<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Lüke, Lena</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vicens, Alberto</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Serra, François</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Luque-Larena, Juan Jose</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Dopazo, Hernán</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Roldan, Eduardo R S</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gomendio, Montserrat</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Sexual selection halts the relaxation of protamine 2 among rodents.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">PloS one</style></secondary-title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2011</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2011</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0029247</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">6</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">e29247</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Sexual selection has been proposed as the driving force promoting the rapid evolutionary changes observed in some reproductive genes including protamines. We test this hypothesis in a group of rodents which show marked differences in the intensity of sexual selection. Levels of sperm competition were not associated with the evolutionary rates of protamine 1 but, contrary to expectations, were negatively related to the evolutionary rate of cleaved- and mature-protamine 2. Since both domains were found to be under relaxation, our findings reveal an unforeseen role of sexual selection: to halt the degree of degeneration that proteins within families may experience due to functional redundancy. The degree of relaxation of protamine 2 in this group of rodents is such that in some species it has become dysfunctional and it is not expressed in mature spermatozoa. In contrast, protamine 1 is functionally conserved but shows directed positive selection on specific sites which are functionally relevant such as DNA-anchoring domains and phosphorylation sites. We conclude that in rodents protamine 2 is under relaxation and that sexual selection removes deleterious mutations among species with high levels of sperm competition to maintain the protein functional and the spermatozoa competitive.</style></abstract></record></records></xml>