scholarly journals X-linked meiotic drive boosts population size and persistence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Mackintosh ◽  
Andrew Pomiankowski ◽  
Michael F Scott
Keyword(s):  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Genetic Elements ◽  
Selfish Genetic Elements ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Male Carriers

ABSTRACTX-linked meiotic drivers cause X-bearing sperm to be produced in excess by male carriers, leading to female-biased sex ratios. Selection for these selfish sex chromosomes can lead to completely female populations, which cannot produce offspring and go extinct. However, at the population level, moderately female-biased sex ratios are optimal because relatively few males are required to fertilise all the females. We develop eco-evolutionary models for sex-linked meiotic drive alleles to investigate their full range of demographic effects. We find general conditions for the spread and fixation of X-drivers, accounting for transmission bias and other factors associated with the spread of X-drivers such as sperm competition and polyandry. Our results suggest driving X-alleles that do not reach fixation (or do not bias segregation excessively) will boost population sizes and persistence times by increasing population productivity, demonstrating the potential for selfish genetic elements to move sex ratios closer to the population-level optimum. We suggest that researchers should look beyond extinction risk and consider the potential for ecologically beneficial side effects of selfish genetic elements, especially in light of proposals to use meiotic drive for biological control.

scholarly journals X-linked meiotic drive can boost population size and persistence

Genetics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 217 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Carl Mackintosh ◽  
Andrew Pomiankowski ◽  
Michael F Scott
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Genetic Elements ◽  
Selfish Genetic Elements ◽  
Sex Ratio Bias ◽  
Ejaculate Size ◽  
Male Mating Behavior

Abstract X-linked meiotic drivers cause X-bearing sperm to be produced in excess by male carriers, leading to female-biased sex ratios. Here, we find general conditions for the spread and fixation of X-linked alleles. Our conditions show that the spread of X-linked alleles depends on sex-specific selection and transmission rather than the time spent in each sex. Applying this logic to meiotic drive, we show that polymorphism is heavily dependent on sperm competition induced both by female and male mating behavior and the degree of compensation to gamete loss in the ejaculate size of drive males. We extend these evolutionary models to investigate the demographic consequences of biased sex ratios. Our results suggest driving X-alleles that invade and reach polymorphism (or fix and do not bias segregation excessively) will boost population size and persistence time by increasing population productivity, demonstrating the potential for selfish genetic elements to move sex ratios closer to the population-level optimum. However, when the spread of drive causes strong sex-ratio bias, it can lead to populations with so few males that females remain unmated, cannot produce offspring, and go extinct. This outcome is exacerbated when the male mating rate is low. We suggest that researchers should consider the potential for ecologically beneficial side effects of selfish genetic elements, especially in light of proposals to use meiotic drive for biological control.

scholarly journals The dynamic relationship between polyandry and selfish genetic elements

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1613) ◽  
pp. 20120049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Wedell
Keyword(s):  
Male Fertility ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
Genetic Elements ◽  
Selfish Genetic Elements ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Male Carriers

Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) are ubiquitous in eukaryotes and bacteria, and make up a large part of the genome. They frequently target sperm to increase their transmission success, but these manipulations are often associated with reduced male fertility. Low fertility of SGE-carrying males is suggested to promote polyandry as a female strategy to bias paternity against male carriers. Support for this hypothesis is found in several taxa, where SGE-carrying males have reduced sperm competitive ability. In contrast, when SGEs give rise to reproductive incompatibilities between SGE-carrying males and females, polyandry is not necessarily favoured, irrespective of the detrimental impact on male fertility. This is due to the frequency-dependent nature of these incompatibilities, because they will decrease in the population as the frequency of SGEs increases. However, reduced fertility of SGE-carrying males can prevent the successful population invasion of SGEs. In addition, SGEs can directly influence male and female mating behaviour, mating rates and reproductive traits (e.g. female reproductive tract length and male sperm). This reveals a potent and dynamic interaction between SGEs and polyandry highlighting the potential to generate sexual selection and conflict, but also indicates that polyandry can promote harmony within the genome by undermining the spread of SGEs.

scholarly journals Transposable element control disrupted by meiotic drive in a stalk-eyed fly genome

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine A Reinhardt ◽  
Richard H. Baker ◽  
Aleksey V. Zimin ◽  
Chloe Ladias ◽  
Kimberly A Paczolt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Transposable Element ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Genetic Elements ◽  
Selfish Genetic Elements ◽  
Genome Defense ◽  
Genomic Divergence ◽  
Pirna Pathway ◽  
Female Carriers

AbstractSome stalk-eyed flies in the genus Teleopsis carry selfish genetic elements that induce sex ratio (SR) meiotic drive and impact the fitness of male and female carriers. Here, we produce a chromosome-level genome assembly of the stalk-eyed fly, T. dalmanni, to elucidate the pattern of genomic divergence associated with the presence of drive elements. We find evidence for multiple nested inversions along the sex ratio haplotype and widespread differentiation and divergence between the inversion types along the entire X chromosome. In addition, the genome contains tens of thousands of transposable element (TE) insertions and hundreds of transcriptionally active TE families that have produced new insertions. Moreover, we find that many TE families are expressed at a significantly higher level in SR male testis, suggesting a molecular connection between these two types of selfish genetic elements in this species. We identify T. dalmanni orthologs of genes involved in genome defense via the piRNA pathway, including core members maelstrom, piwi and Argonaute3, that are diverging in sequence, expression or copy number between the SR and standard (ST) chromosomes, and likely influence TE regulation in flies carrying a sex ratio X chromosome.

scholarly journals EFFECTS OF POPULATION SIZE AND SELECTION INTENSITY ON SHORT-TERM RESPONSE TO SELECTION FOR POSTWEANING GAIN IN MICE

Genetics ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-530
Author(s):  
J P Hanrahan ◽  
E J Eisen ◽  
J E Legates
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Selection Response ◽  
Selection Intensity ◽  
Realized Heritability ◽  
Family Selection ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Selection Intensities ◽  
Term Response

ABSTRACT The effects of population size and selection intensity on the mean response was examined after 14 generations of within full-sib family selection for postweaning gain in mice. Population sizes of 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 pair matings were each evaluated at selection intensities of 100% (control), 50% and 25% in a replicated experiment. Selection response per generation increased as selection intensity increased. Selection response and realized heritability tended to increase with increasing population size. Replicate variability in realized heritability was large at population sizes of 1, 2 and 4 pairs. Genetic drift was implicated as the primary factor causing the reduced response and lowered repeatability at the smaller population sizes. Lines with intended effective population sizes of 62 yielded larger selection responses per unit selection differential than lines with effective population sizes of 30 or less.

scholarly journals Sex Chromosome Meiotic Drive in Stalk-Eyed Flies

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 147 (3) ◽  
pp. 1169-1180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daven C Presgraves ◽  
Emily Severance ◽  
Gerald S Willrinson
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Genetic Modifiers ◽  
Ratio Distortion ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sex Ratio Distortion

Meiotically driven sex chromosomes can quickly spread to fixation and cause population extinction unless balanced by selection or suppressed by genetic modifiers. We report results of genetic analyses that demonstrate that extreme female-biased sex ratios in two sister species of stalk-eyed flies, Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni and C. whitei, are due to a meiotic drive element on the X chromosome (Xd). Relatively high frequencies of Xd in C. dalmanni and C. whitei (13–17% and 29%, respectively) cause female-biased sex ratios in natural populations of both species. Sex ratio distortion is associated with spermatid degeneration in male carriers of Xd. Variation in sex ratios is caused by Y-linked and autosomal factors that decrease the intensity of meiotic drive. Y-linked polymorphism for resistance to drive exists in C. dalmanni in which a resistant Y chromosome reduces the intensity and reverses the direction of meiotic drive. When paired with Xd, modifying Y chromosomes (Ym) cause the transmission of predominantly Y-bearing sperm, and on average, production of 63% male progeny. The absence of sex ratio distortion in closely related monomorphic outgroup species suggests that this meiotic drive system may predate the origin of C. whitei and C. dalmanni. We discuss factors likely to be involved in the persistence of these sex-linked polymorphisms and consider the impact of Xd on the operational sex ratio and the intensity of sexual selection in these extremely sexually dimorphic flies.

scholarly journals Fisher vs. The Worms: Extraordinary Sex Ratios in Nematodes and the Mechanisms That Produce Them

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1793
Author(s):  
Justin Van Goor ◽  
Diane C. Shakes ◽  
Eric S. Haag
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Environmental Sex Determination ◽  
Fitness Advantage ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Facultative Parthenogenesis ◽  
Multicellular Organisms ◽  
Inbred Populations

Parker, Baker, and Smith provided the first robust theory explaining why anisogamy evolves in parallel in multicellular organisms. Anisogamy sets the stage for the emergence of separate sexes, and for another phenomenon with which Parker is associated: sperm competition. In outcrossing taxa with separate sexes, Fisher proposed that the sex ratio will tend towards unity in large, randomly mating populations due to a fitness advantage that accrues in individuals of the rarer sex. This creates a vast excess of sperm over that required to fertilize all available eggs, and intense competition as a result. However, small, inbred populations can experience selection for skewed sex ratios. This is widely appreciated in haplodiploid organisms, in which females can control the sex ratio behaviorally. In this review, we discuss recent research in nematodes that has characterized the mechanisms underlying highly skewed sex ratios in fully diploid systems. These include self-fertile hermaphroditism and the adaptive elimination of sperm competition factors, facultative parthenogenesis, non-Mendelian meiotic oddities involving the sex chromosomes, and environmental sex determination. By connecting sex ratio evolution and sperm biology in surprising ways, these phenomena link two “seminal” contributions of G. A. Parker. 

scholarly journals How many bird extinctions have we prevented?

Oryx ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart H.M. Butchart ◽  
Alison J. Stattersfield ◽  
Nigel J. Collar
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Declining Populations ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Principal Actions

Considerable resources and efforts have been directed at biodiversity conservation in recent years, but measures of the success of conservation programmes have been limited. Based on information on population sizes, trends, threatening processes and the nature and intensity of conservation actions implemented during 1994–2004, we assessed that 16 bird species would have probably become extinct during this period if conservation programmes for them had not been undertaken. The mean minimum population size of these 16 species increased from 34 to 147 breeding individuals during 1994–2004. In 1994, 63% of them had declining populations but by 2004, 81% were increasing. Most of these species (63%) are found on islands. The principal threats that led to their decline were habitat loss and degradation (88%), invasive species (50%) and exploitation (38%), a pattern similar to that for other threatened species, but with exploitation and invasive species being relatively more important. The principal actions carried out were habitat protection and management (75% of species), control of invasive species (50%), and captive breeding and release (33%). The 16 species represent only 8.9% of those currently classified as Critically Endangered, and 1.3% of those threatened with extinction. Many of these additional species slipped closer to extinction during 1994–2004, including 164 that deteriorated in status sufficiently to be uplisted to higher categories of extinction risk on the IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2006). Efforts need to be considerably scaled up to prevent many more extinctions in the coming decades. The knowledge and tools to achieve this are available, but we need to mobilize the resources and political will to apply them.

scholarly journals Red queen's race: rapid evolutionary dynamics of an expanding family of meiotic drive factors and their hpRNA suppressors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Vedanayagam ◽  
Ching-Jung Lin ◽  
Eric C. Lai
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Independent Set ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Sperm Chromatin ◽  
Arms Races ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Selfish Genetic Elements ◽  
Satellite Repeats

Meiotic drivers are a class of selfish genetic elements that are widespread across eukaryotes. Their activities are often detrimental to organismal fitness and thus trigger drive suppression to ensure fair segregation during meiosis. Accordingly, their existence is frequently hidden in genomes, and their molecular functions are little known. Here, we trace evolutionary steps that generated the Dox meiotic drive system in Drosophila simulans (Dsim), which distorts male:female balance (sex-ratio) by depleting male progeny. We show that Dox emerged via stepwise mobilization and acquisition of portions of multiple D. melanogaster genes, including the sperm chromatin packaging gene protamine. Moreover, we reveal novel Dox homologs in Dsim and massive, recent, amplification of Dox superfamily genes specifically on X chromosomes of its closest sister species D. mauritiana (Dmau) and D. sechellia (Dsech). The emergence of Dox superfamily genes is tightly associated with 1.688 family satellite repeats that flank de novo genomic copies. In concert, we find coordinated emergence and diversification of autosomal hairpin RNA/siRNAs loci that target subsets of Dox superfamily genes across simulans clade species. Finally, an independent set of protamine amplifications the Y chromosome of D. melanogaster indicates that protamine genes are frequent and recurrent players in sex chromosome dynamics. Overall, we reveal fierce genetic arms races between meiotic drive factors and siRNA suppressors associated with recent speciation.

scholarly journals dDocent: a RADseq, variant-calling pipeline designed for population genomics of non-model organisms

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Puritz ◽  
Christopher M. Hollenbeck ◽  
John R. Gold
Keyword(s):  
Population Genomics ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Variant Calling ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Reduction Techniques ◽  
Indel Polymorphisms ◽  
Indel Calling ◽  
Population Sizes

Restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) has become a powerful and useful approach for population genomics. Currently, no software exists that utilizes both paired-end reads from RADseq data to efficiently produce population-informative variant calls, especially for organisms with large effective population sizes and high levels of genetic polymorphism but for which no genomic resources exist. dDocent is an analysis pipeline with a user-friendly, command-line interface designed to process individually barcoded RADseq data (with double cut sites) into informative SNPs/Indels for population-level analyses. The pipeline, written in BASH, uses data reduction techniques and other stand-alone software packages to perform quality trimming and adapter removal, de novo assembly of RAD loci, read mapping, SNP and Indel calling, and baseline data filtering. Double-digest RAD data from population pairings of three different marine fishes were used to compare dDocent with Stacks, the first generally available, widely used pipeline for analysis of RADseq data. dDocent consistently identified more SNPs shared across greater numbers of individuals and with higher levels of coverage. This is most likely due to the fact that dDocent quality trims instead of filtering and incorporates both forward and reverse reads in assembly, mapping, and SNP calling, thus enabling use of reads with Indel polymorphisms. The pipeline and a comprehensive user guide can be found at (http://dDocent.wordpress.com).

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