scholarly journals Unravelling the mystery of female meiotic drive: where we are

Open Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 210074
Author(s):  
Frances E. Clark ◽  
Takashi Akera
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Genetic Element ◽  
Female Meiosis ◽  
Model Species ◽  
Selfish Genetic Element ◽  
Mendelian Expectation ◽  
Drive Systems ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Female meiotic drive is the phenomenon where a selfish genetic element alters chromosome segregation during female meiosis to segregate to the egg and transmit to the next generation more frequently than Mendelian expectation. While several examples of female meiotic drive have been known for many decades, a molecular understanding of the underlying mechanisms has been elusive. Recent advances in this area in several model species prompts a comparative re-examination of these drive systems. In this review, we compare female meiotic drive of several animal and plant species, highlighting pertinent similarities.

scholarly journals Novel chromosome organization pattern in actinomycetales–overlapping replication cycles combined with diploidy

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kati Böhm ◽  
Fabian Meyer ◽  
Agata Rhomberg ◽  
Jörn Kalinowski ◽  
Catriona Donovan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Chromosome Organization ◽  
Model Species ◽  
Chromosomal Organization ◽  
Dna Segregation ◽  
Rate Dependent ◽  
Dependent Cell ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Cell Cycle Models

AbstractBacteria regulate chromosome replication and segregation tightly with cell division to ensure faithful segregation of DNA to daughter generations. The underlying mechanisms have been addressed in several model species. It became apparent that bacteria have evolved quite different strategies to regulate DNA segregation and chromosomal organization. We have investigated here how the actinobacteriumCorynebacterium glutamicumorganizes chromosome segregation and DNA replication. Unexpectedly, we find thatC. glutamicumcells are at least diploid under all conditions tested and that these organisms have overlapping C-periods during replication with both origins initiating replication simultaneously. Based on experimentally obtained data we propose growth rate dependent cell cycle models forC. glutamicum.

scholarly journals Flavors of Non-Random Meiotic Segregation of Autosomes and Sex Chromosomes

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1338
Author(s):  
Filip Pajpach ◽  
Tianyu Wu ◽  
Linda Shearwin-Whyatt ◽  
Keith Jones ◽  
Frank Grützner
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Continuous Transition ◽  
Equal Chance ◽  
Random Segregation ◽  
Chromosomal Changes ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Segregation of chromosomes is a multistep process occurring both at mitosis and meiosis to ensure that daughter cells receive a complete set of genetic information. Critical components in the chromosome segregation include centromeres, kinetochores, components of sister chromatid and homologous chromosomes cohesion, microtubule organizing centres, and spindles. Based on the cytological work in the grasshopper Brachystola, it has been accepted for decades that segregation of homologs at meiosis is fundamentally random. This ensures that alleles on chromosomes have equal chance to be transmitted to progeny. At the same time mechanisms of meiotic drive and an increasing number of other examples of non-random segregation of autosomes and sex chromosomes provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of chromosome segregation but also question the textbook dogma of random chromosome segregation. Recent advances provide a better understanding of meiotic drive as a prominent force where cellular and chromosomal changes allow autosomes to bias their segregation. Less understood are mechanisms explaining observations that autosomal heteromorphism may cause biased segregation and regulate alternating segregation of multiple sex chromosome systems or translocation heterozygotes as an extreme case of non-random segregation. We speculate that molecular and cytological mechanisms of non-random segregation might be common in these cases and that there might be a continuous transition between random and non-random segregation which may play a role in the evolution of sexually antagonistic genes and sex chromosome evolution.

scholarly journals Meiotic drive reduces egg-to-adult viability in stalk-eyed flies

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1910) ◽  
pp. 20191414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Ronan Finnegan ◽  
Nathan Joseph White ◽  
Dixon Koh ◽  
M. Florencia Camus ◽  
Kevin Fowler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Genetic Element ◽  
Frequency Dependent Selection ◽  
Selfish Genetic Element ◽  
Sex Ratio Bias ◽  
Male Carriers

A number of species are affected by Sex-Ratio (SR) meiotic drive, a selfish genetic element located on the X-chromosome that causes dysfunction of Y-bearing sperm. SR is transmitted to up to 100% of offspring, causing extreme sex ratio bias. SR in several species is found in a stable polymorphism at a moderate frequency, suggesting there must be strong frequency-dependent selection resisting its spread. We investigate the effect of SR on female and male egg-to-adult viability in the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni . SR meiotic drive in this species is old, and appears to be broadly stable at a moderate (approx. 20%) frequency. We use large-scale controlled crosses to estimate the strength of selection acting against SR in female and male carriers. We find that SR reduces the egg-to-adult viability of both sexes. In females, homozygous females experience greater reduction in viability ( s f = 0.242) and the deleterious effects of SR are additive ( h = 0.511). The male deficit in viability ( s m = 0.214) is not different from that in homozygous females. The evidence does not support the expectation that deleterious side effects of SR are recessive or sex-limited. We discuss how these reductions in egg-to-adult survival, as well as other forms of selection acting on SR, may maintain the SR polymorphism in this species.

scholarly journals Nuclear transport genes recurrently duplicate by means of RNA intermediates in Drosophila but not in other insects

BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayda Mirsalehi ◽  
Dragomira N. Markova ◽  
Mohammadmehdi Eslamieh ◽  
Esther Betrán
Keyword(s):  
Gene Evolution ◽  
Nuclear Transport ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Gene Duplications ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Drive Systems ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Male Specific ◽  
Phylogenomic Study ◽  
Dipteran Species

Abstract Background The nuclear transport machinery is involved in a well-known male meiotic drive system in Drosophila. Fast gene evolution and gene duplications have been major underlying mechanisms in the evolution of meiotic drive systems, and this might include some nuclear transport genes in Drosophila. So, using a comprehensive, detailed phylogenomic study, we examined 51 insect genomes for the duplication of the same nuclear transport genes. Results We find that most of the nuclear transport duplications in Drosophila are of a few classes of nuclear transport genes, RNA mediated and fast evolving. We also retrieve many pseudogenes for the Ran gene. Some of the duplicates are relatively young and likely contributing to the turnover expected for genes under strong but changing selective pressures. These duplications are potentially revealing what features of nuclear transport are under selection. Unlike in flies, we find only a few duplications when we study the Drosophila duplicated nuclear transport genes in dipteran species outside of Drosophila, and none in other insects. Conclusions These findings strengthen the hypothesis that nuclear transport gene duplicates in Drosophila evolve either as drivers or suppressors of meiotic drive systems or as other male-specific adaptations circumscribed to flies and involving a handful of nuclear transport functions.

scholarly journals Carrying a selfish genetic element predicts increased migration propensity in free-living wild house mice

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1888) ◽  
pp. 20181333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Niklas Runge ◽  
Anna K. Lindholm
Keyword(s):  
Population Control ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Gene Drive ◽  
Genetic Element ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Mouse Population ◽  
Selfish Genetic Elements ◽  
Selfish Genetic Element ◽  
Drive Systems ◽  
Migration Propensity

Life is built on cooperation between genes, which makes it vulnerable to parasitism. Selfish genetic elements that exploit this cooperation can achieve large fitness gains by increasing their transmission relative to the rest of the genome. This leads to counter-adaptations that generate unique selection pressures on the selfish genetic element. This arms race is similar to host–parasite coevolution, as some multi-host parasites alter the host’s behaviour to increase the chance of transmission to the next host. Here, we ask if, similarly to these parasites, a selfish genetic element in house mice, the t haplotype, also manipulates host behaviour, specifically the host’s migration propensity. Variants of the t that manipulate migration propensity could increase in fitness in a meta-population. We show that juvenile mice carrying the t haplotype were more likely to emigrate from and were more often found as migrants within a long-term free-living house mouse population. This result may have applied relevance as the t has been proposed as a basis for artificial gene drive systems for use in population control.

scholarly journals Meiotic drive reduces egg-to-adult viability in stalk-eyed flies

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Ronan Finnegan ◽  
Nathan Joseph White ◽  
Dixon Koh ◽  
M. Florencia Camus ◽  
Kevin Fowler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Genetic Element ◽  
Frequency Dependent Selection ◽  
Selfish Genetic Element ◽  
Sex Ratio Bias ◽  
Male Carriers

AbstractSR meiotic drive is a selfish genetic element located on the X chromosome in a number of species that causes dysfunction of Y-bearing sperm. SR is transmitted to up to 100% of offspring, causing extreme sex ratio bias. SR in several species is found in a stable polymorphism at a moderate frequency, suggesting there must be strong frequency-dependent selection resisting its spread. We investigate the effect of SR on female and male egg-to-adult viability in the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly,Teleopsis dalmanni. SR meiotic drive in this species is old, and appears to be broadly stable at a moderate (~20%) frequency. We use large-scale controlled crosses to estimate the strength of selection acting against SR in female and male carriers. We find that SR reduces the egg-to-adult viability of both sexes. In females, homozygous females experience greater reduction in viability (sf= 0.242) and the deleterious effects of SR are additive (ℎ = 0.511). The male deficit in viability (sm= 0.214) is not different from that in homozygous females. The evidence does not support the expectation that deleterious side-effects of SR are recessive or sex-limited. We discuss how these reductions in egg-to-adult survival, as well as other forms of selection acting on SR, act to maintain SR polymorphism in this species.

scholarly journals Spindle asymmetry drives non-Mendelian chromosome segregation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Akera ◽  
Lukáš Chmátal ◽  
Emily Trimm ◽  
Karren Yang ◽  
Chanat Aonbangkhen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Asymmetric Cell Division ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Cell Cortex ◽  
Female Meiosis ◽  
Mendelian Segregation ◽  
Diploid Parent ◽  
Two Sides ◽  
Cortical Polarization

Genetic elements compete for transmission through meiosis, when haploid gametes are created from a diploid parent. Selfish elements can enhance their transmission through meiotic drive, in violation of Mendel’s Law of Segregation. In female meiosis, selfish elements drive by preferentially attaching to the egg side of the spindle, which implies some asymmetry between the two sides of the spindle, but molecular mechanisms underlying spindle asymmetry are unknown. Here we show that CDC42 signaling from the cell cortex regulates microtubule tyrosination to induce spindle asymmetry, and non-Mendelian segregation depends on this asymmetry. These signals depend on cortical polarization directed by chromosomes, which are positioned near the cortex to allow the asymmetric cell division. Thus, selfish meiotic drivers exploit the asymmetry inherent in female meiosis to bias their transmission.

scholarly journals An empirical test of the meiotic drive models of hybrid sterility: sex-ratio data from hybrids between Drosophila simulans and Drosophila sechellia.

Genetics ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
N A Johnson ◽  
C I Wu
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Hybrid Sterility ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Pure Species ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Ratio Data ◽  
Mendelian Expectation ◽  
Drive Systems

Abstract Recently, there has been much discussion regarding the hypothesis that divergence of meiotic drive systems in isolated populations can generate the patterns of reproductive isolation observed in animal hybridizations. One prediction from this hypothesis is that the sex ratio of hybrids with heterospecific sex chromosomes should greatly deviate from the Mendelian expectation of 50% female. From sex-ratio data in our Drosophila hybridization studies, we find no such deviation: the sex ratio of offspring of males with introgressed heterospecific Y chromosomes with various autosomal backgrounds does not differ from that of the pure species. We also discuss other aspects of the current meiotic drive models.

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