Many genes that mediate sexual reproduction, such as those involved in gamete
recognition, diverge rapidly, often as a result of adaptive evolution. This widespread …

Females frequently mate with several males, whose sperm then compete to fertilize
available ova. Sperm competition represents a potent selective force that is expected to …

Mitochondrial genes have been used extensively in population genetic and
phylogeographical analyses, in part due to a high rate of nucleotide substitution in animal …

The tools of molecular genetics have enormous potential for clarifying the nature and age of
species boundaries in marine organisms. Below I summarize the genetic implications of …

The Duffy blood group locus, which encodes a chemokine receptor, is characterized by
three alleles—FY* A, FY* B, and FY* O. The frequency of the FY* O allele, which …

Rapid evolution driven by positive Darwinian selection is a recurrent theme in male
reproductive protein evolution. In contrast, positive selection has never been demonstrated …

Background Molluscs are the most diverse marine phylum and this high diversity has
resulted in considerable taxonomic problems. Because the number of species in Canadian …

Sexual reproduction is a fundamental biological process common among eukaryotes.
Because of the significance of reproductive proteins to fitness, the diversity and rapid …

Predatory snails in the marine gastropod genus Conus stun prey by injecting a complex
mixture of peptide neurotoxins. These conotoxins are associated with trophic diversification …

Degree of genetic divergence is frequently used to infer that two populations belong to
separate species, or that several populations belong to a single species. I explore the logical …