title: Sexual conflict maintains variation at an insecticide resistance locus.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The maintenance of genetic variation through sexually antagonistic selection is controversial, partly because specific sexually-antagonistic alleles have not been identified. The Drosophila DDT resistance allele (DDT-R) is an exception. This allele increases female fitness, but simultaneously decreases male fitness, and it has been suggested that this sexual antagonism could explain why polymorphism was maintained at the locus prior to DDT use. We tested this possibility using a genetic model and then used evolving fly populations to test model predictions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Theory predicted that sexual antagonism is able to maintain genetic variation at this locus, hence explaining why DDT-R did not fix prior to DDT use despite increasing female fitness, and experimentally evolving fly populations verified theoretical predictions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This demonstrates that sexually antagonistic selection can maintain genetic variation and explains the DDT-R frequencies observed in nature.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Tremough, Penryn, TR10 9FE, Cornwall, UK. W.Rostant@uea.ac.uk.|Present address: School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, Norfolk, UK. W.Rostant@uea.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Wayne G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Rostant
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology & Bichemistry, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK. carolinekay@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kay
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Tremough, Penryn, TR10 9FE, Cornwall, UK. N.wedell@exeter.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wedell
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Tremough, Penryn, TR10 9FE, Cornwall, UK. d.j.hosken@exeter.ac.uk.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hosken
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D007305:Insecticide Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008957:Models, Genetic; D012641:Selection, Genetic