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19 results for “Selfish genetic elements”
Data for: The suppression of a selfish genetic element increases a male's mating success in a fly
<p>X chromosome meiotic drive (XCMD) kills Y-bearing sperm during spermatogenesis, leading to the biased transmission of the selfish X chromosome. Despite this strong transmission, some natural XCMD systems remain at low and stable frequencies, rather than rapidly spreading through populations. The reason may be that male carriers can have reduced fitness, as they lose half of their sperm, only produce daughters, and may carry deleterious alleles associated with XCMD. Thus, females may benefit from avoiding mating with male carriers, yielding a further reduction in fitness. Genetic suppressors of XCMD, which block the killing of Y sperm and restore fair Mendelian inheritance, are also common and could prevent the spread of XCMD. However, whether suppressed males are as fit as a wild-type male remains an open question, and the effect that genetic suppressors may have on a male's mating success is rarely considered. Here, we investigate the mating ability of XCMD males and suppressed XCMD males in comparison to wild-type males in the fruit fly <em>Drosophila subobscura</em>, where drive remains at a stable frequency of 20% in wild populations where it occurs. We use both competitive and non-competitive mating trials to evaluate male mating success in this system. We found no evidence that unsuppressed XCMD males were discriminated against. Remarkably, however, their suppressed XCMD counterparts had a higher male mating success compared to wild-type controls. Unsuppressed XCMD males suffered 12% lower offspring production in comparison to wild-type males. This cost appears too weak to counter the transmission advantage of XCMD, and thus the factors preventing the spread of XCMD remain unclear.</p>
Data for: The suppression of a selfish genetic element increases a male's mating success in a fly
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The impact of local population genetic background on the spread of the selfish element Medea-1 in red flour beetles
<p>Selfish genetic elements have been found in the genomes of many species, yet our understanding of their evolutionary dynamics is only partially understood. A number of distinct selfish <i>Medea</i> elements are naturally present in many populations of the red flour beetle (<i>Tribolium castaneum</i>). Although these <i>Medea</i> elements are predicted by models to increase in frequency within populations because any offspring of a <i>Medea</i>-bearing mother that do not inherit at least one <i>Medea</i> allele will die, experiments demonstrating an increase in a naturally occuring <i>Medea</i> element are lacking. Our survey of the specific <i>Medea </i>element<i>, </i>M<sup>1</sup>, in the United States showed that it had a patchy geographic distribution. From the survey it could not be determined if this distribution was caused by a slow process of M<sup>1</sup> colonization of discrete populations or if some populations lacked M<sup>1</sup> because they had genetic factors conferring resistance to the <i>Medea </i>mechanism. We show that populations with naturally low to intermediate M<sup>1</sup> frequencies likely represent transient states during the process of <i>Medea</i> spread. Furthermore, we find no evidence that genetic factors are excluding M<sup>1</sup> from US populations where the element is not presently found. We also show how a known suppressor of <i>Medea</i> can impair the increase of M<sup>1</sup> in populations and discuss the implications of our findings for pest-management applications of <i>Medea</i> elements.</p>
The distribution and spread of naturally occurring Medea selfish genetic elements in the United States
<p>Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) are DNA sequences that are transmitted to viable offspring in greater than Mendelian frequencies. <i>Medea</i> SGEs occur naturally in some populations of red flour beetle (<i>Tribolium castaneum</i>) and are expected to increase in frequency within populations and spread among populations. The large-scale USA distributions of <i>Medea-4</i> (M<sup>4</sup>) had been mapped based on samples from 1993-1995. We sampled beetles in 2011-2014 and show that the distribution of M<sup>4</sup> in the United States is dynamic and has shifted southward. By using a genetic marker of <i>Medea-1</i> (M<sup>1</sup>), we found five unique geographic clusters with high- and low M<sup>1</sup> frequencies in a pattern not predicted by microsatellite-based analysis of population structure. Our results indicate absence of rigid barriers to <i>Medea</i> spread in the USA, so assessment of what factors have limited its current distribution require further investigation. There is great interest in using synthetic SGEs, including synthetic <i>Medea</i>, to alter or suppress pest populations, but there is concern about unpredicted spread of these SGE's and potential for populations to become resistant to them. The finding of patchy distributions of <i>Medea</i> elements suggests that released synthetic SGEs cannot always be expected to spread uniformly, especially in target species with limited dispersal.</p>
Data from: Polyandry and the decrease of a selfish genetic element in a wild house mouse population
Despite deleterious effects on individuals, the t haplotype is a selfish genetic element present in many house mouse populations. By distorting the transmission ratio, +/t males transmit the t haplotype to up to 90% of their offspring. However, t/t individuals perish in utero. Theoretical models based on these properties predict a much higher t frequency than observed, leading to the t paradox. Here, we use empirical field data and theoretical approaches to investigate whether polyandry is a female counterstrategy against the negative fitness consequences of such distorters. We found a significant decrease of the t frequency over a period of 5.5 years that cannot be explained by the effect of transmission ratio distortion and recessive lethals, despite significantly higher life expectancy of +/t females compared to +/+ females. We quantified life history data and homozygous and heterozygous fitness effects. Population subdivision and inbreeding were excluded as evolutionary force influencing the t system. The possible influence of polyandry on the t system was then investigated by applying a stochastic model to this situation. Simulations show that polyandry can explain the observed t dynamics, making it a biologically plausible explanation for low t frequencies in natural populations in general.
Data for: A selfish genetic element and its suppressor causes abnormalities to testes in a fly
<p class="MsoNormal">Selfish genetic elements (SGEs), specifically X-chromosome meiotic drive (XCMD), create huge conflicts within a host's genome and can have profound effects on fertility. Suppressors are a common evolutionary response to XCMD to negate its costs. However, whether suppressors themselves can cause negative non-target effects remains understudied. Here, we examine whether the intragenomic conflicts created by XCMD and its suppressor affect gonad morphology in <em>Drosophila subobscura. </em>We found significant differences in testes, seminal vesicle, and accessory gland size depending on whether a male carried a non-driving X chromosome, an XCMD, and if the XCMD was suppressed. We also found the first evidence of abnormal testes development that is specifically associated with a suppressor of XCMD. Unlike other studies, our evidence suggests that XCMD in <em>D. subobscura </em>creates major abnormalities to male gonads. These abnormalities are most frequent if both XCMD and its suppressor are both present. While costs of suppression have importance in theoretical models, they have largely been ignored in empirical XCMD systems. Overall, this study highlights that genetic conflict, created by SGEs and their suppressors, is a potent evolutionary force that can have major impacts on gonad development and gametogenesis. <span><br></span></p>
Data for: A selfish genetic element and its suppressor causes abnormalities to testes in a fly
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The distribution and spread of naturally occurring Medea selfish genetic elements in the United States
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Data from: Polyandry and the decrease of a selfish genetic element in a wild house mouse population
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The impact of local population genetic background on the spread of the selfish element Medea-1 in red flour beetles
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Data from: A selfish genetic element linked to increased lifespan impacts metabolism in female house mice
Gene drive systems can lead to the evolution of traits that further enhance the transmission of the driving element. In gene drive, one allele is transmitted to offspring at a higher frequency than the homologous allele. This has a range of consequences, which generally include a reduction in fitness of the carrier of the driving allele, making such systems <i>selfish</i>. The t haplotype is one such driver, found in house mice. It is linked to a reduction in litter size in matings among heterozygous animals, but also to increased lifespan in wild females that carry it. Here, we tested whether carrying the t haplotype was associated with altered resting metabolic rate (RMR). We show that females carrying the t haplotype decrease RMR as they increase in size, compared to wildtype females or males of either genotype. Our study elucidates a plausible mechanism by which a selfish genetic element increases lifespan.
Data from: The cost of copy number in a selfish genetic element: the 2µM plasmid of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Many autonomously replicating genetic elements exist as multiple copies within the cell. The copy number of these elements is often assumed to have important fitness consequences for both element and host, yet the forces shaping its evolution are not well understood. The 2µm is a multi-copy plasmid of Saccharomyces yeasts, encoding just four genes that are solely involved in plasmid replication. One simple model for the fitness relationship between yeasts and 2µm is that plasmid copy number evolves as a tradeoff between selection for increased vertical transmission, favoring high copy number, and selection for decreased virulence, favoring low copy number. To test this model, we experimentally manipulated the copy number of the plasmid and directly measured the fitness cost, in terms of growth rate reduction, associated with high plasmid copy number. We find that the fitness burden imposed by the 2µm increases with plasmid copy number, such that each copy imposes a fitness burden of 0.17% (±0.008%), greatly exceeding the cost expected for it to be stably maintained in yeast populations. Our results demonstrate the crucial importance of copy number in the evolution of yeast/2µm associations, and pave the way for future studies examining how selection can shape the cost of multi-copy elements.
Data from: The role of bacteriocins as selfish genetic elements
Bacteria produce a wide arsenal of toxic compounds in order to kill competing species. Bacteriocins, protein-based toxins produced by nearly all bacteria, have generally been considered a ubiquitous anti-competitor strategy, used to kill competing bacterial strains. Some of these bacteriocins are encoded on plasmids, which also code for closely linked immunity compounds (thereby rendering toxin producing cells immune to their own toxin). However, the production of bacteriocins can also be interpreted as a means to promote plasmid stability by preferentially selecting for cells carrying the plasmid. If, for example, a cell were to lose the plasmid, it would no longer produce the immunity compound and would be killed by its bacteriocin-producing clone mates. In this respect, bacteriocins can be regarded as similar to previously described toxin–antitoxin systems that are able promote the stable transmission of plasmids to daughter cells. In order to test this prediction, we carried out an experimental evolution study using the bacterium Escherichia coli, finding that bacteriocins can indeed select for the stable maintenance of plasmids. This suggests that bacteriocins can act primarily as selfish genetic elements promoting their own transmission in the population, which may help explain their unique ecology and evolution.
Data from: A selfish genetic element linked to increased lifespan impacts metabolism in female house mice
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Data from: Detrimental effects of an autosomal selfish genetic element on sperm competitiveness in house mice
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Data from: The role of bacteriocins as selfish genetic elements
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Data from: The cost of copy number in a selfish genetic element: the 2µM plasmid of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
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Experimental manipulation of selfish genetic elements links genes to microbial community function
<p>Microbial communities underpin earth’s biological and biogeochemical processes, but their complexity hampers understanding. Here we draw upon predictions from the theory of selfish genetic elements (SGEs), combined with approaches from experimental evolution, comparative metagenomics and biochemistry, and show how naturally occurring SGEs can be used to manipulate genes that underpin community function. Communities comprising hundreds of bacterial genera established from garden compost were propagated with bi-weekly transfer for one year in nitrogen-limited minimal medium with cellulose (paper) as sole carbon source. At each transfer, SGEs from one set of independent communities were collected, pooled and redistributed among this same set of communities (horizontal treatment). A control was included in which SGEs never moved beyond the community in which they were originally present (vertical treatment). SGEs along with genes of ecological relevance were rapidly amplified across horizontal communities and their dynamics tracked. Enrichment of genes implicated in nitrogen metabolism, and particularly ammonification, led to biochemical assays that showed a significant functional difference between communities subject to horizontal versus vertical treatments. This simple experimental strategy offers a powerful new approach for unravelling dynamical processes underpinning microbial community function.</p>
A small RNA mechanism distinct from the RNAi and microRNA pathways silences selfish genetic elements in Drosophila.
GEO Series GSE4932. Drosophila melanogaster. 10 samples. Type: Non-coding RNA profiling by array.
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