| 1. |
- Abbott, Jessica, et al.
(författare)
-
Epigenetics and Sex-Specific Fitness : An Experimental Test Using Male-Limited Evolution in Drosophila melanogaster
- 2013
-
Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 8:7, s. e70493-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- When males and females have different fitness optima for the same trait but share loci, intralocus sexual conflict is likely to occur. Epigenetic mechanisms such as genomic imprinting (in which expression is altered according to parent-of-origin) and sex-specific maternal effects have been suggested as ways by which this conflict can be resolved. However these ideas have not yet been empirically tested. We designed an experimental evolution protocol in Drosophila melanogaster that enabled us to look for epigenetic effects on the X-chromosome-a hotspot for sexually antagonistic loci. We used special compound-X females to enforce father-to-son transmission of the X-chromosome for many generations, and compared fitness and gene expression levels between Control males, males with a Control X-chromosome that had undergone one generation of father-son transmission, and males with an X-chromosome that had undergone many generations of father-son transmission. Fitness differences were dramatic, with experimentally-evolved males approximately 20% greater than controls, and with males inheriting a non-evolved X from their father about 20% lower than controls. These data are consistent with both strong intralocus sexual conflict and misimprinting of the X-chromosome under paternal inheritance. However, expression differences suggested that reduced fitness under paternal X inheritance was largely due to deleterious maternal effects. Our data confirm the sexually-antagonistic nature of Drosophila's X-chromosome and suggest that the response to male-limited X-chromosome evolution entails compensatory evolution for maternal effects, and perhaps modification of other epigenetic effects via coevolution of the sex chromosomes.
|
|
| 2. |
- Abbott, Jessica K., et al.
(författare)
-
Obtaining snapshots of genetic variation using hemiclonal analysis
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Trends in Ecology & Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-5347 .- 1872-8383. ; 26:7, s. 359-368
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hemiclones are naturally occurring or artificially produced individuals that share a single specific genetic haplotype. Natural hemiclones are produced via hybridization between two closely related species, whereas hemiclonal analysis in Drosophila is carried out in the laboratory via crosses with artificially created 'clone-generator' females with a specific genetic make-up. Hemiclonal analysis in Drosophila has been applied successfully to date to obtain measures of standing genetic variation for numerous traits. Here, we review the current hemiclonal literature and suggest future directions for hemiclonal research, including its application in molecular and genomic studies, and the adaptation of natural hemiclonal systems to carry out Drosophila-type studies of standing genetic variation.
|
|
| 3. |
- Abbott, Jessica K., et al.
(författare)
-
The microevolutionary response to male-limited X-chromosome evolution in Drosophila melanogaster reflects macroevolutionary patterns
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Journal of Evolutionary Biology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1010-061X .- 1420-9101. ; 33:6, s. 738-750
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to its hemizygous inheritance and role in sex determination, the X-chromosome is expected to play an important role in the evolution of sexual dimorphism and to be enriched for sexually antagonistic genetic variation. By forcing the X-chromosome to only be expressed in males over >40 generations, we changed the selection pressures on the X to become similar to those experienced by the Y. This releases the X from any constraints arising from selection in females and should lead to specialization for male fitness, which could occur either via direct effects of X-linked loci or trans-regulation of autosomal loci by the X. We found evidence of masculinization via up-regulation of male-benefit sexually antagonistic genes and down-regulation of X-linked female-benefit genes. Potential artefacts of the experimental evolution protocol are discussed and cannot be wholly discounted, leading to several caveats. Interestingly, we could detect evidence of microevolutionary changes consistent with previously documented macroevolutionary patterns, such as changes in expression consistent with previously established patterns of sexual dimorphism, an increase in the expression of metabolic genes related to mito-nuclear conflict and evidence that dosage compensation effects can be rapidly altered. These results confirm the importance of the X in the evolution of sexual dimorphism and as a source for sexually antagonistic genetic variation and demonstrate that experimental evolution can be a fruitful method for testing theories of sex chromosome evolution.
|
|
| 4. |
- Adl, Sina M., et al.
(författare)
-
Revisions to the Classification, Nomenclature, and Diversity of Eukaryotes
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. - : WILEY. - 1066-5234 .- 1550-7408. ; 66:1, s. 4-119
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This revision of the classification of eukaryotes follows that of Adl et al., 2012 [J. Euk. Microbiol. 59(5)] and retains an emphasis on protists. Changes since have improved the resolution of many nodes in phylogenetic analyses. For some clades even families are being clearly resolved. As we had predicted, environmental sampling in the intervening years has massively increased the genetic information at hand. Consequently, we have discovered novel clades, exciting new genera and uncovered a massive species level diversity beyond the morphological species descriptions. Several clades known from environmental samples only have now found their home. Sampling soils, deeper marine waters and the deep sea will continue to fill us with surprises. The main changes in this revision are the confirmation that eukaryotes form at least two domains, the loss of monophyly in the Excavata, robust support for the Haptista and Cryptista. We provide suggested primer sets for DNA sequences from environmental samples that are effective for each clade. We have provided a guide to trophic functional guilds in an appendix, to facilitate the interpretation of environmental samples, and a standardized taxonomic guide for East Asian users.
|
|
| 5. |
- Bailey, Richard I., et al.
(författare)
-
Female Drosophila melanogaster Gene Expression and Mate Choice : The X Chromosome Harbours Candidate Genes Underlying Sexual Isolation
- 2011
-
Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 6:2, s. e17358-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The evolution of female choice mechanisms favouring males of their own kind is considered a crucial step during the early stages of speciation. However, although the genomics of mate choice may influence both the likelihood and speed of speciation, the identity and location of genes underlying assortative mating remain largely unknown. Methods and Findings: We used mate choice experiments and gene expression analysis of female Drosophila melanogaster to examine three key components influencing speciation. We show that the 1,498 genes in Zimbabwean female D. melanogaster whose expression levels differ when mating with more (Zimbabwean) versus less (Cosmopolitan strain) preferred males include many with high expression in the central nervous system and ovaries, are disproportionately X-linked and form a number of clusters with low recombination distance. Significant involvement of the brain and ovaries is consistent with the action of a combination of pre- and postcopulatory female choice mechanisms, while sex linkage and clustering of genes lead to high potential evolutionary rate and sheltering against the homogenizing effects of gene exchange between populations. Conclusion: Taken together our results imply favourable genomic conditions for the evolution of reproductive isolation through mate choice in Zimbabwean D. melanogaster and suggest that mate choice may, in general, act as an even more important engine of speciation than previously realized.
|
|
| 6. |
- Camus, M. Florencia, et al.
(författare)
-
Single Nucleotides in the mtDNA Sequence Modify Mitochondrial Molecular Function and Are Associated with Sex-Specific Effects on Fertility and Aging
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Current Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-9822 .- 1879-0445. ; 25:20, s. 2717-2722
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mitochondria underpin energy conversion in eukaryotes. Their small genomes have been the subject of increasing attention, and there is evidence that mitochondrial genetic variation can affect evolutionary trajectories and shape the expression of life-history traits considered to be key human health indicators [1, 2]. However, it is not understood how genetic variation across a diminutive genome, which in most species harbors only about a dozen protein-coding genes, can exert broad-scale effects on the organisnnal phenotype [2, 3]. Such effects are particularly puzzling given that the mitochondrial genes involved are under strong evolutionary constraint and that mitochondrial gene expression is highly conserved across diverse taxa [4]. We used replicated genetic lines in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, each characterized by a distinct and naturally occurring mitochondrial haplotype placed alongside an isogenic nuclear background. We demonstrate that sequence variation within the mitochondria! DNA (mtDNA) affects both the copy number of mitochondrial genomes and patterns of gene expression across key mitochondrial protein-coding genes. In several cases, haplotype-mediated patterns of gene expression were gene-specific, even for genes from within the same transcriptional units. This invokes post-transcriptional processing of RNA in the regulation of mitochondrial genetic effects on organismal phenotypes. Notably, the haplotype-mediated effects on gene expression could be traced backward to the level of individual nucleotides and forward to sex-specific effects on fertility and longevity. Our study thus elucidates how small-scale sequence changes in the mitochondrial genome can achieve broad-scale regulation of health-related phenotypes and even contribute to sex-related differences in longevity.
|
|
| 7. |
- Collet, Julie M., et al.
(författare)
-
Rapid evolution of the intersexual genetic correlation for fitness in Drosophila melanogaster
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Evolution. - : Wiley. - 0014-3820 .- 1558-5646. ; 70:4, s. 781-795
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sexual antagonism (SA) arises when male and female phenotypes are under opposing selection, yet genetically correlated. Until resolved, antagonism limits evolution toward optimal sex-specific phenotypes. Despite its importance for sex-specific adaptation and existing theory, the dynamics of SA resolution are not well understood empirically. Here, we present data from Drosophila melanogaster, compatible with a resolution of SA. We compared two independent replicates of the LHM population in which SA had previously been described. Both had been maintained under identical, controlled conditions, and separated for around 200 generations. Although heritabilities of male and female fitness were similar, the intersexual genetic correlation differed significantly, being negative in one replicate (indicating SA) but close to zero in the other. Using population sequencing, we show that phenotypic differences were associated with population divergence in allele frequencies at nonrandom loci across the genome. Large frequency changes were more prevalent in the population without SA and were enriched at loci mapping to genes previously shown to have sexually antagonistic relationships between expression and fitness. Our data suggest that rapid evolution toward SA resolution has occurred in one of the populations and open avenues toward studying the genetics of SA and its resolution.
|
|
| 8. |
- Davies, Natasha, et al.
(författare)
-
Evidence for stronger sexual selection in males than in females using an adapted method of Bateman's classic study of Drosophila melanogaster
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Evolution. - : Oxford University Press. - 0014-3820 .- 1558-5646. ; 77:11, s. 2420-2430
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bateman's principles, originally a test of Darwin's theoretical ideas, have since become fundamental to sexual selection theory and vital to contextualizing the role of anisogamy in sex differences of precopulatory sexual selection. Despite this, Bateman's principles have received substantial criticism, and researchers have highlighted both statistical and methodological errors, suggesting that Bateman's original experiment contains too much sampling bias for there to be any evidence of sexual selection. This study uses Bateman's original method as a template, accounting for two fundamental flaws in his original experiments, (a) viability effects and (b) a lack of mating behavior observation. Experimental populations of Drosophila melanogaster consisted of wild-type focal individuals and nonfocal individuals established by backcrossing the brown eye (bw-) eye-color marker-thereby avoiding viability effects. Mating assays included direct observation of mating behavior and total number of offspring, to obtain measures of mating success, reproductive success, and standardized variance measures based on Bateman's principles. The results provide observational support for Bateman's principles, particularly that (a) males had significantly more variation in number of mates compared with females and (b) males had significantly more individual variation in total number of offspring. We also find a significantly steeper Bateman gradient for males compared to females, suggesting that sexual selection is operating more intensely in males. However, female remating was limited, providing the opportunity for future study to further explore female reproductive success in correlation with higher levels of remating.
|
|
| 9. |
- Gilks, William P, et al.
(författare)
-
Sex differences in disease genetics: evidence, evolution, and detection.
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Trends in Genetics. - : Elsevier BV. - 1362-4555 .- 0168-9525. ; 30:10, s. 453-463
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding the genetic architecture of disease is an enormous challenge, and should be guided by evolutionary principles. Recent studies in evolutionary genetics show that sexual selection can have a profound influence on the genetic architecture of complex traits. Here, we summarise data from heritability studies and genome-wide association studies (GWASs) showing that common genetic variation influences many diseases and medically relevant traits in a sex-dependent manner. In addition, we discuss how the discovery of sex-dependent effects in population samples is improved by joint interaction analysis (rather than separate-sex), as well as by recently developed software. Finally, we argue that although genetic variation that has sex-dependent effects on disease risk could be maintained by mutation-selection balance and genetic drift, recent evidence indicates that intra-locus sexual conflict could be a powerful influence on complex trait architecture, and maintain sex-dependent disease risk alleles in a population because they are beneficial to the opposite sex.
|
|
| 10. |
- Harper, Jon Alexander, et al.
(författare)
-
Systematic review reveals multiple sexually antagonistic polymorphisms affecting human disease and complex traits
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0014-3820 .- 1558-5646. ; 75:12, s. 3087-3097
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An evolutionary model for sex differences in disease risk posits that alleles conferring higher risk in one sex may be protective in the other. These sexually antagonistic (SA) alleles are predicted to be maintained at frequencies higher than expected under purifying selection against unconditionally deleterious alleles, but there are apparently no examples in humans. Discipline-specific terminology, rather than a genuine lack of such alleles, could explain this disparity. We undertook a two-stage review of evidence for SA polymorphisms in humans using search terms from (i) evolutionary biology and (ii) biomedicine. Although the first stage returned no eligible studies, the second revealed 51 genes with sex-opposite effects; 22 increased disease risk or severity in one sex but protected the other. Those with net positive effects occurred at higher frequencies. None were referred to as SA. Our review reveals significant communication barriers to fields as a result of discipline-specific terminology.
|
|
