Hereditary symbionts and mitochondria: distribution in insect populations and quasi-linkage of genetic markers

Abstract

Maternal transmission ensures the joint transmission and simultaneous presence in populations of individuals with certain variants of the bacterial symbiont and host mitochondrial DNA. Such “quasi-linkage” of cytoplasmic genomes among insects and other arthropods is widespread. The symbiont acts as a “driver” of mitochondria and the obvious biological consequence is the spread of the “linked” mitochondrial haplotype in the population, which itself does not have increased selective value to the organism. Examples of such indirect selective mitochondrial sweep in insects are discussed, as well as biological consequences of this phenomenon and mechanisms of increasing the frequency of symbiont-infected individuals in the population.

The prospects for Symbiogenetics: emergence of superorganismal genomes and reconstruction of cellular evolution (mini-review)

“…Thus, the targets of symbiosis-specific selection pressures are represented by holobionts since their increased fitness is favorable for both partners. Transition from facultative to obligatory interactions occurs due to vertical transmission of symbionts during host reproduction (Zakharov and Shaikevich, 2021) which leads to the transformation of SOGS into a system of inheritance resulting in an increased integrity of holobionts.…”

“…For the further progress of Symbiogenetics, development of relevant models is required including the intracellular symbionts (Zakharov and Shaikevich, 2021;Goryacheva and Andrianov, 2021) which represent the temporary cellular organelles to be addressed as the precursors of permanent organelles. The other important models of Symbiogenetics are aimed to study the gene transfer from prokaryotes to eukaryotes (Matveeva, 2021) which give insights into the evolution of structurally integrated SOGS as of the basic products of symbiogenesis.…”