Diploid male gametes circumvent hybrid sterility between Asian and African rice species

In F1 hybrids of Oryza sativa (Asian rice) and O. glaberrima (African rice), heterozygosity leads to a complete gamete abortion because of allelic conflict at each of the 13 hybrid sterility (HS) loci. We systematically produced 19 plants from the F1 hybrids of both the rice species by the anther culture (AC) method. Five of the 19 interspecific hybrid plants were fertile and able to produce seeds. Unlike ordinal doubled haploid plants resulting from AC, these regenerated plants showed various ploidy levels (diploid to pentaploid) and different zygosities (completely homozygous, completely heterozygous, and a combination). These properties were attributable to meiotic anomalies in the interspecific hybrid F1 plants. Examination of the genetic structures of the regenerated plants suggested meiotic non-reduction took place in the interspecific hybrid F1 plants. The centromeric regions in the regenerated plants revealed that the abnormal first and/or second divisions of meiosis, namely the first division restitution (FDR) and/or second division restitution (SDR), had occurred in the interspecific hybrid. Immunohistochemical observations also verified these phenomena. FDR and SDR occurrences at meiosis might strongly lead to the formation of diploid microspores. The results demonstrated that meiotic anomalies functioned as a reproductive barrier occurred before the HS genes acted in gamete of the interspecific hybrid. Although such meiotic anomalies are detrimental to pollen development, the early rescue of microspores carrying the diploid gamete resulted in the fertile regenerated plants. The five fertile plants carrying tetraploid genomes with heterozygous alleles of the HS loci produced fertile diploid pollens, implying that the diploid gametes circumvented the allelic conflicts at the HS loci. We also proposed how diploid male gametes avoid HS with the killer-protector model.

Kin Selection: My Sister’s Keeper

Female bees carry two sets of chromosomes, one from the mother, one from the father—they are diploid. Male bees (drones) carry only one set, inherited from the mother—they are haploid. As a result, the relation between sisters is closer than between a female worker and her possible offspring. This inheritance structure led to the caste scheme of bee colonies, with a single queen giving rise to all offspring, while the sterile female workers take over the child care, not having children of their own. By assuring the survival of the children of the queen, the worker females assure the passage of favorable genes better than by having children of their own.

Absence of complementary sex determination in Trichogramma dendrolimi Matsumura (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

Over 60 species in Hymenoptera have been reported to possess a complementary sex determination (CSD) system. Under CSD, sex is determined by allelic complementation at one or several sex loci. But this mechanism is still uninvestigated in parasitoid wasp Trichogramma dendrolimi, one of the most important biocontrol agents widely used against Lepidopteran pests. We tested CSD in this species by conducting ten consecutive generations of inbreeding, to monitor both direct evidence (diploid male production) and indirect evidence (brood size, sex ratio, mortality). In total 475 males detected from this inbreeding regime, only one was determined as diploidy. The observed proportions of diploid male offspring significantly differed from expected values under CSD model involving up to ten independent loci, allowing us to safely reject CSD in T. dendrolimi. Meanwhile, the possibility of unviable diploid males was excluded by the absence of significant differences in brood size, offspring sex ratio and offspring mortality among different generations. Our study of sex determination in T. dendrolimi provides useful information for the mass rearing conditions in a biofactory and the quality improvement of this biocontrol agent. It also brings necessary background to further study of the sex determination in Trichogramma.

Absence of complementary sex determination in Trichogramma dendrolimi Matsumura (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

Over 60 species in Hymenoptera have been reported to possess a complementary sex determination (CSD) system. Under CSD, sex is determined by allelic complementation at one or several sex loci. But this mechanism is still uninvestigated in parasitoid wasp Trichogramma dendrolimi, one of the most important biocontrol agents widely used against Lepidopteran pests. We tested CSD in this species by conducting ten consecutive generations of inbreeding, to monitor both direct evidence (diploid male production) and indirect evidence (brood size, sex ratio, mortality). In total 475 males detected from this inbreeding regime, only one was determined as diploidy. The observed proportions of diploid male offspring significantly differed from expected values under CSD model involving up to ten independent loci, allowing us to safely reject CSD in T. dendrolimi. Meanwhile, the possibility of unviable diploid males was excluded by the absence of significant differences in brood size, offspring sex ratio and offspring mortality among different generations. Our study of sex determination in T. dendrolimi provides useful information for the mass rearing conditions in a biofactory and the quality improvement of this biocontrol agent. It also brings necessary background to further study of the sex determination in Trichogramma.

Genetic, morphometric, and molecular analyses of interspecies differences in head shape and hybrid developmental defects in the wasp genus Nasonia

Males in the parasitoid wasp genus Nasonia (N. vitripennis, N. giraulti, N. longicornis) have distinct, species specific, head shapes. Fertile hybrids among the species are readily produced in the lab allowing genetic analysis of the evolved differences. In addition, the obligate haploidy of males makes these wasps a uniquely powerful model for analyzing the role of complex gene interactions in development and evolution. Previous analyses have shown that complex gene interactions underpin different aspects of the shape differences, and developmental incompatibilities that are specific to the head in F2 haploid hybrid males are also governed by networks of gene interaction. Here we use the genetic tools available in Nasonia to extend our understanding of the gene interactions that affect development and morphogenesis in male heads. Using artificial diploid male hybrids, we show that alleles affecting head shape are codominant, leading to uniform, averaged hybrid F1 diploid male heads, while the alleles mediating developmental defects are recessive, and are not visible in the diploid hybrids. We also determine that divergence in time, rather than in morphological disparity is the primary driver of hybrid developmental defects. In addition, we show that doublesex is necessary for the male head shape differences, but is not the only important factor. Finally we demonstrate that we can dissect complex interspecies gene interaction networks using introgression in this system. These advances represent significant progress in the complex web of gene interactions that govern morphological development, and chart the connections between genomic and phenotypic variation.

Increased fluctuation in a butterfly metapopulation leads to diploid males and decline of a hyperparasitoid

Climate change can increase spatial synchrony of population dynamics, leading to large-scale fluctuation that destabilizes communities. High trophic level species such as parasitoids are disproportionally affected because they depend on unstable resources. Most parasitoid wasps have complementary sex determination, producing sterile males when inbred, which can theoretically lead to population extinction via the diploid male vortex (DMV). We examined this process empirically using a hyperparasitoid population inhabiting a spatially structured host population in a large fragmented landscape. Over four years of high host butterfly metapopulation fluctuation, diploid male production by the wasp increased, and effective population size declined precipitously. Our multitrophic spatially structured model shows that host population fluctuation can cause local extinctions of the hyperparasitoid because of the DMV. However, regionally it persists because spatial structure allows for efficient local genetic rescue via balancing selection for rare alleles carried by immigrants. This is, to our knowledge, the first empirically based study of the possibility of the DMV in a natural host–parasitoid system.