At many sites in the human genome, there is one variant that is beneficial to female survival but detrimental to males, and another variant with the opposite effects. Examples include genes that affect the pelvis: variants that increase pelvis width are beneficial to females but deleterious to males. This study will use new statistical methods that our group has developed to analyze genome sequences from males and females to learn what genes are subject to this kind of “sexually antagonistic selection” and determine how much mortality it causes in current human societies. Knowledge of the genes and organs that are the targets of sexually antagonistic selection could ultimately lead to strategies for decreasing mortality in both sexes.
