Evidence for Dosage Compensation in Coccinia grandis, a Plant with a Highly Heteromorphic XY System

About 15,000 angiosperms are dioecious, but the mechanisms of sex determination in plants remain poorly understood. In particular, how Y chromosomes evolve and degenerate, and whether dosage compensation evolves as a response, are matters of debate. Here, we focus on Coccinia grandis, a dioecious cucurbit with the highest level of X/Y heteromorphy recorded so far. We identified sex-linked genes using RNA sequences from a cross and a model-based method termed SEX-DETector. Parents and F1 individuals were genotyped, and the transmission patterns of SNPs were then analyzed. In the >1300 sex-linked genes studied, maximum X-Y divergence was 0.13–0.17, and substantial Y degeneration is implied by an average Y/X expression ratio of 0.63 and an inferred gene loss on the Y of ~40%. We also found reduced Y gene expression being compensated by elevated expression of corresponding genes on the X and an excess of sex-biased genes on the sex chromosomes. Molecular evolution of sex-linked genes in C. grandis is thus comparable to that in Silene latifolia, another dioecious plant with a strongly heteromorphic XY system, and cucurbits are the fourth plant family in which dosage compensation is described, suggesting it might be common in plants.

Evidence for dosage compensation in Coccinia grandis, a plant with a highly heteromorphic XY system

Some ~15.000 angiosperms are dioecious, but mechanisms of sex determination in plants remain poorly understood. In particular, how Y chromosomes evolve and degenerate, and whether dosage compensation evolves as a response, are matters of debate. Here we focus on Coccinia grandis, a dioecious cucurbit with the highest level of X/Y heteromorphy recorded so far. We identified sex-linked genes using RNA sequences from a cross and a model-based method termed SEX-DETector. Parents and F1 individuals were genotyped and the transmission patterns of SNPs then analysed. In the >1300 sex-linked genes studied, X-Y divergence was 0.13 - 0.17, and substantial Y degeneration is implied by an average Y/X expression ratio of 0.63 and an inferred gene loss on the Y of ~40%. We also found reduced Y gene expression being compensated by elevated expression of corresponding genes on the X and an excess of sex-biased genes on the sex chromosomes. Molecular evolution of sex-linked genes in C. grandis is thus comparable to that in Silene latifolia, another dioecious plant with a strongly heteromorphic XY system, and cucurbits are the fourth plant family in which dosage compensation is described, suggesting it might be common in plants.

Evolutionary stasis of the pseudoautosomal boundary in strepsirrhine primates

Sex chromosomes are typically comprised of a non-recombining region and a recombining pseudoautosomal region. Accurately quantifying the relative size of these regions is critical for sex chromosome biology both from a functional (i.e. number of sex-linked genes) and evolutionary perspective (i.e. extent of Y degeneration and X-Y heteromorphy). The evolution of the pseudoautosomal boundary (PAB) - the limit between the recombining and the non-recombining regions of the sex chromosomes - is well documented in haplorrhines (apes and monkeys) but not in strepsirrhines (lemurs and lorises), which represent almost 30% of all primates. Here we studied the PAB of seven species representing the main strepsirrhine lineages by sequencing a male and a female genome in each species and using sex differences in coverage to identify the PAB. We found that during primate evolution, the PAB has remained unchanged in strepsirrhines whereas several recombination suppression events moved the PAB and shortened the pseudoautosomal region in haplorrhines. Strepsirrhines are well known to have much lower sexual dimorphism than haplorrhines. We suggest that mutations with antagonistic effects between males and females have driven recombination suppression and PAB evolution in haplorrhines. Our work supports the view that sexually antagonistic mutations have influenced the evolution of sex chromosomes in primates.

Rapid Y degeneration and dosage compensation in plant sex chromosomes

The nonrecombining regions of animal Y chromosomes are known to undergo genetic degeneration, but previous work has failed to reveal large-scale gene degeneration on plant Y chromosomes. Here, we uncover rapid and extensive degeneration of Y-linked genes in a plant species, Silene latifolia, that evolved sex chromosomes de novo in the last 10 million years. Previous transcriptome-based studies of this species missed unexpressed, degenerate Y-linked genes. To identify sex-linked genes, regardless of their expression, we sequenced male and female genomes of S. latifolia and integrated the genomic contigs with a high-density genetic map. This revealed that 45% of Y-linked genes are not expressed, and 23% are interrupted by premature stop codons. This contrasts with X-linked genes, in which only 1.3% of genes contained stop codons and 4.3% of genes were not expressed in males. Loss of functional Y-linked genes is partly compensated for by gene-specific up-regulation of X-linked genes. Our results demonstrate that the rate of genetic degeneration of Y-linked genes in S. latifolia is as fast as in animals, and that the evolutionary trajectories of sex chromosomes are similar in the two kingdoms.

Ancestral chromatin configuration constrains chromatin evolution on differentiating sex chromosomes in Drosophila

Sex chromosomes evolve distinctive types of chromatin from a pair of ancestral autosomes that are usually euchromatic. In Drosophila, the dosage-compensated X becomes enriched for hyperactive chromatin in males (mediated by H4K16ac), while the Y chromosome acquires silencing heterochromatin (enriched for H3K9me2/3). Drosophila autosomes are typically mostly euchromatic but the small dot chromosome has evolved a heterochromatin-like milieu (enriched for H3K9me2/3) that permits the normal expression of dot-linked genes, but which is different from typical pericentric heterochromatin. In Drosophila busckii, the dot chromosomes have fused to the ancestral sex chromosomes, creating a pair of ‘neo-sex’ chromosomes. Here we collect genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic data from D. busckii, to investigate the evolutionary trajectory of sex chromosomes from a largely heterochromatic ancestor. We show that the neo-sex chromosomes formed <1 million years ago, but nearly 60% of neo-Y linked genes have already become non-functional. Expression levels are generally lower for the neo-Y alleles relative to their neo-X homologs, and the silencing heterochromatin mark H3K9me2, but not H3K9me3, is significantly enriched on silenced neo-Y genes. Despite rampant neo-Y degeneration, we find that the neo-X is deficient for the canonical histone modification mark of dosage compensation (H4K16ac), relative to autosomes or the compensated ancestral X chromosome, possibly reflecting constraints imposed on evolving hyperactive chromatin in an originally heterochromatic environment. Yet, neo-X genes are transcriptionally more active in males, relative to females, suggesting the evolution of incipient dosage compensation on the neo-X. Our data show that Y degeneration proceeds quickly after sex chromosomes become established through genomic and epigenetic changes, and are consistent with the idea that the evolution of sex-linked chromatin is influenced by its ancestral configuration.

Why Chromosome Palindromes?

We look at sex-limited chromosome (Y or W) evolution with particular emphasis on the importance of palindromes. Y chromosome palindromes consist of inverted duplicates that allow for local recombination in an otherwise nonrecombining chromosome. Since palindromes enable intrachromosomal gene conversion that can help eliminate deleterious mutations, they are often highlighted as mechanisms to protect against Y degeneration. However, the adaptive significance of recombination resides in its ability to decouple the evolutionary fates of linked mutations, leading to both a decrease in degeneration rate and an increase in adaptation rate. Our paper emphasizes the latter, that palindromes may exist to accelerate adaptation by increasing the potential targets and fixation rates of incoming beneficial mutations. This hypothesis helps reconcile two enigmatic features of the “palindromes as protectors” view: (1) genes that are not located in palindromes have been retained under purifying selection for tens of millions of years, and (2) under models that only consider deleterious mutations, gene conversion benefits duplicate gene maintenance but not initial fixation. We conclude by looking at ways to test the hypothesis that palindromes enhance the rate of adaptive evolution of Y-linked genes and whether this effect can be extended to palindromes on other chromosomes.