Experiments on Plant Hybrids by Gregor Mendel

Abbott, Scott; Fairbanks, Daniel J.

doi:10.1534/genetics.116.195198

Cited by 74 publications

(66 citation statements)

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“…This approach has been incredibly powerful. It enabled Mendel to establish the founding principles of genetics with his true-breeding peas and facilitating countless discoveries over the last 150 years (Abbott and Fairbanks 2016). However, studying inbred model systems with very low genetic variability has limitations in that phenotypes that can only be observed in heterozygotes remain hidden.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atypical meiosis can be adaptive in outcrossedS. pombedue towtfmeiotic drivers

Núñez

Sabbarini

Eide

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Killer meiotic drivers are genetic parasites that destroy ‘sibling’ gametes lacking the driver allele. The fitness costs of drive can lead to selection of unlinked suppressors. This suppression could involve evolutionary tradeoffs that compromise gametogenesis and contribute to infertility. Schizosaccharomyces pombe, an organism containing numerous gamete-killing wtf drivers, offers a tractable system to test this hypothesis. Here, we demonstrate that in scenarios analogous to outcrossing, wtf drivers generate a fitness landscape in which atypical gametes, such as aneuploids and diploids, are advantageous. In this context, wtf drivers can decrease the fitness cost of mutations that disrupt meiotic fidelity and, in some circumstances, can even make such mutations beneficial. Moreover, we find that S. pombe isolates vary greatly in their ability to make haploid gametes, with some isolates generating more than 25% aneuploid or diploid gametes. This work empirically demonstrates the potential for meiotic drivers to shape the evolution of gametogenesis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atypical meiosis can be adaptive in outcrossedS. pombedue towtfmeiotic drivers

Núñez

Sabbarini

Eide

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Column C17 shows the total number of independent diploids assayed for each cross. The last column (C18) shows the p-value calculated by comparing diploids [1][2][3][4]7,9,10,12,13,15,[17][18][19][20] to control diploid 22; diploid 24 to control diploid 25; diploids 5,6,8,11,14,16 and 26 to control diploid 23; diploid 27 to control diploid 28; diploids 21, 29, 30, and 31 to the control ura4 locus; and diploid 33 to diploid 32. We previously published the allele transmission data for diploid 26 [18].…”

Section: S7 Fig Sk Wtf11-gfp Expression Was Not Observed During Vegementioning

confidence: 99%

“…sperm). This process is generally fair in that each parental allele of a gene is represented equally in the gametes [1]. However, many eukaryotic genomes contain 'selfish' elements that bias their own transmission such that they are overrepresented in the viable gametes [2][3][4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dramatically diverse Schizosaccharomyces pombe wtf meiotic drivers all display high gamete-killing efficiency

et al. 2020

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Meiotic drivers are selfish alleles that can force their transmission into more than 50% of the viable gametes made by heterozygotes. Meiotic drivers are known to cause infertility in a diverse range of eukaryotes and are predicted to affect the evolution of genome structure and meiosis. The wtf gene family of Schizosaccharomyces pombe includes both meiotic drivers and drive suppressors and thus offers a tractable model organism to study drive systems. Currently, only a handful of wtf genes have been functionally characterized and those genes only partially reflect the diversity of the wtf gene family. In this work, we functionally test 22 additional wtf genes for meiotic drive phenotypes. We identify eight new drivers that share between 30-90% amino acid identity with previously characterized drivers. Despite the vast divergence between these genes, they generally drive into >85% of gametes when heterozygous. We also identify three wtf genes that suppress other wtf drivers, including two that also act as autonomous drivers. Additionally, we find that wtf genes do not underlie a weak (64% allele transmission) meiotic driver on chromosome 1. Finally, we find that some Wtf proteins have expression or localization patterns that are distinct from the poison and antidote proteins encoded by drivers and suppressors, suggesting some wtf genes may have non-meiotic drive functions. Overall, this work expands our understanding of the wtf gene family and the burden selfish driver genes impose on S. pombe.

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“…sperm). This process is generally fair in that each parental allele of a gene is represented at an equal ratio in the gametes (1). However, many eukaryotic genomes contain ‘selfish’ elements that bias their own transmission into the viable gametes generated by a heterozygote (2–4).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dramatically diverseS. pombe wtfmeiotic drivers all display high gamete-killing efficiency

Núñez

Sabbarini

Eickbush

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Meiotic drivers are selfish genetic loci that force their transmission into more than 50% of the viable gametes made by heterozygotes. Meiotic drivers are known to cause infertility in a diverse range of eukaryotes and are predicted to affect the evolution of genome structure and meiosis. The wtf gene family of Schizosaccharomyces pombe includes both meiotic drivers and drive suppressors and thus offers a tractable model organism to study drive systems. Currently, only a handful of wtf genes have been functionally characterized and those genes only partially reflect the diversity of the wtf gene family. In this work, we functionally test 22 additional wtf genes. We identify eight new drivers that share between 30-90% amino acid identity with previously characterized drivers. Despite the vast divergence between these genes, they generally drive into >85% gametes when heterozygous. We also find three new wtf genes that suppress drive, including two that also act as autonomous drivers. Additionally, we find that wtf genes do not underlie a weak (64%) transmission bias caused by a locus or loci on chromosome 1. Finally, we find that some Wtf proteins have expression or localization patterns that are distinct from the poison and antidote proteins encoded by drivers and suppressors, suggesting some wtf genes may have non-meiotic drive functions. Overall, this work expands our understanding of the wtf gene family and the burden selfish driver genes impose on S. pombe.Article SummaryDuring gametogenesis, the two gene copies at a given locus, known as alleles, are each transmitted to 50% of the gametes (e.g. sperm). However, some alleles cheat so that they are found in more than the expected 50% of gametes, often at the expense of fertility. This selfish behavior is known as meiotic drive. Some members of the wtf gene family in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, kill the gametes (spores) that do not inherit them, resulting in meiotic drive favoring the wtf allele. Other wtf genes act as suppressors of drive. However, the wtf gene family is diverse and only a small subset of the genes has been characterized. Here we analyze the functions of other members of this gene family and found eight new drivers as well as three new suppressors of drive. Surprisingly, we find that drive is relatively insensitive to changes in wtf gene sequence as highly diverged wtf genes execute gamete killing with similar efficiency. Finally, we also find that the expression and localization of some Wtf proteins are distinct from those of known drivers and suppressors, suggesting that these proteins may have non-meiotic drive functions.

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Experiments on Plant Hybrids by Gregor Mendel

Cited by 74 publications

References 0 publications

Atypical meiosis can be adaptive in outcrossedS. pombedue towtfmeiotic drivers

Atypical meiosis can be adaptive in outcrossedS. pombedue towtfmeiotic drivers

Dramatically diverse Schizosaccharomyces pombe wtf meiotic drivers all display high gamete-killing efficiency

Dramatically diverseS. pombe wtfmeiotic drivers all display high gamete-killing efficiency

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