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Smith CH, Mejia-Trujillo R, Breton S, Pinto BJ, Kirkpatrick M, Havird JC. Mitonuclear Sex Determination? Empirical Evidence from Bivalves. Mol Biol Evol 2023; 40:msad240. [PMID: 37935058 PMCID: PMC10653589 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic elements encoded in nuclear DNA determine the sex of an individual in many animals. In certain bivalve lineages that possess doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI), mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been hypothesized to contribute to sex determination. In these cases, females transmit a female mtDNA to all offspring, while male mtDNA (M mtDNA) is transmitted only from fathers to sons. Because M mtDNA is inherited in the same way as Y chromosomes, it has been hypothesized that mtDNA may be responsible for sex determination. However, the role of mitochondrial and nuclear genes in sex determination has yet to be validated in DUI bivalves. In this study, we used DNA, RNA, and mitochondrial short noncoding RNA (sncRNA) sequencing to explore the role of mitochondrial and nuclear elements in the sexual development pathway of the freshwater mussel Potamilus streckersoni (Bivalvia: Unionida). We found that the M mtDNA sheds a sncRNA partially within a male-specific mitochondrial gene that targets a pathway hypothesized to be involved in female development and mitophagy. RNA-seq confirmed the gene target was significantly upregulated in females, supporting a direct role of mitochondrial sncRNAs in gene silencing. These findings support the hypothesis that M mtDNA inhibits female development. Genome-wide patterns of genetic differentiation and heterozygosity did not support a nuclear sex-determining region, although we cannot reject that nuclear factors are involved with sex determination. Our results provide further evidence that mitochondrial loci contribute to diverse, nonrespiratory functions and additional insights into an unorthodox sex-determining system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chase H Smith
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | | | - Sophie Breton
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Brendan J Pinto
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Department of Zoology, Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Mark Kirkpatrick
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Justin C Havird
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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Borodin P, Chen A, Forstmeier W, Fouché S, Malinovskaya L, Pei Y, Reifová R, Ruiz-Ruano FJ, Schlebusch SA, Sotelo-Muñoz M, Torgasheva A, Vontzou N, Suh A. Mendelian nightmares: the germline-restricted chromosome of songbirds. Chromosome Res 2022; 30:255-272. [PMID: 35416568 PMCID: PMC9508068 DOI: 10.1007/s10577-022-09688-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Germline-restricted chromosomes (GRCs) are accessory chromosomes that occur only in germ cells. They are eliminated from somatic cells through programmed DNA elimination during embryo development. GRCs have been observed in several unrelated animal taxa and show peculiar modes of non-Mendelian inheritance and within-individual elimination. Recent cytogenetic and phylogenomic evidence suggests that a GRC is present across the species-rich songbirds, but absent in non-passerine birds, implying that over half of all 10,500 bird species have extensive germline/soma genome differences. Here, we review recent insights gained from genomic, transcriptomic, and cytogenetic approaches with regard to the genetic content, phylogenetic distribution, and inheritance of the songbird GRC. While many questions remain unsolved in terms of GRC inheritance, elimination, and function, we discuss plausible scenarios and future directions for understanding this widespread form of programmed DNA elimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Borodin
- Siberian Department, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Prospekt Akademika Lavrent'yeva 10, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Augustin Chen
- Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Science for Life Laboratory, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Wolfgang Forstmeier
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319, Seewiesen, Germany.
| | - Simone Fouché
- Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Science for Life Laboratory, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden.,School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TU, UK
| | - Lyubov Malinovskaya
- Siberian Department, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Prospekt Akademika Lavrent'yeva 10, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Yifan Pei
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Radka Reifová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Francisco J Ruiz-Ruano
- Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Science for Life Laboratory, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden.,School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TU, UK
| | - Stephen A Schlebusch
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Manuelita Sotelo-Muñoz
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Anna Torgasheva
- Siberian Department, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Prospekt Akademika Lavrent'yeva 10, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia.
| | - Niki Vontzou
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TU, UK
| | - Alexander Suh
- Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Science for Life Laboratory, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden. .,School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TU, UK.
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