Mother's curse neutralizes natural selection against a human genetic disease over three centuries

The influence of sex-specific factors on biological transformations and health outcomes in aging processes

The aging process demonstrates notable differences between males and females, which are key factors in disease susceptibility and lifespan. The differences in sex chromosomes are fundamental to the presence of sex bias in organisms. Moreover, sex-specific epigenetic modifications and changes in sex hormone levels impact the development of immunity differently during embryonic development and beyond. Mitochondria, telomeres, homeodynamic space, and intestinal flora are intricately connected to sex differences in aging. These elements can have diverse effects on men and women, resulting in unique biological transformations and health outcomes as they grow older. This review explores how sex interacts with these elements and shapes the aging process.

Mother's Curse effects on lifespan and aging

The Mother's Curse hypothesis posits that mothers curse their sons with harmful mitochondria, because maternal mitochondrial inheritance makes selection blind to mitochondrial mutations that harm only males. As a result, mitochondrial function may be evolutionarily optimized for females. This is an attractive explanation for ubiquitous sex differences in lifespan and aging, given the prevalence of maternal mitochondrial inheritance and the established relationship between mitochondria and aging. This review outlines patterns expected under the hypothesis, and traits most likely to be affected, chiefly those that are sexually dimorphic and energy intensive. A survey of the literature shows that evidence for Mother's Curse is limited to a few taxonomic groups, with the strongest support coming from experimental crosses in Drosophila. Much of the evidence comes from studies of fertility, which is expected to be particularly vulnerable to male-harming mitochondrial mutations, but studies of lifespan and aging also show evidence of Mother's Curse effects. Despite some very compelling studies supporting the hypothesis, the evidence is quite patchy overall, with contradictory results even found for the same traits in the same taxa. Reasons for this scarcity of evidence are discussed, including nuclear compensation, factors opposing male-specific mutation load, effects of interspecific hybridization, context dependency and demographic effects. Mother's Curse effects may indeed contribute to sex differences, but the complexity of other contributing factors make Mother's Curse a poor general predictor of sex-specific lifespan and aging.

Sex differences in adult lifespan and aging rate across mammals: a test of the 'Mother Curse hypothesis'

In many animal species, including humans, males have shorter lifespan and show faster survival aging than females. This differential increase in mortality between sexes could result from the accumulation of deleterious mutations in the mitochondrial genome of males due to the maternal mode of mtDNA inheritance. To date, empirical evidence supporting the existence of this mechanism - called the Mother Curse hypothesis - remains largely limited to a few study cases in humans and Drosophila. In this study, we tested whether the Mother Curse hypothesis accounts for sex differences in lifespan and aging rate across 128 populations of mammals (60 and 68 populations studied in wild and captive conditions, respectively) encompassing 104 species. We found that adult lifespan decreases with increasing mtDNA neutral substitution rate in both sexes in a similar way in the wild - but not in captivity. Moreover, the aging rate marginally increased with neutral substitution rate in males and females in the wild. Overall, these results indicate that the Mother Curse hypothesis is not supported across mammals. We further discuss the implication of these findings for our understanding of the evolution of sex differences in mortality and aging.

The role of genetics and epigenetics in sex differences in human survival

Sex differences in human survival have been extensively investigated in many studies that have in part uncovered the biological determinants that promote a longer life in females with respect to males. Moreover, researches performed in the past years have prompted increased awareness about the biological effects of environmental factors that can modulate the magnitude of the sex gap in survival. Besides the genetic background, epigenetic modifications like DNA methylation, that can modulate cell function, have been particularly studied in this framework. In this review, we aim to summarize the role of the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms in promoting female advantage from the early in life (“INNATE” features), and in influencing the magnitude of the gap in sex differences in survival and ageing (“VARIABLE” features). After briefly discussing the biological bases of sex determination in humans, we will provide much evidence showing that (i) “innate” mechanisms common to all males and to all females (both genetic and epigenetic) play a major role in sex differences in lifespan; (ii) “variable” genetic and epigenetic patterns, that vary according to context, populations and exposures to different environments, can affect the magnitude of the gap in sex differences in survival. Then we will describe recent findings in the use of epigenetic clocks to uncover sex differences in biological age and thus potentially in mortality. In conclusion, we will discuss how environmental factors cannot be kept apart from the biological factors providing evidence from the field of human ecology.

Challenges in quantifying genome erosion for conservation

Massive defaunation and high extinction rates have become characteristic of the Anthropocene. Genetic effects of population decline can lead populations into an extinction vortex, where declining populations show lower genetic fitness, in turn leading to lower populations still. The lower genetic fitness in a declining population due to a shrinking gene pool is known as genetic erosion. Three different types of genetic erosion are highlighted in this review: overall homozygosity, genetic load and runs of homozygosity (ROH), which are indicative of inbreeding. The ability to quantify genetic erosion could be a very helpful tool for conservationists, as it can provide them with an objective, quantifiable measure to use in the assessment of species at risk of extinction. The link between conservation status and genetic erosion should become more apparent. Currently, no clear correlation can be observed between the current conservation status and genetic erosion. However, the high quantities of genetic erosion in wild populations, especially in those species dealing with habitat fragmentation and habitat decline, may be early signs of deteriorating populations. Whole genome sequencing data is the way forward to quantify genetic erosion. Extra screening steps for genetic load and hybridization can be included, since they could potentially have great impact on population fitness. This way, the information yielded from genetic sequence data can provide conservationists with an objective genetic method in the assessment of species at risk of extinction. However, the great complexity of genome erosion quantification asks for consensus and bridging science and its applications, which remains challenging.

Association of mitochondrial DNA content, heteroplasmies and inter-generational transmission with autism

Mitochondria are essential for brain development. While previous studies linked dysfunctional mitochondria with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the role of the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) in ASD risk is largely unexplored. This study investigates the association of mtDNA heteroplasmies (co-existence of mutated and unmutated mtDNA) and content with ASD, as well as its inter-generational transmission and sex differences among two independent samples: a family-based study (n = 1,938 families with parents, probands and sibling controls) and a prospective birth cohort (n = 997 mother-child pairs). In both samples, predicted pathogenic (PP) heteroplasmies in children are associated with ASD risk (Meta-OR = 1.56, P = 0.00068). Inter-generational transmission of mtDNA reveals attenuated effects of purifying selection on maternal heteroplasmies in children with ASD relative to controls, particularly among males. Among children with ASD and PP heteroplasmies, increased mtDNA content shows benefits for cognition, communication, and behaviors (P ≤ 0.02). These results underscore the value of exploring maternal and newborn mtDNA in ASD.

Most genetic studies of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have focused on the nuclear genome. Here, the authors show that variations in mitochondrial DNA, detectable at birth, are also associated with risk of ASD.

Sex chromosomes, sex ratios and sex gaps in longevity in plants

In animals, males and females can display markedly different longevity (also called sex gaps in longevity, SGL). Sex chromosomes contribute to establishing these SGLs. X-hemizygosity and toxicity of the Y chromosomes are two mechanisms that have been suggested to reduce male longevity (Z-hemizygosity and W toxicity in females in ZW systems). In plants, SGLs are known to exist, but the role of sex chromosomes remains to be established. Here, by using adult sex ratio as a proxy for measuring SGLs, we explored the relationship between sex chromosomes and SGLs across 43 plant species. Based on the knowledge accumulated in animals, we specifically asked whether: (i) species with XY systems tend to have female-biased sex ratios (reduced male longevity) and species with ZW ones tend to have male-biased sex ratios (reduced female longevity); and (ii) this pattern was stronger in heteromorphic systems compared to homomorphic ones. Our results tend to support these predictions although we lack statistical power because of a small number of ZW systems and the absence of any heteromorphic ZW system in the dataset. We discuss the implications of these findings, which we hope will stimulate further research on sex differences in lifespan and ageing across plants. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants'.

Inheritance through the cytoplasm

Most heritable information in eukaryotic cells is encoded in the nuclear genome, with inheritance patterns following classic Mendelian segregation. Genomes residing in the cytoplasm, however, prove to be a peculiar exception to this rule. Cytoplasmic genetic elements are generally maternally inherited, although there are several exceptions where these are paternally, biparentally or doubly-uniparentally inherited. In this review, we examine the diversity and peculiarities of cytoplasmically inherited genomes, and the broad evolutionary consequences that non-Mendelian inheritance brings. We first explore the origins of vertical transmission and uniparental inheritance, before detailing the vast diversity of cytoplasmic inheritance systems across Eukaryota. We then describe the evolution of genomic organisation across lineages, how this process has been shaped by interactions with the nuclear genome and population genetics dynamics. Finally, we discuss how both nuclear and cytoplasmic genomes have evolved to co-inhabit the same host cell via one of the longest symbiotic processes, and all the opportunities for intergenomic conflict that arise due to divergence in inheritance patterns. In sum, we cannot understand the evolution of eukaryotes without understanding hereditary symbiosis.

The effective family size of immigrant founders predicts their long-term demographic outcome: From Québec settlers to their 20th-century descendants

Population history reconstruction, using extant genetic diversity data, routinely relies on simple demographic models to project the past through ascending genealogical-tree branches. Because genealogy and genetics are intimately related, we traced descending genealogies of the Québec founders to pursue their fate and to assess their contribution to the present-day population. Focusing on the female and male founder lines, we observed important sex-biased immigration in the early colony years and documented a remarkable impact of these early immigrants on the genetic make-up of 20th-century Québec. We estimated the immigrants’ survival ratio as a proportion of lineages found in the 1931–60 Québec to their number introduced within the immigration period. We assessed the effective family size, EFS, of all immigrant parents and their Québec-born descendants. The survival ratio of the earliest immigrants was the highest and declined over centuries in association with the immigrants’ EFS. Parents with high EFS left plentiful married descendants, putting EFS as the most important variable determining the parental demographic success throughout time for generations ahead. EFS of immigrant founders appears to predict their long-term demographic and, consequently, their genetic outcome. Genealogically inferred immigrants’ "autosomal" genetic contribution to 1931–60 Québec from consecutive immigration periods follow the same yearly pattern as the corresponding maternal and paternal lines. Québec genealogical data offer much broader information on the ancestral diversity distribution than genetic scrutiny of a limited population sample. Genealogically inferred population history could assist studies of evolutionary factors shaping population structure and provide tools to target specific health interventions.

Sex-specific aging in animals: Perspective and future directions

Sex differences in aging occur in many animal species, and they include sex differences in lifespan, in the onset and progression of age-associated decline, and in physiological and molecular markers of aging. Sex differences in aging vary greatly across the animal kingdom. For example, there are species with longer-lived females, species where males live longer, and species lacking sex differences in lifespan. The underlying causes of sex differences in aging remain mostly unknown. Currently, we do not understand the molecular drivers of sex differences in aging, or whether they are related to the accepted hallmarks or pillars of aging or linked to other well-characterized processes. In particular, understanding the role of sex-determination mechanisms and sex differences in aging is relatively understudied. Here, we take a comparative, interdisciplinary approach to explore various hypotheses about how sex differences in aging arise. We discuss genomic, morphological, and environmental differences between the sexes and how these relate to sex differences in aging. Finally, we present some suggestions for future research in this area and provide recommendations for promising experimental designs.

Mitochondrial Short-Term Plastic Responses and Long-Term Evolutionary Dynamics in Animal Species

How do species respond or adapt to environmental changes? The answer to this depends partly on mitochondrial epigenetics and genetics, new players in promoting adaptation to both short- and long-term environmental changes. In this review, we explore how mitochondrial epigenetics and genetics mechanisms, such as mtDNA methylation, mtDNA-derived noncoding RNAs, micropeptides, mtDNA mutations, and adaptations, can contribute to animal plasticity and adaptation. We also briefly discuss the challenges in assessing mtDNA adaptive evolution. In sum, this review covers new advances in the field of mitochondrial genomics, many of which are still controversial, and discusses processes still somewhat obscure, and some of which are still quite speculative and require further robust experimentation.

A pro-diabetogenic mtDNA polymorphism in the mitochondrial-derived peptide, MOTS-c

Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is an emerging public health problem in Asia. Although ethnic specific mtDNA polymorphisms have been shown to contribute to T2D risk, the functional effects of the mtDNA polymorphisms and the therapeutic potential of mitochondrial-derived peptides at the mtDNA polymorphisms are underexplored. Here, we showed an Asian-specific mitochondrial DNA variation m.1382A>C (rs111033358) leads to a K14Q amino acid replacement in MOTS-c, an insulin sensitizing mitochondrial-derived peptide. Meta-analysis of three cohorts (n = 27,527, J-MICC, MEC, and TMM) show that males but not females with the C-allele exhibit a higher prevalence of T2D. In J-MICC, only males with the C-allele in the lowest tertile of physical activity increased their prevalence of T2D, demonstrating a kinesio-genomic interaction. High-fat fed, male mice injected with MOTS-c showed reduced weight and improved glucose tolerance, but not K14Q-MOTS-c treated mice. Like the human data, female mice were unaffected. Mechanistically, K14Q-MOTS-c leads to diminished insulin-sensitization in vitro. Thus, the m.1382A>C polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to T2D in men, possibly interacting with exercise, and contributing to the risk of T2D in sedentary males by reducing the activity of MOTS-c.

Extreme heterogeneity of human mitochondrial DNA from organelles to populations

Contrary to the long-held view that most humans harbour only identical mitochondrial genomes, deep resequencing has uncovered unanticipated extreme genetic variation within mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Most, if not all, humans contain multiple mtDNA genotypes (heteroplasmy); specific patterns of variants accumulate in different tissues, including cancers, over time; and some variants are preferentially passed down or suppressed in the maternal germ line. These findings cast light on the origin and spread of mtDNA mutations at multiple scales, from the organelle to the human population, and challenge the conventional view that high percentages of a mutation are required before a new variant has functional consequences.

A battle for transmission: the cooperative and selfish animal mitochondrial genomes

The mitochondrial genome is an evolutionarily persistent and cooperative component of metazoan cells that contributes to energy production and many other cellular processes. Despite sharing the same host as the nuclear genome, the multi-copy mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) follows very different rules of replication and transmission, which translate into differences in the patterns of selection. On one hand, mtDNA is dependent on the host for its transmission, so selections would favour genomes that boost organismal fitness. On the other hand, genetic heterogeneity within an individual allows different mitochondrial genomes to compete for transmission. This intra-organismal competition could select for the best replicator, which does not necessarily give the fittest organisms, resulting in mito-nuclear conflict. In this review, we discuss the recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms and opposing forces governing mtDNA transmission and selection in bilaterians, and what the implications of these are for mtDNA evolution and mitochondrial replacement therapy.

Interactions between cytoplasmic and nuclear genomes confer sex-specific effects on lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster

Genetic variation outside of the cell nucleus can affect the phenotype. The cytoplasm is home to the mitochondria, and in arthropods often hosts intracellular bacteria such as Wolbachia. Although numerous studies have implicated epistatic interactions between cytoplasmic and nuclear genetic variation as mediators of phenotypic expression, two questions remain. Firstly, it remains unclear whether outcomes of cyto-nuclear interactions will manifest differently across the sexes, as might be predicted given that cytoplasmic genomes are screened by natural selection only through females as a consequence of their maternal inheritance. Secondly, the relative contribution of mitochondrial genetic variation to other cytoplasmic sources of variation, such as Wolbachia infection, in shaping phenotypic outcomes of cyto-nuclear interactions remains unknown. Here, we address these questions, creating a fully crossed set of replicated cyto-nuclear populations derived from three geographically distinct populations of Drosophila melanogaster, measuring the lifespan of males and females from each population. We observed that cyto-nuclear interactions shape lifespan and that the outcomes of these interactions differ across the sexes. Yet, we found no evidence that placing the cytoplasms from one population alongside the nuclear background of others (generating putative cyto-nuclear mismatches) leads to decreased lifespan in either sex. Although it was difficult to partition mitochondrial from Wolbachia effects, our results suggest at least some of the cytoplasmic genotypic contribution to lifespan was directly mediated by an effect of sequence variation in the mtDNA. Future work should explore the degree to which cyto-nuclear interactions result in sex differences in the expression of other components of organismal life history.

Sexually Antagonistic Mitonuclear Coevolution in Duplicate Oxidative Phosphorylation Genes

Mitochondrial function is critical in eukaryotes. To maintain an adequate supply of energy, precise interactions must be maintained between nuclear- and mitochondrial-encoded gene products. Such interactions are paramount in chimeric enzymes such as the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complexes. Mutualistic coevolution between the two genomes has therefore been suggested to be a critical, ubiquitous feature of eukaryotes that acts to maintain cellular function. However, mitochondrial genomes can also act selfishly and increase their own transmission at the expense of organismal function. For example, male-harming mutations are predisposed to accumulate in mitochondrial genomes due to their maternal inheritance ("mother's curse"). Here, we investigate sexually antagonistic mitonuclear coevolution in nuclear-encoded OXPHOS paralogs from mammals and Drosophila. These duplicate genes are highly divergent but must interact with the same set of mitochondrial-encoded genes. Many such paralogs show testis-specific expression, prompting previous hypotheses suggesting they may have evolved under selection to counteract male-harming mitochondrial mutations. We found increased rates of evolution in OXPHOS paralogs with testis-specific expression in mammals and Drosophila, supporting this hypothesis. However, further analyses suggested such patterns may be due to relaxed, not positive selection, especially in Drosophila. Structural data also suggest that mitonuclear interactions do not play a major role in the evolution of many OXPHOS paralogs in a consistent way. In conclusion, no single OXPHOS paralog met all our criteria for being under selection to counteract male-harming mitochondrial mutations. We discuss alternative explanations for the drastic patterns of evolution in these genes, including mutualistic mitonuclear coevolution, adaptive subfunctionalization after gene duplication, and relaxed selection on OXPHOS in male tissues.

Mitonuclear conflict and cooperation govern the integration of genotypes, phenotypes and environments

The mitonuclear genome is the most successful co-evolved mutualism in the history of life on Earth. The cross-talk between the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes has been shaped by conflict and cooperation for more than 1.5 billion years, yet this system has adapted to countless genomic reorganizations by each partner, and done so under changing environments that have placed dramatic biochemical and physiological pressures on evolving lineages. From putative anaerobic origins, mitochondria emerged as the defining aerobic organelle. During this transition, the two genomes resolved rules for sex determination and transmission that made uniparental inheritance the dominant, but not a universal pattern. Mitochondria are much more than energy-producing organelles and play crucial roles in nutrient and stress signalling that can alter how nuclear genes are expressed as phenotypes. All of these interactions are examples of genotype-by-environment (GxE) interactions, gene-by-gene (GxG) interactions (epistasis) or more generally context-dependent effects on the link between genotype and phenotype. We provide evidence from our own studies in Drosophila, and from those of other systems, that mitonuclear interactions—either conflicting or cooperative—are common features of GxE and GxG. We argue that mitonuclear interactions are an important model for how to better understand the pervasive context-dependent effects underlying the architecture of complex phenotypes. Future research in this area should focus on the quantitative genetic concept of effect size to place mitochondrial links to phenotype in a proper context.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Linking the mitochondrial genotype to phenotype: a complex endeavour’.

Sex-specific effects of mitochondrial haplotype on metabolic rate in Drosophila melanogaster support predictions of the Mother's Curse hypothesis

Evolutionary theory proposes that maternal inheritance of mitochondria will facilitate the accumulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations that are harmful to males but benign or beneficial to females. Furthermore, mtDNA haplotypes sampled from across a given species distribution are expected to differ in the number and identity of these 'male-harming' mutations they accumulate. Consequently, it is predicted that the genetic variation which delineates distinct mtDNA haplotypes of a given species should confer larger phenotypic effects on males than females (reflecting mtDNA mutations that are male-harming, but female-benign), or sexually antagonistic effects (reflecting mutations that are male-harming, but female-benefitting). These predictions have received support from recent work examining mitochondrial haplotypic effects on adult life-history traits in Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we explore whether similar signatures of male-bias or sexual antagonism extend to a key physiological trait-metabolic rate. We measured the effects of mitochondrial haplotypes on the amount of carbon dioxide produced by individual flies, controlling for mass and activity, across 13 strains of D. melanogaster that differed only in their mtDNA haplotype. The effects of mtDNA haplotype on metabolic rate were larger in males than females. Furthermore, we observed a negative intersexual correlation across the haplotypes for metabolic rate. Finally, we uncovered a male-specific negative correlation, across haplotypes, between metabolic rate and longevity. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that maternal mitochondrial inheritance has led to the accumulation of a sex-specific genetic load within the mitochondrial genome, which affects metabolic rate and that may have consequences for the evolution of sex differences in life history. This article is part of the theme issue 'Linking the mitochondrial genotype to phenotype: a complex endeavour'.

Sperm competitive advantage of a rare mitochondrial haplogroup linked to differential expression of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation genes

Maternal inheritance of mitochondria creates a sex-specific selective sieve through which mitochondrial mutations harmful to males but not females accumulate and contribute to sexual differences in longevity and disease susceptibility. Because eggs and sperm are under disruptive selection, sperm are predicted to be particularly vulnerable to the genetic load generated by maternal inheritance, yet evidence for mitochondrial involvement in male fertility is limited and controversial. Here, we exploit the coexistence of two divergent mitochondrial haplogroups (A and B2) in a Neotropical arachnid to investigate the role of mitochondria in sperm competition. DNA profiling demonstrated that B2-carrying males sired more than three times as many offspring in sperm competition experiments than A males, and this B2 competitive advantage cannot be explained by female mitochondrial haplogroup or male nuclear genetic background. RNA-Seq of testicular tissues implicates differential expression of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes in the B2 competitive advantage, including a 22-fold upregulation of atp8 in B2 males. Previous comparative genomic analyses have revealed functionally significant amino acid substitutions in differentially expressed genes, indicating that the mitochondrial haplogroups differ not only in expression but also in DNA sequence and protein functioning. However, mitochondrial haplogroup had no effect on sperm number or sperm viability, and, when females were mated to a single male, neither male haplogroup, female haplogroup nor the interaction between male/female haplogroup significantly affected female reproductive success. Our findings therefore suggest that mitochondrial effects on male reproduction may often go undetected in noncompetitive contexts and may prove more important in nature than is currently appreciated.

Mitochondria in the signaling pathways that control longevity and health span

Genetic and pharmacological intervention studies have identified evolutionarily conserved and functionally interconnected networks of cellular energy homeostasis, nutrient-sensing, and genome damage response signaling pathways, as prominent regulators of longevity and health span in various species. Mitochondria are the primary sites of ATP production and are key players in several other important cellular processes. Mitochondrial dysfunction diminishes tissue and organ functional performance and is a commonly considered feature of the aging process. Here we review the evidence that through reciprocal and multilevel functional interactions, mitochondria are implicated in the lifespan modulation function of these pathways, which altogether constitute a highly dynamic and complex system that controls the aging process. An important characteristic of these pathways is their extensive crosstalk and apparent malleability to modification by non-invasive pharmacological, dietary, and lifestyle interventions, with promising effects on lifespan and health span in animal models and potentially also in humans.

Selfish Mitonuclear Conflict

Mitochondria, a nearly ubiquitous feature of eukaryotes, are derived from an ancient symbiosis. Despite billions of years of cooperative coevolution - in what is arguably the most important mutualism in the history of life - the persistence of mitochondrial genomes also creates conditions for genetic conflict with the nucleus. Because mitochondrial genomes are present in numerous copies per cell, they are subject to both within- and among-organism levels of selection. Accordingly, 'selfish' genotypes that increase their own proliferation can rise to high frequencies even if they decrease organismal fitness. It has been argued that uniparental (often maternal) inheritance of cytoplasmic genomes evolved to curtail such selfish replication by minimizing within-individual variation and, hence, within-individual selection. However, uniparental inheritance creates conditions for cytonuclear conflict over sex determination and sex ratio, as well as conditions for sexual antagonism when mitochondrial variants increase transmission by enhancing maternal fitness but have the side-effect of being harmful to males (i.e., 'mother's curse'). Here, we review recent advances in understanding selfish replication and sexual antagonism in the evolution of mitochondrial genomes and the mechanisms that suppress selfish interactions, drawing parallels and contrasts with other organelles (plastids) and bacterial endosymbionts that arose more recently. Although cytonuclear conflict is widespread across eukaryotes, it can be cryptic due to nuclear suppression, highly variable, and lineage-specific, reflecting the diverse biology of eukaryotes and the varying architectures of their cytoplasmic genomes.

Assessing the fitness consequences of mitonuclear interactions in natural populations

Metazoans exist only with a continuous and rich supply of chemical energy from oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria. The oxidative phosphorylation machinery that mediates energy conservation is encoded by both mitochondrial and nuclear genes, and hence the products of these two genomes must interact closely to achieve coordinated function of core respiratory processes. It follows that selection for efficient respiration will lead to selection for compatible combinations of mitochondrial and nuclear genotypes, and this should facilitate coadaptation between mitochondrial and nuclear genomes (mitonuclear coadaptation). Herein, we outline the modes by which mitochondrial and nuclear genomes may coevolve within natural populations, and we discuss the implications of mitonuclear coadaptation for diverse fields of study in the biological sciences. We identify five themes in the study of mitonuclear interactions that provide a roadmap for both ecological and biomedical studies seeking to measure the contribution of intergenomic coadaptation to the evolution of natural populations. We also explore the wider implications of the fitness consequences of mitonuclear interactions, focusing on central debates within the fields of ecology and biomedicine.

Interactions Between Mitochondrial Haplotype and Dietary Macronutrient Ratios Confer Sex-Specific Effects on Longevity in Drosophila melanogaster

Recent studies have demonstrated that modifications to the ratio of dietary macronutrients affect longevity in a diverse range of species. However, the degree to which levels of natural genotypic variation shape these dietary effects on longevity remains unclear. The mitochondria have long been linked to the aging process. The mitochondria possess their own genome, and previous studies have shown that mitochondrial genetic variation affects longevity in insects. Furthermore, the mitochondria are the sites in which dietary nutrients are oxidized to produce adenosine triphosphate, suggesting a capacity for dietary quality to mediate the link between mitochondrial genotype and longevity. Here, we measured longevity of male and female fruit flies, across a panel of genetic strains of Drosophila melanogaster, which vary only in their mitochondrial haplotype, when fed one of the two isocaloric diets that differed in their protein-to-carbohydrate ratio. The mitochondrial haplotype affected the longevity of flies, but the pattern of these effects differed across the two diets in males, but not in females. We discuss the implications of these results in relation to an evolutionary theory linking maternal inheritance of mitochondria to the accumulation of male-harming mitochondrial mutations, and to the theory exploring the evolution of phenotypic plasticity to novel environments.

Sexual conflict through mother's curse and father's curse

In contrast with autosomes, lineages of sex chromosomes reside for different amounts of time in males and females, and this transmission asymmetry makes them hotspots for sexual conflict. Similarly, the maternal inheritance of the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) means that mutations that are beneficial in females can spread in a population even if they are deleterious in males, a form of sexual conflict known as Mother's Curse. While both Mother's Curse and sex chromosome induced sexual conflict have been well studied on their own, the interaction between mitochondrial genes and genes on sex chromosomes is poorly understood. Here, we use analytical models and computer simulations to perform a comprehensive examination of how transmission asymmetries of nuclear, mitochondrial, and sex chromosome-linked genes may both cause and resolve sexual conflicts. For example, the accumulation of male-biased Mother's Curse mtDNA mutations will lead to selection in males for compensatory nuclear modifier loci that alleviate the effect. We show how the Y chromosome, being strictly paternally transmitted provides a particularly safe harbor for such modifiers. This analytical framework also allows us to discover a novel kind of sexual conflict, by which Y chromosome-autosome epistasis may result in the spread of male beneficial but female deleterious mutations in a population. We christen this phenomenon Father's Curse. Extending this analytical framework to ZW sex chromosome systems, where males are the heterogametic sex, we also show how W-autosome epistasis can lead to a novel kind of nuclear Mother's Curse. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive framework to understand how genetic transmission asymmetries may both cause and resolve sexual conflicts.

Mitochondrial genetic effects on reproductive success: signatures of positive intrasexual, but negative intersexual pleiotropy

Theory predicts that maternal inheritance of mitochondria will facilitate the accumulation of mtDNA mutations that are male biased, or even sexually antagonistic, in effect. While there are many reported cases of mtDNA mutations conferring cytoplasmic male sterility in plants, historically it was assumed such mutations would not persist in the streamlined mitochondrial genomes of bilaterian metazoans. Intriguingly, recent cases of mitochondrial variants exerting male biases in effect have come to light in bilaterians. These cases aside, it remains unknown whether the mitochondrial genetic variation affecting phenotypic expression, and in particular reproductive performance, in bilaterians is routinely composed of sex-biased or sex-specific variation. If selection consistently favours mtDNA variants that augment female fitness, but at cost to males, this could shape patterns of pleiotropy and lead to negative intersexual correlations across mtDNA haplotypes. Here, we show that genetic variation across naturally occurring mitochondrial haplotypes affects components of reproductive success in both sexes, in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster We find that intrasexual correlations across mitochondrial haplotypes, for components of reproductive success, are generally positive, while intersexual correlations are negative. These results accord with theoretical predictions, suggesting that maternal inheritance has led to the fixation of numerous mutations of sexually antagonistic effect.

The association of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups with POAG in African Americans

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). However, the potential significance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups to POAG has not been evaluated in the overaffected African American population. To investigate the association of mtDNA haplogroups with POAG and its phenotypic characteristics, genotyping data from 4081 African American subjects (1919 cases and 2162 controls) was analyzed using 1293 positions on mtDNA. The overall frequency of mtDNA haplogroups in the Primary Open-Angle African American Glaucoma Genetics (POAAGG) study cohort was 37% L3, 29% L2, 21% L1, 4% L0, and 10% non-African haplogroups (non-L). When all haplogroups (L0, L1, L2, and non-L) were compared against theL3 reference group, after adjusting by age and principal component of ancestry, the non-L3 haplogroups showed higher risk of POAG (OR-1.19, p = 0.02), with a particularly strong association among males (OR = 1.41, p = 0.003). More specifically the non-L group was associated with higher POAG risk than the L3 haplogroup (OR = 1.77, p = 0.007, Bonferroni adjusted p = 0.027) and to the L3e (n = 256, OR = 1.92, p = 0.007, Bonferroni adjusted p = 0.029). No significant association was found when genders were analyzed together or in female only analysis. There were no significant differences in various POAG endophenotypes across mtDNA haplogroups. This study expands our knowledge of mitochondrial genetics and mtDNA haplogroup associations in African American POAG. Further work is needed to better understand the functional role of mtDNA polymorphisms and their interactions with nuclear genes that affect POAG.

A systematic review and meta-analysis reveals pervasive effects of germline mitochondrial replacement on components of health

BACKGROUND

Mitochondrial replacement, a form of nuclear transfer, has been proposed as a germline therapy to prevent the transmission of mitochondrial diseases. Mitochondrial replacement therapy has been licensed for clinical application in the UK, and already carried out in other countries, but little is known about negative or unintended effects on the health of offspring born using this technique.

OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE

Studies in invertebrate models have used techniques that achieve mitochondrial replacement to create offspring with novel combinations of mitochondrial and nuclear genotype. These have demonstrated that the creation of novel mitochondrial-nuclear interactions can lead to alterations in offspring characteristics, such as development rates, fertility and longevity. However, it is currently unclear whether such interactions could similarly affect the outcomes of vertebrate biomedical studies, which have sought to assess the efficacy of the replacement therapy.

SEARCH METHODS

This systematic review addresses whether the effects of mitochondrial replacement on offspring characteristics differ in magnitude between biological (conducted on invertebrate models, with an ecological or evolutionary focus) and biomedical studies (conducted on vertebrate models, with a clinical focus). Studies were selected based on a key-word search in 'Web of Science', complemented by backward searches of reviews on the topic of mitochondrial-nuclear (mito-nuclear) interactions. In total, 43 of the resulting 116 publications identified in the search contained reliable data to estimate effect sizes of mitochondrial replacement. We found no evidence of publication bias when examining effect-size estimates across sample sizes.

OUTCOMES

Mitochondrial replacement consistently altered the phenotype, with significant effects at several levels of organismal performance and health, including gene expression, anatomy, metabolism and life-history. Biomedical and biological studies, while differing in the methods used to achieve mitochondrial replacement, showed only marginally significant differences in effect-size estimates (-0.233 [CI: -0.495 to -0.011]), with larger effect-size estimates in biomedical studies (0.697 [CI: 0.450-0.956]) than biological studies (0.462 [CI: 0.287-0.688]). Humans showed stronger effects than other species. Effects of mitochondrial replacement were also stronger in species with a higher basal metabolic rate. Based on our results, we conducted the first formal risk analysis of mitochondrial replacement, and conservatively estimate negative effects in at least one in every 130 resulting offspring born to the therapy.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS

Our findings suggest that mitochondrial replacement may routinely affect offspring characteristics across a wide array of animal species, and that such effects are likely to extend to humans. Studies in invertebrate models have confirmed mito-nuclear interactions as the underpinning cause of organismal effects following mitochondrial replacement. This therefore suggests that mito-nuclear interactions are also likely to be contributing to effects seen in biomedical studies, on vertebrate models, whose effect sizes exceeded those of biological studies. Our results advocate the use of safeguards that could offset any negative effects (defining any unintended effect as being negative) mediated by mito-nuclear interactions following mitochondrial replacement in humans, such as mitochondrial genetic matching between donor and recipient. Our results also suggest that further research into the molecular nature of mito-nuclear interactions would be beneficial in refining the clinical application of mitochondrial replacement, and in establishing what degree of variation between donor and patient mitochondrial DNA haplotypes is acceptable to ensure 'haplotype matching'.

Allele frequency dynamics in a pedigreed natural population

A central goal of population genetics is to understand how genetic drift, natural selection, and gene flow shape allele frequencies through time. However, the actual processes underlying these changes-variation in individual survival, reproductive success, and movement-are often difficult to quantify. Fully understanding these processes requires the population pedigree, the set of relationships among all individuals in the population through time. Here, we use extensive pedigree and genomic information from a long-studied natural population of Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) to directly characterize the relative roles of different evolutionary processes in shaping patterns of genetic variation through time. We performed gene dropping simulations to estimate individual genetic contributions to the population and model drift on the known pedigree. We found that observed allele frequency changes are generally well predicted by accounting for the different genetic contributions of founders. Our results show that the genetic contribution of recent immigrants is substantial, with some large allele frequency shifts that otherwise may have been attributed to selection actually due to gene flow. We identified a few SNPs under directional short-term selection after appropriately accounting for gene flow. Using models that account for changes in population size, we partitioned the proportion of variance in allele frequency change through time. Observed allele frequency changes are primarily due to variation in survival and reproductive success, with gene flow making a smaller contribution. This study provides one of the most complete descriptions of short-term evolutionary change in allele frequencies in a natural population to date.

Selfish genetic elements

Selfish genetic elements (historically also referred to as selfish genes, ultra-selfish genes, selfish DNA, parasitic DNA, genomic outlaws) are genetic segments that can enhance their own transmission at the expense of other genes in the genome, even if this has no or a negative effect on organismal fitness. [1-6] Genomes have traditionally been viewed as cohesive units, with genes acting together to improve the fitness of the organism. However, when genes have some control over their own transmission, the rules can change, and so just like all social groups, genomes are vulnerable to selfish behaviour by their parts. Early observations of selfish genetic elements were made almost a century ago, but the topic did not get widespread attention until several decades later. Inspired by the gene-centred views of evolution popularized by George Williams[7] and Richard Dawkins,[8] two papers were published back-to-back in Nature in 1980-by Leslie Orgel and Francis Crick[9] and Ford Doolittle and Carmen Sapienza[10] respectively-introducing the concept of selfish genetic elements (at the time called "selfish DNA") to the wider scientific community. Both papers emphasized that genes can spread in a population regardless of their effect on organismal fitness as long as they have a transmission advantage. Selfish genetic elements have now been described in most groups of organisms, and they demonstrate a remarkable diversity in the ways by which they promote their own transmission.[11] Though long dismissed as genetic curiosities, with little relevance for evolution, they are now recognized to affect a wide swath of biological processes, ranging from genome size and architecture to speciation.[12].

Maternal age effects on fecundity and offspring egg-to-adult viability are not affected by mitochondrial haplotype

While numerous studies have demonstrated that mitochondrial genetic variation can shape organismal phenotype, the level of contribution the mitochondrial genotype makes to life-history phenotype across the life course remains unknown. Furthermore, a clear technical bias has emerged in studies of mitochondrial effects on reproduction, with many studies conducted on males, but few on females. Here, we apply a classic prediction of the evolutionary theory of aging to the mitochondrial genome, predicting the declining force of natural selection with age will have facilitated the accumulation of mtDNA mutations that confer late-life effects on female reproductive performance. This should lead to increased levels of mitochondrial genetic variation on reproduction at later-life stages. We tested this hypothesis using thirteen strains of Drosophila melanogaster that each possessed a different mitochondrial haplotype in an otherwise standard nuclear genetic background. We measured fecundity and egg-to-adult viability of females over five different age classes ranging from early to late life and quantified the survival of females throughout this time period. We found no significant variation across mitochondrial haplotypes for the reproductive traits, and no mitochondrial effect on the slope of decline in these traits with increasing age. However, we observed that flies that died earlier in the experiment experienced steeper declines in the reproductive traits prior to death, and we also identified maternal and grandparental age effects on the measured traits. These results suggest the mitochondrial variation does not make a key contribution to shaping the reproductive performance of females.

Genotype to phenotype: Diet-by-mitochondrial DNA haplotype interactions drive metabolic flexibility and organismal fitness

Diet may be modified seasonally or by biogeographic, demographic or cultural shifts. It can differentially influence mitochondrial bioenergetics, retrograde signalling to the nuclear genome, and anterograde signalling to mitochondria. All these interactions have the potential to alter the frequencies of mtDNA haplotypes (mitotypes) in nature and may impact human health. In a model laboratory system, we fed four diets varying in Protein: Carbohydrate (P:C) ratio (1:2, 1:4, 1:8 and 1:16 P:C) to four homoplasmic Drosophila melanogaster mitotypes (nuclear genome standardised) and assayed their frequency in population cages. When fed a high protein 1:2 P:C diet, the frequency of flies harbouring Alstonville mtDNA increased. In contrast, when fed the high carbohydrate 1:16 P:C food the incidence of flies harbouring Dahomey mtDNA increased. This result, driven by differences in larval development, was generalisable to the replacement of the laboratory diet with fruits having high and low P:C ratios, perturbation of the nuclear genome and changes to the microbiome. Structural modelling and cellular assays suggested a V161L mutation in the ND4 subunit of complex I of Dahomey mtDNA was mildly deleterious, reduced mitochondrial functions, increased oxidative stress and resulted in an increase in larval development time on the 1:2 P:C diet. The 1:16 P:C diet triggered a cascade of changes in both mitotypes. In Dahomey larvae, increased feeding fuelled increased β-oxidation and the partial bypass of the complex I mutation. Conversely, Alstonville larvae upregulated genes involved with oxidative phosphorylation, increased glycogen metabolism and they were more physically active. We hypothesise that the increased physical activity diverted energy from growth and cell division and thereby slowed development. These data further question the use of mtDNA as an assumed neutral marker in evolutionary and population genetic studies. Moreover, if humans respond similarly, we posit that individuals with specific mtDNA variations may differentially metabolise carbohydrates, which has implications for a variety of diseases including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and perhaps Parkinson's Disease.

Maternal inheritance of mitochondria: implications for male fertility?

Evolutionary theory predicts maternal inheritance of the mitochondria will lead to the accumulation of mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that impair male fertility, but leave females unaffected. The hypothesis has been referred to as 'Mother's Curse'. There are many examples of mtDNA mutations or haplotypes, in humans and other metazoans, associated with decreases in sperm performance, but seemingly few reports of associations involving female reproductive traits; an observation that has been used to support the Mother's Curse hypothesis. However, it is unclear whether apparent signatures of male bias in mitochondrial genetic effects on fertility reflect an underlying biological bias or a technical bias resulting from a lack of studies to have screened for female effects. Here, we conduct a systematic literature search of studies reporting mitochondrial genetic effects on fertility-related traits in gonochoristic metazoans (animals with two distinct sexes). Studies of female reproductive outcomes were sparse, reflecting a large technical sex bias across the literature. We were only able to make a valid assessment of sex specificity of mitochondrial genetic effects in 30% of cases. However, in most of these cases, the effects were male biased, including examples of male bias associated with mtDNA mutations in humans. These results are therefore consistent with the hypothesis that maternal inheritance has enriched mtDNA sequences with mutations that specifically impair male fertility. However, future research that redresses the technical imbalance in studies conducted per sex will be key to enabling researchers to fully assess the wider implications of the Mother's Curse hypothesis to male reproductive biology.

Sex gap in aging and longevity: can sex chromosomes play a role?

It is well known that women live longer than men. This gap is observed in most human populations and can even reach 10-15 years. In addition, most of the known super centenarians (i.e., humans who lived for > 110 years) are women. The differences in life expectancy between men and women are often attributed to cultural differences in common thinking. However, sex hormones seem to influence differences in the prevalence of diseases, in the magnitude of aging, and in the longevity between men and women. Moreover, far from being human specific, the sex gap in longevity is extremely common in non-human animals, especially in mammals. Biological factors clearly contribute to such a sex gap in aging and longevity. Different hypotheses have been proposed to explain why males and females age and die differently. The cost of sexual selection and sexual dimorphism has long been considered the best explanation for the observed sex gap in aging/longevity. However, the way mitochondria are transmitted (i.e., through females in most species) could have an effect, called the mother's curse. Recent data suggest that sex chromosomes may also contribute to the sex gap in aging/longevity through several potential mechanisms, including the unguarded X/Z, the toxic Y/W and the loss of Y/W. We discuss future research directions to test these ideas.

Coadaptation of mitochondrial and nuclear genes, and the cost of mother's curse

Strict maternal inheritance renders the mitochondrial genome susceptible to accumulating mutations that harm males, but are otherwise benign or beneficial for females. This 'mother's curse' effect can degrade male survival and fertility if unopposed by counteracting evolutionary processes. Coadaptation between nuclear and mitochondrial genomes-with nuclear genes evolving to compensate for male-harming mitochondrial substitutions-may ultimately resolve mother's curse. However, males are still expected to incur a transient fitness cost during mito-nuclear coevolution, and it remains unclear how severe such costs should be. We present a population genetic analysis of mito-nuclear coadaptation to resolve mother's curse effects, and show that the magnitude of the 'male mitochondrial load'-the negative impact of mitochondrial substitutions on male fitness components-may be large, even when genetic variation for compensatory evolution is abundant. We also find that the male load is surprisingly sensitive to population size: male fitness costs of mito-nuclear coevolution are particularly pronounced in both small and large populations, and minimized in populations of intermediate size. Our results reveal complex interactions between demography and genetic constraints during the resolution of mother's curse, suggesting potentially widespread species differences in susceptibility to mother's curse effects.