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Haig D. Germline ecology: managed herds, tolerated flocks, and pest control. J Hered 2024:esae004. [PMID: 38447039 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esae004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Multicopy sequences evolve adaptations for increasing their copy number within nuclei. The activities of multicopy sequences under constraints imposed by cellular and organismal selection result in a rich intranuclear ecology in germline cells. mtDNA and rDNA are managed as domestic herds subject to selective breeding by the genes of the single-copy genome. Transposable elements lead a peripatetic existence in which they must continually move to new sites to keep ahead of inactivating mutations at old sites and undergo exponential outbreaks when the production of new copies exceeds the rate of inactivation of old copies. Centromeres become populated by repeats that do little harm. Organisms with late sequestration of germ cells tend to evolve more 'junk' in their genomes than organisms with early sequestration of germ cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge MA
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2
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Espinoza J, Haig D. Reply. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2023; 62:912-913. [PMID: 38041633 DOI: 10.1002/uog.27528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- J Espinoza
- The Fetal Center, Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, Division of Fetal Intervention, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, UTHealth, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA
| | - D Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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3
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Haig D. On the Origins of Gender Identity. Arch Sex Behav 2023; 52:2717-2718. [PMID: 37697095 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-023-02694-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
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Garner JP, Talbot CF, Del Rosso LA, McCowan B, Kanthaswamy S, Haig D, Capitanio JP, Parker KJ. Rhesus macaque social functioning is paternally, but not maternally, inherited by sons: potential implications for autism. Mol Autism 2023; 14:25. [PMID: 37480043 PMCID: PMC10360241 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-023-00556-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Quantitative autistic traits are common, heritable, and continuously distributed across the general human population. Patterns of autistic traits within families suggest that more complex mechanisms than simple Mendelian inheritance-in particular, parent of origin effects-may be involved. The ideal strategy for ascertaining parent of origin effects is by half-sibling analysis, where half-siblings share one, but not both, parents and each individual belongs to a unique combination of paternal and maternal half-siblings. While this family structure is rare in humans, many of our primate relatives, including rhesus macaques, have promiscuous breeding systems that consistently produce paternal and maternal half-siblings for a given index animal. Rhesus macaques, like humans, also exhibit pronounced variation in social functioning. METHODS Here we assessed differential paternal versus maternal inheritance of social functioning in male rhesus macaque offspring (N = 407) using ethological observations and ratings on a reverse-translated quantitative autistic trait measurement scale. Restricted Maximum Likelihood mixed models with unbounded variance estimates were used to estimate the variance components needed to calculate the genetic contribution of parents as the proportion of phenotypic variance (σ2P) between sons that could uniquely be attributed to their shared genetics (σ2g), expressed as σ2g/σ2P (or the proportion of phenotypic variance attributable to genetic variance), as well as narrow sense heritability (h2). RESULTS Genetic contributions and heritability estimates were strong and highly significant for sons who shared a father but weak and non-significant for sons who shared a mother. Importantly, these findings were detected using the same scores from the same sons in the same analysis, confirmed when paternal and maternal half-siblings were analyzed separately, and observed with two methodologically distinct behavioral measures. Finally, genetic contributions were similar for full-siblings versus half-siblings that shared only a father, further supporting a selective paternal inheritance effect. LIMITATIONS These data are correlational by nature. A larger sample that includes female subjects, enables deeper pedigree assessments, and supports molecular genetic analyses is warranted. CONCLUSIONS Rhesus macaque social functioning may be paternally, but not maternally, inherited by sons. With continued investigation, this approach may yield important insights into sex differences in autism's genetic liability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph P. Garner
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive, Edwards R348, Stanford, CA 94305-5342 USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 1201 Welch Road, MSLS, P-104, Stanford, CA 94305-5485 USA
| | - Catherine F. Talbot
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
- Department of Psychology, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901 USA
| | - Laura A. Del Rosso
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Brenda McCowan
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, 4205 VM3B, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Sreetharan Kanthaswamy
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
- School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Arizona State University West Campus, 4701 W. Thunderbird Rd., Glendale, AZ 85306 USA
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
| | - John P. Capitanio
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Karen J. Parker
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive, Edwards R348, Stanford, CA 94305-5342 USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 1201 Welch Road, MSLS, P-104, Stanford, CA 94305-5485 USA
- California National Primate Research Center, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 USA
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Attoui H, Mohd Jaafar F, Monsion B, Klonjkowski B, Reid E, Fay PC, Saunders K, Lomonossoff G, Haig D, Mertens PPC. Increased Clinical Signs and Mortality in IFNAR (-/-) Mice Immunised with the Bluetongue Virus Outer-Capsid Proteins VP2 or VP5, after Challenge with an Attenuated Heterologous Serotype. Pathogens 2023; 12:pathogens12040602. [PMID: 37111488 PMCID: PMC10141489 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12040602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue is an economically important disease of domesticated and wild ruminants caused by bluetongue virus (BTV). There are at least 36 different serotypes of BTV (the identity of which is determined by its outer-capsid protein VP2), most of which are transmitted by Culicoides biting midges. IFNAR(-/-) mice immunised with plant-expressed outer-capsid protein VP2 (rVP2) of BTV serotypes -1, -4 or -8, or the smaller outer-capsid protein rVP5 of BTV-10, or mock-immunised with PBS, were subsequently challenged with virulent strains of BTV-4 or BTV-8, or with an attenuated clone of BTV-1 (BTV-1RGC7). The mice that had received rVP2 generated a protective immune response against the homologous BTV serotype, reducing viraemia (as detected by qRT-PCR), the severity of clinical signs and mortality levels. No cross-serotype protection was observed after challenge with the heterologous BTV serotypes. However, the severity of clinical signs, viraemia and fatality levels after challenge with the attenuated strain of BTV-1 were all increased in mice immunised with rVP2 of BTV-4 and BTV-8, or with rVP5 of BTV10. The possibility is discussed that non-neutralising antibodies, reflecting serological relationships between the outer-capsid proteins of these different BTV serotypes, could lead to 'antibody-dependent enhancement of infection' (ADE). Such interactions could affect the epidemiology and emergence of different BTV strains in the field and would therefore be relevant to the design and implementation of vaccination campaigns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Houssam Attoui
- UMR1161 VIROLOGIE, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, ANSES, Université Paris-Est, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
| | - Fauziah Mohd Jaafar
- UMR1161 VIROLOGIE, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, ANSES, Université Paris-Est, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
| | - Baptiste Monsion
- UMR1161 VIROLOGIE, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, ANSES, Université Paris-Est, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
| | - Bernard Klonjkowski
- UMR1161 VIROLOGIE, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, ANSES, Université Paris-Est, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
| | - Elizabeth Reid
- One Virology, The Wolfson Centre for Global Virus Research, Sutton Bonington Campus, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
| | - Petra C Fay
- One Virology, The Wolfson Centre for Global Virus Research, Sutton Bonington Campus, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
| | - Keith Saunders
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - George Lomonossoff
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - David Haig
- One Virology, The Wolfson Centre for Global Virus Research, Sutton Bonington Campus, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
| | - Peter P C Mertens
- One Virology, The Wolfson Centre for Global Virus Research, Sutton Bonington Campus, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
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Haig D. Paradox lost: Concerted evolution and centromeric instability: Centromeres are hospitable habitats for repeats that evolve adaptations for proliferation within the nucleus sometimes at organismal cost.: Centromeres are hospitable habitats for repeats that evolve adaptations for proliferation within the nucleus sometimes at organismal cost. Bioessays 2022; 44:e2200023. [PMID: 35748194 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202200023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Homologous centromeres compete for segregation to the secondary oocyte nucleus at female meiosis I. Centromeric repeats also compete with each other to populate centromeres in mitotic cells of the germline and have become adapted to use the recombinational machinery present at centromeres to promote their own propagation. Repeats are not needed at centromeres, rather centromeres appear to be hospitable habitats for the colonization and proliferation of repeats. This is probably an indirect consequence of two distinctive features of centromeric DNA. Centromeres are subject to breakage by the mechanical forces exerted by microtubules and meiotic crossing-over is suppressed. Centromeric proteins acting in trans are under selection to mitigate the costs of centromeric repeats acting in cis. Collateral costs of mitotic competition at centromeres may help to explain the high rates of aneuploidy observed in early human embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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Ågren JA, Haig D, McCoy DE. Meiosis solved the problem of gerrymandering. J Genet 2022; 101:38. [PMID: 36156509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Gerrymandering, the structuring of voting districts to favour certain politicians and political groups, undermines fair elections and presents a serious challenge to democracy. We introduce a solution to gerrymandering inspired by the biological process of cell division in sexually reproducing organisms, meiosis, in which the boundaries of electorates are frequently redrawn by randomizing algorithms. By demonstrating the deep parallels between meiosis and John Rawls's concept of a 'veil of ignorance', we also show how one of the biggest threats to the integrity of meiosis-selfish genetic elements, genes that promote their own transmission at the expense of organismal fitness-can inspire another potential advantage to frequent random redistricting.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Arvid Ågren
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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Frye BM, McCoy DE, Kotler J, Embury A, Burkart JM, Burns M, Eyre S, Galbusera P, Hooper J, Idoe A, Goya AL, Mickelberg J, Quesada MP, Stevenson M, Sullivan S, Warneke M, Wojciechowski S, Wormell D, Haig D, Tardif SD. After short interbirth intervals, captive callitrichine monkeys have higher infant mortality. iScience 2022; 25:103724. [PMID: 35072012 PMCID: PMC8762461 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Life history theory predicts a trade-off between the quantity and quality of offspring. Short interbirth intervals-the time between successive births-may increase the quantity of offspring but harm offspring quality. In contrast, long interbirth intervals may bolster offspring quality while reducing overall reproductive output. Further research is needed to determine whether this relationship holds among primates, which have intensive parental investment. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we examined the effects of interbirth intervals (short, normal, or long) on infant survivorship using a large demographic dataset (n = 15,852) of captive callitrichine monkeys (marmosets, tamarins, and lion tamarins). In seven of the nine species studied, infants born after short interbirth intervals had significantly higher risks of mortality than infants born after longer interbirth intervals. These results suggest that reproduction in callitrichine primates may be limited by physiologic constraints, such that short birth spacing drives higher infant mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett M. Frye
- Department of Biology, Emory & Henry College, Emory, VA 24327, USA,Corresponding author
| | - Dakota E. McCoy
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA,Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Jennifer Kotler
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA,Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Amanda Embury
- Department of Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Judith M. Burkart
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Monika Burns
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Simon Eyre
- Wellington Zoo, Newtown, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Peter Galbusera
- Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jacqui Hooper
- Wellington Zoo, Newtown, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Arun Idoe
- Apenheul Primate Park, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
| | | | | | | | | | - Sara Sullivan
- Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA
| | - Mark Warneke
- Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA
| | | | - Dominic Wormell
- Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Jersey, Channel Islands, UK
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Suzette D. Tardif
- Southwest National Primate Research Center, San Antonio, TX 78245, USA
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Haig D. Concerted evolution of ribosomal DNA: Somatic peace amid germinal strife: Intranuclear and cellular selection maintain the quality of rRNA. Bioessays 2021; 43:e2100179. [PMID: 34704616 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202100179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Most eukaryotes possess many copies of rDNA. Organismal selection alone cannot maintain rRNA function because the effects of mutations in one rDNA are diluted by the presence of many other rDNAs. rRNA quality is maintained by processes that increase homogeneity of rRNA within, and heterogeneity among, germ cells thereby increasing the effectiveness of cellular selection on ribosomal function. A successful rDNA repeat will possess adaptations for spreading within tandem arrays by intranuclear selection. These adaptations reside in the non-coding regions of rDNA. Single-copy genes are predicted to manage processes of intranuclear and cellular selection in the germline to maintain the quality of rRNA expressed in somatic cells of future generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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Haig D. A Textual Deconstruction of the RNA World. Biosemiotics 2021; 14:651-656. [PMID: 34457086 PMCID: PMC8380861 DOI: 10.1007/s12304-021-09444-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
RNAs can do many things. They can store information, act in the world, and respond to the world. Because of these capabilities biologists have proposed a primordial 'RNA world' in which RNA, rather than DNA, performed the central role of replicator and repository of adaptive information. Deacon dismisses this hypothesis because replication is not about anything and because the structure of replicating molecules cannot contain information about the environment. I dispute both claims. An RNA and its opposite-sense complement represent each other and, by two rounds of complementation, represent themselves. Although (with some exceptions) nucleic acid sequences do not change in response to their present environment, these sequences embody information about ancestral environments via the selective filtering of alternative sequences in those environments. Nucleic acid sequences are the textual record of what has worked in the past.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
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Fay PC, Mohd Jaafar F, Batten C, Attoui H, Saunders K, Lomonossoff GP, Reid E, Horton D, Maan S, Haig D, Daly JM, Mertens PPC. Serological Cross-Reactions between Expressed VP2 Proteins from Different Bluetongue Virus Serotypes. Viruses 2021; 13:1455. [PMID: 34452321 PMCID: PMC8402635 DOI: 10.3390/v13081455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue (BT) is a severe and economically important disease of ruminants that is widely distributed around the world, caused by the bluetongue virus (BTV). More than 28 different BTV serotypes have been identified in serum neutralisation tests (SNT), which, along with geographic variants (topotypes) within each serotype, reflect differences in BTV outer-capsid protein VP2. VP2 is the primary target for neutralising antibodies, although the basis for cross-reactions and serological variations between and within BTV serotypes is poorly understood. Recombinant BTV VP2 proteins (rVP2) were expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana, based on sequence data for isolates of thirteen BTV serotypes (primarily from Europe), including three 'novel' serotypes (BTV-25, -26 and -27) and alternative topotypes of four serotypes. Cross-reactions within and between these viruses were explored using rabbit anti-rVP2 sera and post BTV-infection sheep reference-antisera, in I-ELISA (with rVP2 target antigens) and SNT (with reference strains of BTV-1 to -24, -26 and -27). Strong reactions were generally detected with homologous rVP2 proteins or virus strains/serotypes. The sheep antisera were largely serotype-specific in SNT, but more cross-reactive by ELISA. Rabbit antisera were more cross-reactive in SNT, and showed widespread, high titre cross-reactions against homologous and heterologous rVP2 proteins in ELISA. Results were analysed and visualised by antigenic cartography, showing closer relationships in some, but not all cases, between VP2 topotypes within the same serotype, and between serotypes belonging to the same 'VP2 nucleotype'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra C. Fay
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK; (P.C.F.); (E.R.); (D.H.); (J.M.D.)
- The Pirbright Institute, Surrey, Woking GU24 ONF, UK;
| | - Fauziah Mohd Jaafar
- UMR VIROLOGIE 1161, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, ANSES, Université Paris-Est, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France; (F.M.J.); (H.A.)
| | - Carrie Batten
- The Pirbright Institute, Surrey, Woking GU24 ONF, UK;
| | - Houssam Attoui
- UMR VIROLOGIE 1161, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, ANSES, Université Paris-Est, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France; (F.M.J.); (H.A.)
| | - Keith Saunders
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (K.S.); (G.P.L.)
| | - George P. Lomonossoff
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (K.S.); (G.P.L.)
| | - Elizabeth Reid
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK; (P.C.F.); (E.R.); (D.H.); (J.M.D.)
| | - Daniel Horton
- Pathology and Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK;
| | - Sushila Maan
- Department of Animal Biotechnology, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Hisar 125004, India;
| | - David Haig
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK; (P.C.F.); (E.R.); (D.H.); (J.M.D.)
| | - Janet M. Daly
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK; (P.C.F.); (E.R.); (D.H.); (J.M.D.)
| | - Peter P. C. Mertens
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK; (P.C.F.); (E.R.); (D.H.); (J.M.D.)
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McCoy DE, Shultz AJ, Vidoudez C, van der Heide E, Dall JE, Trauger SA, Haig D. Microstructures amplify carotenoid plumage signals in tanagers. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8582. [PMID: 33883641 PMCID: PMC8060279 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88106-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Brilliantly-colored birds are a model system for research into evolution and sexual selection. Red, orange, and yellow carotenoid-colored plumages have been considered honest signals of condition; however, sex differences in feather pigments and microstructures are not well understood. Here, we show that microstructures, rather than carotenoid pigments, seem to be a major driver of male-female color differences in the social, sexually-dimorphic tanager genus Ramphocelus. We comprehensively quantified feather (i) color (using spectrophotometry), (ii) pigments (using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)), and (iii) microstructures (using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) optical modeling). Males have significantly more saturated color patches than females. However, our exploratory analysis of pigments suggested that males and females have concordant carotenoid pigment profiles across all species (MCMCglmm model, female:male ratio = 0.95). Male, but not female, feathers have elaborate microstructures which amplify color appearance. Oblong, expanded feather barbs in males enhance color saturation (for the same amount of pigment) by increasing the transmission of optical power through the feather. Dihedral barbules (vertically-angled, strap-shaped barbules) in males reduce total reflectance to generate "super black" and "velvet red" plumage. Melanin in females explains some, but not all, of the male-female plumage differences. Our results suggest that a widely cited index of honesty, carotenoid pigments, cannot fully explain male appearance. We propose that males are selected to evolve amplifiers-in this case, microstructures that enhance appearance-that are not necessarily themselves linked to quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dakota E McCoy
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
| | - Allison J Shultz
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Informatics Group, Harvard University, 38 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Ornithology Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, USA
| | - Charles Vidoudez
- Harvard Center for Mass Spectrometry, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street (B2), Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Emma van der Heide
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Jacqueline E Dall
- Ornithology Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, USA
| | - Sunia A Trauger
- Harvard Center for Mass Spectrometry, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street (B2), Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
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Abstract
Mammalian genomes contain many imprinted microRNAs. When an imprinted miRNA targets an unimprinted mRNA their interaction may have different fitness consequences for the loci encoding the miRNA and mRNA. In one possible outcome, the mRNA sequence evolves to evade regulation by the miRNA by a simple change of target sequence. Such a response is unavailable if the targeted sequence is strongly constrained by other functions. In these cases, the mRNA evolves to accommodate regulation by the imprinted miRNA. These evolutionary dynamics are illustrated using the examples of the imprinted C19MC cluster of miRNAs in primates and C2MC cluster in mice that are paternally expressed in placentas. The 3′ UTR of PTEN, a gene with growth-related and metabolic functions, appears to be an important target of miRNAs from both clusters.
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Veller C, Muralidhar P, Haig D. On the logic of Fisherian sexual selection. Evolution 2020; 74:1234-1245. [PMID: 32128812 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
In Fisher's model of sexual selection, a female preference for a male trait spreads together with the trait because their genetic bases become correlated. This can be interpreted as a "greenbeard" system: a preference gene, by inducing a female to mate with a trait-bearing male, favors itself because the male is disproportionately likely also to carry the preference gene. Here, we use this logic to argue that Fisherian sexual selection in diploids proceeds via two channels: (i) trait-bearing males are disproportionately the product of matings between preference-bearing mothers and trait-bearing fathers, and thus trait and preference genes are correlated "in trans"; (ii) trait and preference genes come into gametic phase disequilibrium, and thus are correlated "in cis." Gametic phase disequilibrium is generated by three distinct mechanisms that we identify. The trans channel does not operate when sexual selection is restricted to the haploid phase, and therefore represents a fundamental difference between haploid and diploid models of sexual selection. We show that the cis and trans channels contribute equally to the spread of the preference when recombination between the preference and trait loci is free, but that the trans channel is substantially more important when linkage is tight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carl Veller
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138.,Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138
| | - Pavitra Muralidhar
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138.,Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138
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16
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Abstract
For many humans living today, obstetric care begins early in pregnancy, and most babies are born in hospitals. These are precautionary measures. Medical complications during the brief nine months of pregnancy are such a common part of human experience that we rarely ask ourselves why gestation does not always proceed as smoothly and reliably as the lifelong beating of our heart or filtration of blood by our kidneys. The birth of a healthy child is central to reproductive fitness and must have been subject to strong natural selection. Why then should placentas be less reliable organs than hearts or kidneys? Why should maternal hearts and kidneys be more subject to catastrophic failures during pregnancy than at other times? A crucial contrast distinguishes obstetrics from cardiology and nephrology. The coordinated activities of heart and kidneys take place within an individual comprised of genetically largely identical cells, whereas pregnancy involves an interaction between genetically-distinct individuals whose cooperation is obviated by evolutionary conflicts of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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17
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Abstract
Male peacock spiders (Maratus, Salticidae) compete to attract female mates using elaborate, sexually selected displays. They evolved both brilliant colour and velvety black. Here, we use scanning electron microscopy, hyperspectral imaging and finite-difference time-domain optical modelling to investigate the deep black surfaces of peacock spiders. We found that super black regions reflect less than 0.5% of light (for a 30° collection angle) in Maratus speciosus (0.44%) and Maratus karrie (0.35%) owing to microscale structures. Both species evolved unusually high, tightly packed cuticular bumps (microlens arrays), and M. karrie has an additional dense covering of black brush-like scales atop the cuticle. Our optical models show that the radius and height of spider microlenses achieve a balance between (i) decreased surface reflectance and (ii) enhanced melanin absorption (through multiple scattering, diffraction out of the acceptance cone of female eyes and increased path length of light through absorbing melanin pigments). The birds of paradise (Paradiseidae), ecological analogues of peacock spiders, also evolved super black near bright colour patches. Super black locally eliminates white specular highlights, reference points used to calibrate colour perception, making nearby colours appear brighter, even luminous, to vertebrates. We propose that this pre-existing, qualitative sensory experience—‘sensory bias’—is also found in spiders, leading to the convergent evolution of super black for mating displays in jumping spiders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dakota E McCoy
- 1 Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University , 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 , USA
| | - Victoria E McCoy
- 2 Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Universität Bonn , Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn , Germany
| | - Nikolaj K Mandsberg
- 3 Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark , 2800 Kongens Lyngby , Denmark.,4 John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University , 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 , USA
| | - Anna V Shneidman
- 4 John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University , 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 , USA
| | - Joanna Aizenberg
- 4 John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University , 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 , USA.,5 Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA , USA.,6 Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology, Harvard University , 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA , USA
| | - Richard O Prum
- 7 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University , New Haven, CT 06511 , USA
| | - David Haig
- 1 Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University , 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 , USA
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18
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McCoy DE, Haig D. Embryo Selection and Mate Choice: Can 'Honest Signals' Be Trusted? Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 35:308-318. [PMID: 32000998 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
When a measure becomes a target, it often ceases to be a good measure - an effect familiar from the declining usefulness of standardized testing in schools. This economic principle also applies to mate choice and, perhaps surprisingly, pregnancy. Just as females screen potential mates under many metrics, human mothers unconsciously screen embryos for quality. 'Examinees' are under intense selection to improve test performance by exaggerating formerly 'honest' signals of quality. Examiners must change their screening criteria to maintain useful information (but cannot abandon old criteria unilaterally). By the resulting 'proxy treadmill', new honest indicators arise while old degraded indicators linger, resulting in trait elaboration and exaggeration. Hormone signals during pregnancy show extreme evolutionary escalation (akin to elaborate mating displays).
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Affiliation(s)
- Dakota E McCoy
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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19
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Haig D. Comment on the exchange between Boddy et al. and Wagner et al.: malignancy, placentation and litter size. Evol Med Public Health 2020; 2020:217-218. [PMID: 33214903 PMCID: PMC7658546 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoaa027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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20
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Mainieri A, Haig D. Retrotransposon gag-like 1 (RTL1) and the molecular evolution of self-targeting imprinted microRNAs. Biol Direct 2019; 14:18. [PMID: 31640745 PMCID: PMC6805670 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-019-0250-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Transcription of the antisense strand of RTL1 produces a sense mRNA that is targeted for degradation by antisense microRNAs transcribed from the sense strand. Translation of the mRNA produces a retrotransposon-derived protein that is implicated in placental development. The sense and antisense transcripts are oppositely imprinted: sense mRNAs are expressed from the paternally-derived chromosome, antisense microRNAs from the maternally-derived chromosome. RESULTS Two microRNAs at the RTL1 locus, miR-431 and the rodent-specific miR-434, are derived from within tandem repeats. We present an evolutionary model for the establishment of a new self-targeting microRNA derived from within a tandem repeat that inhibits production of RTL1 protein when maternally-derived in heterozygotes but not when paternally-derived. CONCLUSIONS The interaction of sense and antisense transcripts can be interpreted as a form of communication between maternally-derived and paternally-derived RTL1 alleles that possesses many of the features of a greenbeard effect. This interaction is evolutionary stable, unlike a typical greenbeard effect, because of the necessary complementarity between microRNAs and mRNA transcribed from opposite strands of the same double helix. We conjecture that microRNAs and mRNA cooperate to reduce demands on mothers when an allele is paired with itself in homozygous offspring. REVIEWERS This article was reviewed by Eugene Berezikov and Bernard Crespi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avantika Mainieri
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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21
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McCoy DE, Frye BM, Kotler J, Embury A, Burkart JM, Burns M, Eyre S, Galbusera P, Hooper J, Idoe A, Goya AL, Mickelberg J, Quesada MP, Stevenson M, Sullivan S, Warneke M, Wojciechowski S, Wormell D, Haig D, Tardif SD. A comparative study of litter size and sex composition in a large dataset of callitrichine monkeys. Am J Primatol 2019; 81:e23038. [PMID: 31389057 PMCID: PMC6949018 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2019] [Revised: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
In many birds and mammals, the size and sex composition of litters can have important downstream effects for individual offspring. Primates are model organisms for questions of cooperation and conflict, but the factors shaping interactions among same-age siblings have been less-studied in primates because most species bear single young. However, callitrichines (marmosets, tamarins, and lion tamarins) frequently bear litters of two or more, thereby providing the opportunity to ask whether variation in the size and sex composition of litters affects development, survival, and reproduction. To investigate these questions, we compiled a large dataset of nine species of callitrichines (n = 27,080 individuals; Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Cebuella pygmaea, Saguinus imperator, Saguinus oedipus, Leontopithecus chrysomelas, Leontopithecus chrysopygus, Leontopithecus rosalia, and Callimico goeldii) from zoo and laboratory populations spanning 80 years (1938-2018). Through this comparative approach, we found several lines of evidence that litter size and sex composition may impact fitness. Singletons have higher survivorship than litter-born peers and they significantly outperform litter-born individuals on two measures of reproductive performance. Further, for some species, individuals born in a mixed-sex litter outperform isosexually-born individuals (i.e., those born in all-male or all-female litters), suggesting that same-sex competition may limit reproductive performance. We also document several interesting demographic trends. All but one species (C. pygmaea) has a male-biased birth sex ratio with higher survivorship from birth to sexual maturity among females (although this was significant in only two species). Isosexual litters occurred at the expected frequency (with one exception: C. pygmaea), unlike other animals, where isosexual litters are typically overrepresented. Taken together, our results indicate a modest negative effect of same-age sibling competition on reproductive output in captive callitrichines. This study also serves to illustrate the value of zoo and laboratory records for biological inquiry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dakota E. McCoy
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Brett M. Frye
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, USA
| | - Jennifer Kotler
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Amanda Embury
- Department of Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Judith M. Burkart
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Monika Burns
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Simon Eyre
- Wellington Zoo, Newtown, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Peter Galbusera
- Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jacqui Hooper
- Wellington Zoo, Newtown, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Arun Idoe
- Apenheul Primate Park, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | | | - Sara Sullivan
- Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA
| | - Mark Warneke
- Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA
| | | | - Dominic Wormell
- Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Jersey, Channel Islands, UK
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Suzette D. Tardif
- Southwest National Primate Research Center, San Antonio, Texas 78245, USA
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22
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Haig D. A 9-month lag in the effects of contraception: a commentary on Vitzthum, Thornburg, and Spielvogel. Sleep Health 2019; 5:219. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sleh.2019.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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23
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Abstract
Parent-offspring conflict-conflict over resource distribution within families due to differences in genetic relatedness-is the biological foundation for many psychological phenomena. In genomic imprinting disorders, parent-specific genetic expression is altered causing imbalances in behaviors influenced by parental investment. We use this natural experiment to test the theory that parent-offspring conflict contributed to the evolution of vocal music by moderating infant demands for parental attention. Individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome, a genomic imprinting disorder resulting from increased relative maternal genetic contribution, show enhanced relaxation responses to song, consistent with reduced demand for parental investment (Mehr et al., 2017, Psychological Science). We report the necessary complementary pattern here: individuals with Angelman syndrome, a genomic imprinting disorder resulting from increased relative paternal genetic contribution, demonstrate a relatively reduced relaxation response to song, suggesting increased demand for parental attention. These results support the extension of genetic conflict theories to psychological resources like parental attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Kotler
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.,Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Samuel A Mehr
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.,Data Science Initiative, Harvard University, 8 Story St., Suite 380, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Alena Egner
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Max M Krasnow
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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24
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Kotler J, Haig D. The tempo of human childhood: a maternal foot on the accelerator, a paternal foot on the brake. Evol Anthropol 2018; 27:80-91. [PMID: 29575348 PMCID: PMC5947556 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Revised: 01/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Relative to the life history of other great apes, that of humans is characterized by early weaning and short interbirth intervals (IBIs). We propose that in modern humans, birth until adrenarche, or the rise in adrenal androgens, developmentally corresponds to the period from birth until weaning in great apes and ancestral hominins. According to this hypothesis, humans achieved short IBIs by subdividing ancestral infancy into a nurseling phase, during which offspring fed at the breast, and a weanling phase, during which offspring fed specially prepared foods. Imprinted genes influence the timing of human weaning and adrenarche, with paternally expressed genes promoting delays in childhood maturation and maternally expressed genes promoting accelerated maturation. These observations suggest that the tempo of human development has been shaped by consequences for the fitness of kin, with faster development increasing maternal fitness at a cost to child fitness. The effects of imprinted genes suggest that the duration of the juvenile period (adrenarche until puberty) has also been shaped by evolutionary conflicts within the family.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David Haig
- Harvard University, Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology
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25
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Mainieri A, Haig D. Lost in translation: The 3'-UTR of IGF1R as an ancient long noncoding RNA. Evol Med Public Health 2018; 2018:82-91. [PMID: 29644076 PMCID: PMC5887972 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoy008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Background and objectives The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling system is a major arena of intragenomic conflict over embryonic growth between imprinted genes of maternal and paternal origin and the IGF type 1 receptor (IGF1R) promotes proliferation of many human cancers. The 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of the mouse Igf1r mRNA is targeted by miR-675-3p derived from the imprinted H19 long noncoding RNA. We undertook a comparative sequence analysis of vertebrate IGF1R 3'-UTRs to determine the evolutionary history of miR-675 target sequences and to identify conserved features that are likely to be involved in post-transcriptional regulation of IGF1R translation. Methodology Sequences of IGF1R 3'-UTRs were obtained from public databases and analyzed using publicly available algorithms. Results A very long 3'-UTR is a conserved feature of vertebrate IGF1R mRNAs. We found that some ancient microRNAs, such as let-7 and mir-182, have predicted binding sites that are conserved between cartilaginous fish and mammals. One very conserved region is targeted by multiple, maternally expressed imprinted microRNAs that appear to have evolved more recently than the targeted sequences. Conclusions and implications The conserved structures we identify in the IGF1R 3'-UTR are strong candidates for regulating cell proliferation during development and carcinogenesis. These conserved structures are now targeted by multiple imprinted microRNAs. These observations emphasize the central importance of IGF signaling pathways in the mediation of intragenomic conflicts over embryonic growth and identify possible targets for therapeutic interventions in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avantika Mainieri
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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26
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Pogrebna G, Oswald AJ, Haig D. Female babies and risk-aversion: Causal evidence from hospital wards. J Health Econ 2018; 58:10-17. [PMID: 29408151 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2017.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2017] [Revised: 11/17/2017] [Accepted: 12/29/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Using ultrasound scan data from paediatric hospitals, and the exogenous 'shock' of learning the gender of an unborn baby, the paper documents the first causal evidence that offspring gender affects adult risk-aversion. On a standard Holt-Laury criterion, parents of daughters, whether unborn or recently born, become almost twice as risk-averse as parents of sons. The study demonstrates this in longitudinal and cross-sectional data, for fathers and mothers, for babies in the womb and new-born children, and in a West European nation and East European nation. These findings may eventually aid our understanding of risky health behaviors and gender inequalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ganna Pogrebna
- Birmingham Business School, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham and The Alan Turing Institute, JG Smith Building, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK and 96 Euston Rd, Kings Cross, London, NW1 2DB, UK
| | - Andrew J Oswald
- Department of Economics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
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27
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusettsUSA
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28
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Abstract
Haploid gametophytes of bryophytes spread by clonal growth but mate locally, within an area defined by the range of sperm movement. Rarity of establishment from spores or vegetative competition can result in unisexual populations unable to reproduce sexually. Females typically outcompete males, probably because females expend fewer resources than males on the production of gametes. Extreme sexual dimorphism-tiny males growing as epiphytes on much larger females-has evolved many times. Haploid selfing is common in bryophytes with bisexual gametophytes, and results in completely homozygous sporophytes. Spores from these sporophytes recapitulate the genotype of their single haploid parent. This process can be considered analogous to 'asexual' reproduction with 'sexual' reproduction occurring after rare outcrossing between haploid parents. Ferns also produce bisexual haploid gametophytes but, unlike bryophytes, haploid outcrossing predominates over haploid selfing. This difference is probably related to clonal growth and vegetative competition occurring in the haploid but not the diploid phase in bryophytes, but the reverse in ferns. Ferns are thereby subject to stronger inbreeding depression than bryophytes.This article is part of the themed issue 'Weird sex: the underappreciated diversity of sexual reproduction'.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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29
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Abstract
Why do people sing to babies? Human infants are relatively altricial and need their parents' attention to survive. Infant-directed song may constitute a signal of that attention. In Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a rare disorder of genomic imprinting, genes from chromosome 15q11-q13 that are typically paternally expressed are unexpressed, which results in exaggeration of traits that reduce offspring's investment demands on the mother. PWS may thus be associated with a distinctive musical phenotype. We report unusual responses to music in people with PWS. Subjects with PWS ( N = 39) moved more during music listening, exhibited greater reductions in heart rate in response to music listening, and displayed a specific deficit in pitch-discrimination ability relative to typically developing adults and children ( N = 589). Paternally expressed genes from 15q11-q13, which are unexpressed in PWS, may thus increase demands for music and enhance perceptual sensitivity to music. These results implicate genomic imprinting in the psychology of music, informing theories of music's evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel A Mehr
- 1 Department of Psychology, Harvard University.,2 Data Science Initiative, Harvard University.,3 Graduate School of Education, Harvard University.,4 School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington
| | - Jennifer Kotler
- 5 Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
| | | | - David Haig
- 5 Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
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30
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Veller C, Haig D, Nowak MA. The Trivers-Willard hypothesis: sex ratio or investment? Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.0126. [PMID: 27170721 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The Trivers-Willard hypothesis has commonly been considered to predict two things. First, that a mother in good condition should bias the sex ratio of her offspring towards males (if males exhibit greater variation in reproductive value). Second, that a mother in good condition should invest more per son than per daughter. These two predictions differ empirically, mechanistically and, as we demonstrate here, theoretically too. We construct a simple model of sex allocation that allows simultaneous analysis of both versions of the Trivers-Willard hypothesis. We show that the sex ratio version holds under very general conditions, being valid for a large class of male and female fitness functions. The investment version, on the other hand, is shown to hold only for a small subset of male and female fitness functions. Our results help to make sense of the observation that the sex ratio version is empirically more successful than the investment version.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carl Veller
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, MA, USA Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, MA, USA
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, MA, USA
| | - Martin A Nowak
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, MA, USA Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, MA, USA Department of Mathematics, Harvard University, MA, USA
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31
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Dauber A, Cunha-Silva M, Macedo DB, Brito VN, Abreu AP, Roberts SA, Montenegro LR, Andrew M, Kirby A, Weirauch MT, Labilloy G, Bessa DS, Carroll RS, Jacobs DC, Chappell PE, Mendonca BB, Haig D, Kaiser UB, Latronico AC. Paternally Inherited DLK1 Deletion Associated With Familial Central Precocious Puberty. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2017; 102:1557-1567. [PMID: 28324015 PMCID: PMC5443333 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2016-3677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2016] [Accepted: 01/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT Central precocious puberty (CPP) results from premature activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Few genetic causes of CPP have been identified, with the most common being mutations in the paternally expressed imprinted gene MKRN3. OBJECTIVE To identify the genetic etiology of CPP in a large multigenerational family. DESIGN Linkage analysis followed by whole-genome sequencing was performed in a family with five female members with nonsyndromic CPP. Detailed phenotyping was performed at the time of initial diagnosis and long-term follow-up, and circulating levels of Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1) were measured in affected individuals. Expression of DLK1 was measured in mouse hypothalamus and in kisspeptin-secreting neuronal cell lines in vitro. SETTING Endocrine clinic of an academic medical center. PATIENTS Patients with familial CPP were studied. RESULTS A complex defect of DLK1 (∼14-kb deletion and 269-bp duplication) was identified in this family. This deletion included the 5' untranslated region and the first exon of DLK1, including the translational start site. Only family members who inherited the defect from their father have precocious puberty, consistent with the known imprinting of DLK1. The patients did not demonstrate additional features of the imprinted disorder Temple syndrome except for increased fat mass. Serum DLK1 levels were undetectable in all affected individuals. Dlk1 was expressed in mouse hypothalamus and in kisspeptin neuron-derived cell lines. CONCLUSION We identified a genomic defect in DLK1 associated with isolated familial CPP. MKRN3 and DLK1 are both paternally expressed imprinted genes. These findings suggest a role of genomic imprinting in regulating the timing of human puberty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Dauber
- Cincinnati Center for Growth Disorders, Division of Endocrinology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229
| | - Marina Cunha-Silva
- Unidade de Endocrinologia do Desenvolvimento, Laboratório de Hormônios e Genética Molecular/LIM42, Hospital das Clínicas, Disciplina de Endocrinologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-093, Brazil
| | - Delanie B. Macedo
- Unidade de Endocrinologia do Desenvolvimento, Laboratório de Hormônios e Genética Molecular/LIM42, Hospital das Clínicas, Disciplina de Endocrinologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-093, Brazil
| | - Vinicius N. Brito
- Unidade de Endocrinologia do Desenvolvimento, Laboratório de Hormônios e Genética Molecular/LIM42, Hospital das Clínicas, Disciplina de Endocrinologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-093, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Abreu
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
| | - Stephanie A. Roberts
- Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
| | - Luciana R. Montenegro
- Unidade de Endocrinologia do Desenvolvimento, Laboratório de Hormônios e Genética Molecular/LIM42, Hospital das Clínicas, Disciplina de Endocrinologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-093, Brazil
| | - Melissa Andrew
- Cincinnati Center for Growth Disorders, Division of Endocrinology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229
| | - Andrew Kirby
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114
| | - Matthew T. Weirauch
- Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology, Division of Biomedical Informatics and Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229
| | - Guillaume Labilloy
- Division of Biomedical Informatics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229
| | - Danielle S. Bessa
- Unidade de Endocrinologia do Desenvolvimento, Laboratório de Hormônios e Genética Molecular/LIM42, Hospital das Clínicas, Disciplina de Endocrinologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-093, Brazil
| | - Rona S. Carroll
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
| | - Dakota C. Jacobs
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331
| | - Patrick E. Chappell
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331
| | - Berenice B. Mendonca
- Unidade de Endocrinologia do Desenvolvimento, Laboratório de Hormônios e Genética Molecular/LIM42, Hospital das Clínicas, Disciplina de Endocrinologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-093, Brazil
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
| | - Ursula B. Kaiser
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
| | - Ana Claudia Latronico
- Unidade de Endocrinologia do Desenvolvimento, Laboratório de Hormônios e Genética Molecular/LIM42, Hospital das Clínicas, Disciplina de Endocrinologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-093, Brazil
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Muralidhar P, Haig D. Sexy males and sexless females: the origin of triploid apomicts. Heredity (Edinb) 2017; 118:436-441. [PMID: 28074843 PMCID: PMC5520530 DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2016.124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2016] [Revised: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Apomixis and polyploidy are closely associated in angiosperms, but the evolutionary reason for this association is unknown. Taraxacum officinale, the common dandelion, exists both as diploid sexuals and triploid apomicts. Here, in the context of T. officinale, we provide a model of the evolution of triploid apomicts from diploid sexuals. We posit an apomictic allele that arrests female meiosis in diploids, so that the plant produces diploid egg cells that can develop without fertilization, but haploid pollen. We propose occasional fertilization of diploid egg cells by haploid pollen, resulting in triploid apomicts that produce triploid egg cells but largely nonfunctional pollen. The irreversibility of this process renders diploid partial apomicts evolutionarily short-lived, and results in fixation of triploid apomicts except when they suffer extreme selective disadvantages. Our model can account for the high genetic diversity found in T. officinale triploid populations, because recombinant haploid pollen produced by diploids allows the apomictic allele to spread onto many genetic backgrounds. This leads to multiple clonal lineages in the newly apomictic population, and thereby alleviates some of the usual pitfalls of asexual reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Muralidhar
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - D Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138
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Rees J, Haig D, Mack V, Davis WC. Characterisation of monoclonal antibodies specific for hamster leukocyte differentiation molecules. Vet Immunol Immunopathol 2016; 183:40-44. [PMID: 28063475 PMCID: PMC5256479 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2016.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2016] [Revised: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Flow cytometry was used to identify mAbs that recognize conserved epitopes on hamster leukocyte differentiation molecules (hLDM) and also to characterize mAbs developed against hLDM. Initial screening of mAbs developed against LDMs in other species yielded mAbs specific for the major histocompatibility (MHC) II molecule, CD4 and CD18. Screening of sets of mAbs developed against hLDM yielded 22 new mAbs, including additional mAbs to MHC II molecules and mAbs that recognize LDMs expressed on all leukocytes, granulocytes, all lymphocytes, all T cells, a subset of T cells, or on all B cells. Based on comparison of the pattern of expression of LDMs expressed on all hamster leukocytes with the patterns of expression of known LDMs in other species, as detected by flow cytometry (FC), four mAbs are predicted to recognize CD11a, CD44, and CD45. Cross comparison of mAbs specific for a subset of hamster T cells with a cross reactive mAb known to recognize CD4 in mice and one recognising CD8 revealed they recognize CD4. The characterization of these mAbs expands opportunities to use hamsters as an additional model species to investigate the mechanisms of immunopathogenesis of infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Rees
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton, Bonington, LE12 5RD, UK
| | - David Haig
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton, Bonington, LE12 5RD, UK.
| | - Victoria Mack
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology & Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-7040, USA
| | - William C Davis
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology & Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-7040, USA
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Lankester F, Lugelo A, Werling D, Mnyambwa N, Keyyu J, Kazwala R, Grant D, Smith S, Parameswaran N, Cleaveland S, Russell G, Haig D. The efficacy of alcelaphine herpesvirus-1 (AlHV-1) immunization with the adjuvants Emulsigen ® and the monomeric TLR5 ligand FliC in zebu cattle against AlHV-1 malignant catarrhal fever induced by experimental virus challenge. Vet Microbiol 2016; 195:144-153. [PMID: 27771060 PMCID: PMC5081063 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2016.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2016] [Revised: 09/22/2016] [Accepted: 09/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Vaccination induces a pharyngeal antibody response in shorthorn zebu cross (SZC). Direct challenge with the AlHV-1 virus is effective at inducing MCF in SZC. Attenuated AlHV–1 + Emulsigen® vaccine efficacy in SZC calculated to be 50%. Bacterial flagellin is not a good adjuvant as inclusion reduced antibody response. We provide evidence that non-fatal AlHV-1 infections occur in SZC.
Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is a fatal disease of cattle that, in East Africa, follows contact with wildebeest excreting alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1). Recently an attenuated vaccine (atAlHV-1) was tested under experimental challenge on Friesian-Holstein (FH) cattle and gave a vaccine efficacy (VE) of approximately 90%. However testing under field conditions on an East African breed, the shorthorn zebu cross (SZC), gave a VE of 56% suggesting that FH and SZC cattle may respond differently to the vaccine. To investigate, a challenge trial was carried out using SZC. Additionally three adjuvant combinations were tested: (i) Emulsigen®, (ii) bacterial flagellin (FliC) and (iii) Emulsigen® + bacterial flagellin. We report 100% seroconversion in all immunized cattle. The group inoculated with atAlHV-1 + Emulsigen® had significantly higher antibody titres than groups inoculated with FliC, the smallest number of animals that became infected and the fewest fatalities, suggesting this was the most effective combination. A larger study is required to more accurately determine the protective effect of this regime in SZC. There was an apparent inhibition of the antibody response in cattle inoculated with atAlHV-1 + FliC, suggesting FliC might induce an immune suppressive mechanism. The VE in SZC (50–60%) was less than that in FH (80–90%). We speculate that this might be due to increased risk of disease in vaccinated SZC (suggesting that the vaccine may be less effective at stimulating an appropriate immune response in this breed) and/or increased survival in unvaccinated SZC (suggesting that these cattle may have a degree of prior immunity against infection with AlHV-1).
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Lankester
- Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA; School of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science & Technology, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Ahmed Lugelo
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Dirk Werling
- Royal Veterinary College, Department of Pathology and Pathogen Biology, London, UK
| | - Nicholas Mnyambwa
- School of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science & Technology, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Julius Keyyu
- Tanzanian Wildlife Research Institute, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Rudovick Kazwala
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Dawn Grant
- Moredun Research Institute, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sarah Smith
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Nevi Parameswaran
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Sarah Cleaveland
- Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | | | - David Haig
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
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Abstract
The germ track is the cellular path by which genes are transmitted to future generations whereas somatic cells die with their body and do not leave direct descendants. Transposable elements (TEs) evolve to be silent in somatic cells but active in the germ track. Thus, the performance of most bodily functions by a sequestered soma reduces organismal costs of TEs. Flexible forms of gene regulation are permissible in the soma because of the self-imposed silence of TEs, but strict licensing of transcription and translation is maintained in the germ track to control proliferation of TEs. Delayed zygotic genome activation (ZGA) and maternally inherited germ granules are adaptations that enhance germ-track security. Mammalian embryos exhibit very early ZGA associated with extensive mobilization of retroelements. This window of vulnerability to retrotransposition in early embryos is an indirect consequence of evolutionary conflicts within the mammalian genome over postzygotic maternal provisioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Read AF, Bentley GR, Haig D. George C Williams Prize 2015. Evol Med Public Health 2016; 2016:212-3. [PMID: 27378797 PMCID: PMC4944834 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eow017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Accepted: 05/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew F Read
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Departments of Biology and Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Gillian R Bentley
- Department of Anthropology and Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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Abstract
Antagonistic coevolution between maternal and fetal genes, and between maternally and paternally derived genes may have increased mammalian vulnerability to cancer. Placental trophoblast has evolved to invade maternal tissues and evade structural and immunological constraints on its invasion. These adaptations can be co-opted by cancer in intrasomatic selection. Imprinted genes of maternal and paternal origin favour different degrees of proliferation of particular cell types in which they reside. As a result, the set of genes favouring greater proliferation will be selected to evade controls on cell-cycle progression imposed by the set of genes favouring lesser proliferation. The dynamics of stem cell populations will be a particular focus of this intragenomic conflict. Gene networks that are battlegrounds of intragenomic conflict are expected to be less robust than networks that evolve in the absence of conflict. By these processes, maternal-fetal and intragenomic conflicts may undermine evolved defences against cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Harvard University; Cambridge MA USA
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Abstract
Fetal microchimerism (FMc) is predicted to promote the fitness of the fetus and maternal microchimerism (MMc) to promote the fitness of the mother. Offspring and mothers benefit from each other's health. Therefore, microchimeric cells should usually not be harmful to their host. However, the evolutionary interests of mothers and offspring diverge when there is competition among siblings for maternal investment. Fetal cells in mothers' bodies could benefit their own offspring at the expense of its sibs by promoting lactogenesis or by extending the interbirth interval. Maternal cells in fetal bodies could benefit from the suppression of sibling rivalry. Non-inherited haplotypes in MMc or sibling microchimerism (SMc) gain no direct benefit from their hosts' health and could be associated with substantial detrimental effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Harvard University; Cambridge, MA USA
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Haig D. Going retro: Transposable elements, embryonic stem cells, and the mammalian placenta (retrospective on DOI 10.1002/bies.201300059). Bioessays 2015; 37:1154. [PMID: 26333045 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201500114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Abstract
The evolution of placentas in poeciliid fishes is associated with conception of overlapping litters and male mating strategies becoming more coercive. Sperm competition in ovaries of multiply-inseminated females may favor fertilization of immature eggs during ongoing pregnancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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Abstract
UNLABELLED • PREMISE OF THE STUDY Zygotes of Coleochaete are provisioned by the maternal thallus before undergoing 3-5 rounds of division to produce 8-32 zoospores. An understanding of the selective forces favoring postzygotic divisions would be relevant not only to the interpretation of Coleochaete life history but also to the origin of a multicellular diploid phase in embryophytes.• METHODS Simple optimization models are developed of the number of zygotes per maternal thallus and number of zoospores per zygote.• KEY RESULTS Zygotic mitosis is favored once zygotic size exceeds a threshold, but natural selection usually promotes investment in additional zygotes before zygotes reach this threshold. Factors that favor production of fewer, larger zygotes include multiple paternity, low fecundity, and accessory costs of zygote production. Such factors can result in zygotes exceeding the size at which zygotic mitosis becomes profitable.• CONCLUSIONS Coleochaete may possess large zygotes that undergo multiple fission because of accessory costs associated with matrotrophy, including costs of cortical cells and unfertilized oogonia. The unpredictability of fertilization on land is proposed to have increased accessory costs from unfertilized ova and, as a consequence, to have favored the production of larger zygotes that underwent postzygotic division to produce diploid sporophytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 USA
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Abstract
Variation in body composition is a popular obsession. The culturally 'ideal' body type is light on fat and heavy on muscle but the human population is collectively laying on fat. A new study finds antagonistic effects of two imprinted genes, Grb10 and Dlk1, on body composition in mice. These findings pose the question whether there is an evolutionary conflict between genes of maternal and paternal origin over the optimal proportions of body fat and lean muscle mass.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge 02138, MA, USA.
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Alkurashi MM, May ST, Kong K, Bacardit J, Haig D, Elsheikha HM. Susceptibility to experimental infection of the invertebrate locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) with the apicomplexan parasite Neospora caninum. PeerJ 2014; 2:e674. [PMID: 25493211 PMCID: PMC4260130 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2014] [Accepted: 11/01/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuropathogenesis is a feature of Neospora caninum infection. In order to explore this in the absence of acquired host immunity to the parasite, we have tested infection in locusts (Schistocerca gregaria). We show for the first time that locusts are permissive to intra-hemocoel infection with N. caninum tachyzoites. This was characterized by alteration in body weight, fecal output, hemoparasitemia, and sickness-related behavior. Infected locusts exhibited progressive signs of sickness leading to mortality. Also, N. caninum showed neuropathogenic affinity, induced histological changes in the brain and was able to replicate in the brain of infected locusts. Fatty acid (FA) profiling analysis of the brains by gas chromatography and multi-variate prediction models discriminated with high accuracy (98%) between the FA profiles of the infected and control locusts. DNA microarray gene expression profiling distinguished infected from control S. gregaria brain tissues on the basis of distinct differentially-expressed genes. These data indicate that locusts are permissible to infection with N. caninum and that the parasite retains its tropism for neural tissues in the invertebrate host. Locusts may facilitate preclinical testing of interventional strategies to inhibit the growth of N. caninum tachyzoites. Further studies on how N. caninum brings about changes in locust brain tissue are now warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mamdowh M Alkurashi
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham , Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire , UK ; Animal Production Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia
| | - Sean T May
- Nottingham Arabidopsis Stock Centre, Division of Plant and Crop Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham , Leicestershire , UK
| | - Kenny Kong
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham , UK
| | - Jaume Bacardit
- The Interdisciplinary Computing and Complex BioSystems (ICOS) Research Group, School of Computing Science, Newcastle University , Newcastle-upon-Tyne , UK
| | - David Haig
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham , Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire , UK
| | - Hany M Elsheikha
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham , Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire , UK
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Abstract
Sexual antagonism occurs when an allele is beneficial in one sex but costly in the other. Parental antagonism occurs when an allele is beneficial when inherited from one sex but costly when inherited from the other because of fitness interactions among kin. Sexual and parental antagonisms together define four genetic niches within the genome that favor different patterns of gene expression. Natural selection generates linkage disequilibrium among sexually and parentally antagonistic loci with male-beneficial alleles coupled to alleles that are beneficial when inherited from males and female-beneficial alleles coupled to alleles that are beneficial when inherited from females. Linkage disequilibrium also develops between sexually and parentally antagonistic loci and loci that influence sex determination. Genes evolve sex-specific expression to resolve sexual antagonism and evolve imprinted expression to resolve parental antagonism. Sex-specific chromosomes allow a gene to specialize in a single niche.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
| | - Francisco Úbeda
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom
| | - Manus M Patten
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057
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Haig D. Troubled sleep: A response to commentaries. Evol Med Public Health 2014; 2014:57-62. [PMID: 24632049 PMCID: PMC3982903 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eou011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- *Corresponding author. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Tel: +1-617-496-5125; Fax: +1-617-495-5667; E-mail:
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Abstract
Disrupted sleep is probably the most common complaint of parents with a new baby. Night waking increases in the second half of the first year of infant life and is more pronounced for breastfed infants. Sleep-related phenotypes of infants with Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes suggest that imprinted genes of paternal origin promote greater wakefulness whereas imprinted genes of maternal origin favor more consolidated sleep. All these observations are consistent with a hypothesis that waking at night to suckle is an adaptation of infants to extend their mothers’ lactational amenorrhea, thus delaying the birth of a younger sib and enhancing infant survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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Smith SA, Haig D, Emes RD. Novel ovine polymorphisms and adaptive evolution in mammalian TLR2 suggest existence of multiple pathogen binding regions. Gene 2014; 540:217-25. [PMID: 24582976 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2014.02.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2013] [Revised: 02/11/2014] [Accepted: 02/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Toll-like receptors initiate inflammatory responses following the recognition of a wide repertoire of pathogens including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses. They are composed of an extracellular leucine-rich repeat domain responsible for detecting pathogen-associated molecular patterns, a membrane spanning region and an intracellular Toll/Interleukin 1 receptor domain which invokes signal transduction. Toll-like receptor 2 is the most diverse of these receptors as it recognises infectious agents from a range of pathogenic groups. Over 1400 breeds of sheep exist worldwide that inhabit a diverse range of environments, which leads to the potential contact with a wide variety of pathogens likely detected by Toll-like receptor 2. In this study, we evaluated the extent of both long term evolutionary changes, across the mammalian phylogeny of the TLR2 gene, and recent divergence of this same gene in sheep breeds. Evolutionary analyses identified positive selective pressure across the mammalian phylogeny, and differential selection pressure within the artiodactyl and primate lineage. Finally, we identified localised positively-selected sites within two regions of the extracellular domain which suggest that multiple binding regions in TLR2 may be involved in pathogen detection. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that competition between host and pathogen is driving adaptation of Toll-like receptor 2 genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- S A Smith
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD, UK.
| | - D Haig
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD, UK.
| | - R D Emes
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD, UK.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Interbirth intervals (IBIs) mediate a trade-off between child number and child survival. Life history theory predicts that the evolutionarily optimal IBI differs for different individuals whose fitness is affected by how closely a mother spaces her children. The objective of the article is to clarify these conflicts and explore their implications for public health. METHODOLOGY Simple models of inclusive fitness and kin conflict address the evolution of human birth-spacing. RESULTS Genes of infants generally favor longer intervals than genes of mothers, and infant genes of paternal origin generally favor longer IBIs than genes of maternal origin. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The colonization of maternal bodies by offspring cells (fetal microchimerism) raises the possibility that cells of older offspring could extend IBIs by interfering with the implantation of subsequent embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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