We are interested in characterizing biodiversity of European cattle breeds. Commercially important breeds are studied as well as rare breeds. For a good inventory of cattle biodiversity, we use sets of tightly linked and unlinked microsatellites as well as DNA sequencing. The sexual conflict between males and females is particularly well studied in D. melanogaster . During mating, males have been shown to transfer sex peptides which, among other effects, result in a reduced lifespan of D. melanogaster females.
Females have two choices to avoid the toxic effects of the seminal fluids.
Either they reduce the number of matings, or they develop a strategy to limit the toxicity of the seminal fluid. Using microsatellite analysis to infer the number of paternal genotypes in the offspring of freshly collected females we infer the number of matings under natural conditions. Because populations were found to differ in their mating strategies, we use these differences to study the genetics of the sexual conflict in D. melanogaster . In Quercus petraea and Q. robur the gradual colonization of Europe has resulted in a loss of biodiversity measured by cpDNA and allozymes. Despite being genetically well analyzed, very limited information is available about the biogeography of D. melanogaster .