. A Pfaff, L. Zanette, S. A MacDougall-Shackleton, and E. A MacDougall-Shackleton
Song repertoire size varies with HVC volume and is indicative of male quality in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia)
Proc R Soc B, August 22, 2007; 274(1621): 2035 - 2040.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
W. W. Anderson, Y.-K. Kim, and P. A. Gowaty
Experimental constraints on mate preferences in Drosophila pseudoobscura decrease offspring viability and fitness of mated pairs
PNAS, March 13, 2007; 104(11): 4484 - 4488.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
C. R. Freeman-Gallant, N. T. Wheelwright, K. E. Meiklejohn, and S. V. Sollecito
Genetic similarity, extrapair paternity, and offspring quality in Savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis)
Behav. Ecol., November 1, 2006; 17(6): 952 - 958.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
E. Bellemain, A. Zedrosser, S. Manel, L. P Waits, P. Taberlet, and J. E Swenson
The dilemma of female mate selection in the brown bear, a species with sexually selected infanticide
Proc R Soc B, February 7, 2006; 273(1584): 283 - 291.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
O. Kleven and J. T. Lifjeld
No evidence for increased offspring heterozygosity from extrapair mating in the reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
Behav. Ecol., May 1, 2005; 16(3): 561 - 565.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
D. S Richardson, J. Komdeur, T. Burke, and T. von Schantz
MHC-based patterns of social and extra-pair mate choice in the Seychelles warbler
Proc R Soc B, April 7, 2005; 272(1564): 759 - 767.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Biol LettHome page
E. A MacDougall-Shackleton, E. P Derryberry, J. Foufopoulos, A. P Dobson, and T. P Hahn
Parasite-mediated heterozygote advantage in an outbred songbird population
Biol Lett, March 22, 2005; 1(1): 105 - 107.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
J. Reid, P. Arcese, AliceL.E.V Cassidy, A. Marr, JamesN.M Smith, and L. Keller
Hamilton and Zuk meet heterozygosity? Song repertoire size indicates inbreeding and immunity in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia)
Proc R Soc B, March 7, 2005; 272(1562): 481 - 487.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
J. A. Eimes, P. G. Parker, J. L. Brown, and E. R. Brown
Extrapair fertilization and genetic similarity of social mates in the Mexican jay
Behav. Ecol., March 1, 2005; 16(2): 456 - 460.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
R. Buchholz
Effects of parasitic infection on mate sampling by female wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo): should infected females be more or less choosy?
Behav. Ecol., July 1, 2004; 15(4): 687 - 694.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
R. Thornhill, S. W. Gangestad, R. Miller, G. Scheyd, J. K. McCollough, and M. Franklin
Major histocompatibility complex genes, symmetry, and body scent attractiveness in men and women
Behav. Ecol., September 1, 2003; 14(5): 668 - 678.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
P. J. Weatherhead, M. R. Prosser, H. L. Gibbs, and G. P. Brown
Male reproductive success and sexual selection in northern water snakes determined by microsatellite DNA analysis
Behav. Ecol., November 1, 2002; 13(6): 808 - 815.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
S.-H. Li and J. L. Brown
Reduction of maternal care: a new benefit of multiple mating?
Behav. Ecol., January 1, 2002; 13(1): 87 - 93.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
B. C. Robertson, S. M. Degnan, J. Kikkawa, and C. C. Moritz
Genetic monogamy in the absence of paternity guards: the Capricorn silvereye, Zosterops lateralis chlorocephalus, on Heron Island
Behav. Ecol., November 1, 2001; 12(6): 666 - 673.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
B. D. Worden and P. G. Parker
Polyandry in grain beetles, Tenebrio molitor, leads to greater reproductive success: material or genetic benefits?
Behav. Ecol., November 1, 2001; 12(6): 761 - 767.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
T. Slagsvold, A. Johnsen, H. M. Lampe, and J. T. Lifjeld
Do female pied flycatchers seek extrapair copulations with familiar males? A test of the incomplete knowledge hypothesis
Behav. Ecol., July 1, 2001; 12(4): 412 - 418.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
M. Milinski and C. Wedekind
Evidence for MHC-correlated perfume preferences in humans
Behav. Ecol., March 1, 2001; 12(2): 140 - 149.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
P. J. Weatherhead, K. W. Dufour, S. C. Lougheed, and C. G. Eckert
A test of the good-genes-as-heterozygosity hypothesis using red-winged blackbirds
Behav. Ecol., November 1, 1999; 10(6): 619 - 625.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
D. J. Hosken and W. U. Blanckenhorn
Female multiple mating, inbreeding avoidance, and fitness: it is not only the magnitude of costs and benefits that counts
Behav. Ecol., July 1, 1999; 10(4): 462 - 464.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
B. Kempenaers, B. Congdon, P. Boag, and R. J. Robertson
Extrapair paternity and egg hatchability in tree swallows: evidence for the genetic compatibility hypothesis?
Behav. Ecol., May 1, 1999; 10(3): 304 - 311.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
M. Petrie, C. Doums, and A. P. Moller
The degree of extra-pair paternity increases with genetic variability
PNAS, August 4, 1998; 95(16): 9390 - 9395.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.