A chimeric chromosome in the ciliate oxytricha resulting from duplication

Genome plasticity in Paramecium bursaria revealed by population genomics

Background

Ciliates are an ancient and diverse eukaryotic group found in various environments. A unique feature of ciliates is their nuclear dimorphism, by which two types of nuclei, the diploid germline micronucleus (MIC) and polyploidy somatic macronucleus (MAC), are present in the same cytoplasm and serve different functions. During each sexual cycle, ciliates develop a new macronucleus in which newly fused genomes are extensively rearranged to generate functional minichromosomes. Interestingly, each ciliate species seems to have its way of processing genomes, providing a diversity of resources for studying genome plasticity and its regulation. Here, we sequenced and analyzed the macronuclear genome of different strains of Paramecium bursaria, a highly divergent species of the genus Paramecium which can stably establish endosymbioses with green algae.

Results

We assembled a high-quality macronuclear genome of P. bursaria and further refined genome annotation by comparing population genomic data. We identified several species-specific expansions in protein families and gene lineages that are potentially associated with endosymbiosis. Moreover, we observed an intensive chromosome breakage pattern that occurred during or shortly after sexual reproduction and contributed to highly variable gene dosage throughout the genome. However, patterns of copy number variation were highly correlated among genetically divergent strains, suggesting that copy number is adjusted by some regulatory mechanisms or natural selection. Further analysis showed that genes with low copy number variation among populations tended to function in basic cellular pathways, whereas highly variable genes were enriched in environmental response pathways.

Conclusions

We report programmed DNA rearrangements in the P. bursaria macronuclear genome that allow cells to adjust gene copy number globally according to individual gene functions. Our results suggest that large-scale gene copy number variation may represent an ancient mechanism for cells to adapt to different environments.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-020-00912-2.

Functional chimeric genes in ciliates: An instructive case from Euplotes raikovi

In ciliates, with every sexual event the transcriptionally active genes of the sub-chromosomic somatic genome that resides in the cell macronucleus are lost. They are de novo assembled starting from 'Macronuclear Destined Sequences' that arise from the fragmentation of transcriptionally silent DNA sequences of the germline chromosomic genome enclosed in the cell micronucleus. The RNA-mediated epigenetic mechanism that drives the assembly of these sequences is subject to errors which result in the formation of chimeric genes. Studying a gene family that in Euplotes raikovi controls the synthesis of protein signal pheromones responsible for a self/not-self recognition mechanism, we identified the chimeric structure of an 851-bp macronuclear gene previously known to specify soluble and membrane-bound pheromone molecules through an intron-splicing mechanism. This chimeric gene, designated mac-er-1*, conserved the native pheromone-gene structure throughout its coding and 3' regions. Instead, its 5' region is completely unrelated to the pheromone gene structure at the level of a 360-bp sequence, which derives from the assembly with a MDS destined to compound a 2417-bp gene encoding a 696-amino acid protein with unknown function. This mac-er-1* gene characterization provides further evidence that ciliates rely on functional chimeric genes that originate in non-programmed phenomena of somatic MDS recombination to increase the species genetic variability independently of gene reshuffling phenomena of the germline genome.

Combinatorial DNA Rearrangement Facilitates the Origin of New Genes in Ciliates

Programmed genome rearrangements in the unicellular eukaryote Oxytricha trifallax produce a transcriptionally active somatic nucleus from a copy of its germline nucleus during development. This process eliminates noncoding sequences that interrupt coding regions in the germline genome, and joins over 225,000 remaining DNA segments, some of which require inversion or complex permutation to build functional genes. This dynamic genomic organization permits some single DNA segments in the germline to contribute to multiple, distinct somatic genes via alternative processing. Like alternative mRNA splicing, the combinatorial assembly of DNA segments contributes to genetic variation and facilitates the evolution of new genes. In this study, we use comparative genomic analysis to demonstrate that the emergence of alternative DNA splicing is associated with the origin of new genes. Short duplications give rise to alternative gene segments that are spliced to the shared gene segments. Alternative gene segments evolve faster than shared, constitutive segments. Genes with shared segments frequently have different expression profiles, permitting functional divergence. This study reports alternative DNA splicing as a mechanism of new gene origination, illustrating how the process of programmed genome rearrangement gives rise to evolutionary innovation.

Analyses of alternatively processed genes in ciliates provide insights into the origins of scrambled genomes and may provide a mechanism for speciation

Chromosome rearrangements occur in a variety of eukaryotic life cycles, including during the development of the somatic macronuclear genome in ciliates. Previous work on the phyllopharyngean ciliate Chilodonella uncinata revealed that macronuclear β-tubulin and protein kinase gene families share alternatively processed germ line segments nested within divergent regions. To study genome evolution in this ciliate further, we characterized two additional alternatively processed gene families from two cryptic species of the ciliate morphospecies C. uncinata: those encoding histidine acid phosphatase protein (Hap) and leishmanolysin family protein (Lei). Analyses of the macronuclear Hap and Lei sequences reveal that each gene family consists of three members in the macronucleus that are marked by identical regions nested among highly divergent regions. Investigation of the micronuclear Hap sequences revealed a complex pattern in which the three macronuclear sequences are derived either from a single micronuclear region or from a combination of this shared region recombined with additional duplicate micronuclear copies of Hap. We propose a model whereby gene scrambling evolves by gene duplication followed by partial and reciprocal degradation of the duplicate sequences. In this model, alternative processing represents an intermediate step in the evolution of scrambled genes. Finally, we speculate on the possible role of genome architecture in speciation in ciliates by describing what might happen if changes in alternatively processed loci occur in subdivided populations.

Genome rearrangements occur in a variety of eukaryotic cells and serve as an important mechanism for generating genomic diversity. The unusual genome architecture of ciliates with separate germline and somatic nuclei in each cell, provides an ideal system to study further principles of genome evolution. Previous analyses revealed complex forms of chromosome rearrangements, including gene scrambling and alternative processing of germ line chromosomes. Here we describe more complex rearrangements between germ line and somatic chromosomes than previously seen in alternatively processed gene families. Drawing on the present and previous findings, we propose a model in which alternative processing of duplicated micronuclear regions represents an intermediate stage in the evolution of scrambled genes. Under this model, alternative processing may provide insights into a mechanism for speciation in ciliates. Our data on gene scrambling and alternative processing also enhance views on the dynamic nature of genomes across the eukaryotic tree of life.

Multiple cellular mechanisms prevent chromosomal rearrangements involving repetitive DNA

Repetitive DNA is present in the eukaryotic genome in the form of segmental duplications, tandem and interspersed repeats, and satellites. Repetitive sequences can be beneficial by serving specific cellular functions (e.g. centromeric and telomeric DNA) and by providing a rapid means for adaptive evolution. However, such elements are also substrates for deleterious chromosomal rearrangements that affect fitness and promote human disease. Recent studies analyzing the role of nuclear organization in DNA repair and factors that suppress non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR) have provided insights into how genome stability is maintained in eukaryotes. In this review, we outline the types of repetitive sequences seen in eukaryotic genomes and how recombination mechanisms are regulated at the DNA sequence, cell organization, chromatin structure, and cell cycle control levels to prevent chromosomal rearrangements involving these sequences.