Non-scalable genome fidelity constraints drive the evolution of sexual dimorphism

Non-scalable genome fidelity constraints drive the evolution of sexual dimorphism | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Non-scalable genome fidelity constraints drive the evolution of sexual dimorphism Manjunath M, Raviraj V S, Shakunthala V, Damini C S This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9081904/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The evolutionary origin of sexual dimorphism is classically explained by energetic trade-offs between gamete size and number interacting with fertilization ecology. These models, however, treat genome fidelity as a passive or metabolically subsumed property. Here we show that informational constraints alone - specifically the limited scalability of molecular machinery required for genome replication, repair, and chromatin maintenance are sufficient to destabilize symmetric reproductive strategies and generate stable reproductive dimorphism. We introduce the Molecular Fidelity-Encounter Competition (MF–EC) model, an Adaptive Dynamics framework in which reproductive strategies evolve along a heritable axis representing parental reproductive deployment. Encounter success increases concavely with deployment, whereas per-gamete molecular fidelity declines convexly due to dilution of finite parental fidelity budgets. Beyond a biologically realistic fidelity-dilution threshold, the unique evolutionary equilibrium becomes convergence-stable but invasion-unstable, enforcing disruptive evolutionary branching. Invasion fitness analysis and replicator dynamics demonstrate that the adaptive landscape supports exactly two mutually invasion-resistant strategies, while all intermediate strategies are eliminated. This framework provides a principled explanation for the near-universality of binary sexual systems and identifies informational constraints as a fundamental, non-energetic driver of sexual dimorphism. Biological sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology Biological sciences/Evolution Sexual dimorphism anisogamy adaptive dynamics mutation load genome fidelity evolutionary branching Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 26 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 26 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 18 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 15 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 15 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9081904","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":612918453,"identity":"308585b9-879a-4b1f-aa7a-46e5840a766b","order_by":0,"name":"Manjunath M","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABA0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNiSKjflHhQ2QZmw8QKQWZjZmhjNpIC0NeLUgAaAWxrbDYCZeLXzsp1M3/NzBl7id/fyxx4Vt5+3Wth8G2lJjE43TYTy52272nmFL3NmTzG4849zt5G1nEoFajqXlNuD0S+62G7xtbIkbDiSzSfCU3U42OwDUwthwGLcW/rfbbv4FaTn/GKiF7Vyy2fmHBLRI5G67DbblRjKbNE/bATuzG4RskXi77bZsG5vxhhuPzSRnnElOMLsBtCUBj1/k+4Hef9t2THbD+cRnEh8q7OzNzqc/fPChxganFig4BmclglUm4FcOAjVwlj1hxaNgFIyCUTDSAAAVdmexc9NKtAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Mysore","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Manjunath","middleName":"","lastName":"M","suffix":""},{"id":612918454,"identity":"3501b19c-ea12-4d60-8cde-0eb333c3449a","order_by":1,"name":"Raviraj V S","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Central Silk Board","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Raviraj","middleName":"V","lastName":"S","suffix":""},{"id":612918455,"identity":"b9ca327d-f76d-45c8-a69c-12a8d5424513","order_by":2,"name":"Shakunthala V","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Mysore","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shakunthala","middleName":"","lastName":"V","suffix":""},{"id":612918456,"identity":"86525561-7dc4-4313-afd1-5f7006282169","order_by":3,"name":"Damini C S","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Mysore","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Damini","middleName":"C","lastName":"S","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-10 09:24:26","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9081904/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9081904/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105596620,"identity":"854e95f7-f5f5-45d5-b30e-2649f6ede057","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 18:11:55","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":823454,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9081904/v1_covered_29943d3e-a1f6-421d-a0d4-cefe634b2f15.pdf"},{"id":105596618,"identity":"0332f694-09f1-4746-b53c-817eaecae742","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 18:11:49","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":12009484,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryInformation.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9081904/v1/b69be1263dd140e76a853597.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Non-scalable genome fidelity constraints drive the evolution of sexual dimorphism","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Sexual dimorphism, anisogamy, adaptive dynamics, mutation load, genome fidelity, evolutionary branching","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9081904/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9081904/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe evolutionary origin of sexual dimorphism is classically explained by energetic trade-offs between gamete size and number interacting with fertilization ecology. 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