scholarly journals Partial maintenance of organ-specific epigenetic marks during plant asexual reproduction leads to heritable phenotypic variation

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (39) ◽  
pp. E9145-E9152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjar Wibowo ◽  
Claude Becker ◽  
Julius Durr ◽  
Jonathan Price ◽  
Stijn Spaepen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Clonal Plants ◽  
Pathogenic Microorganisms ◽  
Asexual Propagation ◽  
Epigenetic Marks ◽  
Differentiated Cells ◽  
Organ Specific

Plants differ from animals in their capability to easily regenerate fertile adult individuals from terminally differentiated cells. This unique developmental plasticity is commonly observed in nature, where many species can reproduce asexually through the ectopic initiation of organogenic or embryogenic developmental programs. While organ-specific epigenetic marks are not passed on during sexual reproduction, the fate of epigenetic marks during asexual reproduction and the implications for clonal progeny remain unclear. Here we report that organ-specific epigenetic imprints in Arabidopsis thaliana can be partially maintained during asexual propagation from somatic cells in which a zygotic program is artificially induced. The altered marks are inherited even over multiple rounds of sexual reproduction, becoming fixed in hybrids and resulting in heritable molecular and physiological phenotypes that depend on the identity of the founder tissue. Consequently, clonal plants display distinct interactions with beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms. Our results demonstrate how novel phenotypic variation in plants can be unlocked through altered inheritance of epigenetic marks upon asexual propagation.

scholarly journals Incomplete reprogramming of cell-specific epigenetic marks during asexual reproduction leads to heritable phenotypic variation in plants

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjar Wibowo ◽  
Claude Becker ◽  
Julius Durr ◽  
Jonathan Price ◽  
Stijn Spaepen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Developmental Programs ◽  
Asexual Propagation ◽  
Epigenetic Marks ◽  
Developmental Program ◽  
Differentiated Cells ◽  
Developmental Reprogramming

AbstractPlants differ from animals in their capability to easily regenerate fertile adult individuals from terminally differentiated cells [1]. This unique developmental plasticity is commonly observed in nature where many species can reproduce asexually through the ectopic initiation of organogenic or embryogenic developmental programs [2, 3]. However, it is not currently known if this developmental reprogramming is coupled to a global epigenomic resetting, or what impact it has on the phenotype of the clonal progeny. Here we show that plants asexually propagated via induction of a zygotic developmental program do not fully reset cell-specific epigenetic imprints. These imprints are instead inherited even over multiple rounds of sexual reproduction, becoming fixed in hybrids and resulting in heritable molecular and physiological phenotypes that depend on the founder cell used. Our results demonstrate how novel phenotypic variation in plants can be unlocked through the incomplete reprogramming of cell-specific epigenetic marks during asexual propagation.

Molecular basis of adaptive evolution of sperm motility involved in in vivo fertilization of terrestrial animals

Impact ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (6) ◽  
pp. 73-75
Author(s):  
Akihiko Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Sperm Motility ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Acrosome Reaction ◽  
Sperm Morphology ◽  
Adaptive Potential ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
The Face ◽  
Genetic Profiles

One of the unifying traits of life on this planet is reproduction, or life's ability to make copies of itself. The mode of reproduction has evolved over time, having almost certainly begun with simple asexual reproduction when the ancestral single celled organism divided into two. Since these beginnings' life has tried out numerous strategies, and perhaps one of the most important and successful has been sexual reproduction. This form of reproduction relies on the union of gametes, otherwise known as sperm and egg. Evolutionarily, sexual reproduction allows for greater adaptive potential because the genes of two unique individuals have a chance to recombine and mix in order to produce a new individual. Unlike asexual reproduction which produces genetically-identical clones of the parent individual, sex produces offspring with novel genes and combinations of genes. Therefore, in the face of new selective pressures there is a higher chance that one of these novel genetic profiles will produce an adaptation that is advantageous in the new circumstances. Dr Akihiko Watanabe is a reproductive biologist based in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science Yamagata University in Japan, he is currently working on three research projects; a comparative study on the signalling pathways for inducing sperm motility and acrosome reaction in amphibians, the mechanism behind the adaptive modification of sperm morphology and motility, and the origin of sperm motility initiating substance (SMIS).

scholarly journals The Advantages of Segregation and the Evolution of Sex

Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 164 (3) ◽  
pp. 1099-1118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah P Otto
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Deleterious Mutations ◽  
Evolution Of Sex ◽  
Beneficial Mutations ◽  
Selection Regime ◽  
Strong Selection ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Low Levels

AbstractIn diploids, sexual reproduction promotes both the segregation of alleles at the same locus and the recombination of alleles at different loci. This article is the first to investigate the possibility that sex might have evolved and been maintained to promote segregation, using a model that incorporates both a general selection regime and modifier alleles that alter an individual’s allocation to sexual vs. asexual reproduction. The fate of different modifier alleles was found to depend strongly on the strength of selection at fitness loci and on the presence of inbreeding among individuals undergoing sexual reproduction. When selection is weak and mating occurs randomly among sexually produced gametes, reductions in the occurrence of sex are favored, but the genome-wide strength of selection is extremely small. In contrast, when selection is weak and some inbreeding occurs among gametes, increased allocation to sexual reproduction is expected as long as deleterious mutations are partially recessive and/or beneficial mutations are partially dominant. Under strong selection, the conditions under which increased allocation to sex evolves are reversed. Because deleterious mutations are typically considered to be partially recessive and weakly selected and because most populations exhibit some degree of inbreeding, this model predicts that higher frequencies of sex would evolve and be maintained as a consequence of the effects of segregation. Even with low levels of inbreeding, selection is stronger on a modifier that promotes segregation than on a modifier that promotes recombination, suggesting that the benefits of segregation are more likely than the benefits of recombination to have driven the evolution of sexual reproduction in diploids.

Embryogenesis and larval differentiation in sponges

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
S P Leys ◽  
A V Ereskovsky
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Cellular Differentiation ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
Cellular Material ◽  
Sensory Organs ◽  
Differentiated Cells ◽  
Cell Layers ◽  
Anterior Posterior

Having descended from the first multicellular animals on earth, sponges are a key group in which to seek innovations that form the basis of the metazoan body plan, but sponges themselves have a body plan that is extremely difficult to reconcile with that of other animals. Adult sponges lack overt anterior–posterior polarity and sensory organs, and whether they possess true tissues is even debated. Nevertheless, sexual reproduction occurs as in other metazoans, with the development of embryos through a structured series of cellular divisions and organized rearrangements of cellular material, using both mesenchymal and epithelial movements to form a multicellular embryo. In most cases, the embryo undergoes morphogenesis into a spatially organized larva that has several cell layers, anterior–posterior polarity, and sensory capabilities. Here we review original data on the mode of cleavage, timing of cellular differentiation, and the mechanisms involved in the organization of differentiated cells to form the highly structured sponge larva. Our ultimate goal is to develop interpretations of the phylogenetic importance of these data within the Porifera and among basal Metazoa.

scholarly journals Body size and clonality consequences for sexual reproduction in a perennial herb of Brazilian rupestrian grasslands

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 744-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
GR Demetrio ◽  
FF Coelho ◽  
MEA Barbosa
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Clonal Plants ◽  
Flower Head ◽  
Perennial Herb ◽  
Stressful Environments ◽  
Herbaceous Perennial ◽  
Biology Research

Body size is one of the most important factors regarding herbaceous perennial plants life-histories, and several fitness components of these organisms are related to size. Clonal plants show distinct kinds of reproduction and can develop offspring by sexual or asexual ways. We aimed to understand how body size affects Comanthera nivea (Eriocaulaceae) sexual reproduction and to verify how clonal growth is related to flower head production in this species. We sampled 600 rosettes in rupestrian grasslands and performed linear regression analysis between body size and number of produced flower heads. We also compared the flower head production between isolated rosettes and rosettes within clones. Our results showed that body size was significantly related, but explained only a small part of flower head production. The flower head production was higher in rosettes within clones than in isolated ones. The clones presented a rosette or a small group of rosettes that concentrated the sexual reproduction. Clonality was positively associated with sexual reproduction. Clonality can represent an important way of allowing the persistence of plants by sexual reproduction in markedly seasonal stressful environments. The cases of clonality enhancing the sexual reproduction must be considered and put in focus on reproductive biology research.

scholarly journals Influence of breeding strategy on genetic diversity of individuals

2021 ◽  
pp. 1168-1174
Author(s):  
A.A. Poroshina ◽  
◽  
D.Yu. Sherbakov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Computer Simulation ◽  
Molecular Evolution ◽  
Microsatellite Markers ◽  
Simulation Model ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Reproductive Strategy ◽  
Breeding Strategy ◽  
Computer Simulation Model

Abstract. Using a computer simulation model, we tried to investigate how the transition from sexual reproduction to asexual reproduction will affect the population of diploid organisms with a neutral character of molecular evolution. At the same time, special attention was paid to the specificity of microsatellite markers. In this paper, we develop fast and inexpensive methods for assessing the changes in populations that occur with a change in reproductive strategy.

scholarly journals Atlas of Age- and Tissue-specific DNA Methylation during Early Development of Barley (Hordeum vulgare)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moumouni Konate ◽  
Michael J. Wilkinson ◽  
Banjamin Mayne ◽  
Eileen Scott ◽  
Bettina Berger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Hordeum Vulgare ◽  
Organ Function ◽  
Tissue Specific ◽  
Organ Differentiation ◽  
Differentiated Cells ◽  
Differentially Methylated Genes ◽  
Organ Specific ◽  
Development And Differentiation ◽  
Methylation Patterns

The barley (Hordeum vulgare) genome comprises over 32,000 genes, with differentiated cells expressing only a subset of genes; the remainder being silent. Mechanisms by which tissue-specific genes are regulated are not entirely understood, although DNA methylation is likely to be involved. DNA methylation patterns are not static during plant development, but it is still unclear whether different organs possess distinct methylation profiles. Methylation-sensitive GBS was used to generate DNA methylation profiles for roots, leaf-blades and leaf-sheaths from five barley varieties, using seedlings at the three-leaf stage. Differentially Methylated Markers (DMMs) were characterised by pairwise comparisons of roots, leaf-blades and leaf-sheaths of three different ages. While very many DMMs were found between roots and leaf parts, only a few existed between leaf-blades and leaf-sheaths, with differences decreasing with leaf rank. Organ-specific DMMs appeared to target mainly repeat regions, implying that organ differentiation partially relies on the spreading of DNA methylation from repeats to promoters of adjacent genes. Furthermore, the biological functions of differentially methylated genes in the different organs correlated with functional specialisation. Our results indicate that different organs do possess diagnostic methylation profiles and suggest that DNA methylation is important for both tissue development and differentiation and organ function.

Ceratophyllum demersum (coontail).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Water Body ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Ceratophyllum Demersum ◽  
Aquatic Species

Abstract C. demersum is a cosmopolitan submerged aquatic species that has probably already invaded most of its potential exotic range. It has the advantages of being a perennial surviving well over-winter in deeper water and by growing both by asexual reproduction of broken or complete stems and by sexual reproduction of very many seeds. It has a wide ecological tolerance and grows relatively fast. Disturbance of the water body results in increases in growth through changes in nutrient availability but also in faster dispersal around water bodies allowing greater competition with less vigorous species.

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