1
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Dubie JJ, Katju V, Bergthorsson U. Dissecting the sequential evolution of a selfish mitochondrial genome in Caenorhabditis elegans. Heredity (Edinb) 2024; 133:186-197. [PMID: 38969772 PMCID: PMC11349875 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-024-00704-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Mitochondrial genomes exist in a nested hierarchy of populations where mitochondrial variants are subject to genetic drift and selection at each level of organization, sometimes engendering conflict between different levels of selection, and between the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Deletion mutants in the Caenorhabditis elegans mitochondrial genome can reach high intracellular frequencies despite strongly detrimental effects on fitness. During a mutation accumulation (MA) experiment in C. elegans, a 499 bp deletion in ctb-1 rose to 90% frequency within cells while significantly reducing fitness. During the experiment, the deletion-bearing mtDNA acquired three additional mutations in nd5, namely two single insertion frameshift mutations in a homopolymeric run, and a base substitution. Despite an additional fitness cost of these secondary mutations, all deletion-bearing molecules contained the nd5 mutations at the termination of the MA experiment. The presence of mutant mtDNA was associated with increased mtDNA copy-number. Variation in mtDNA copy-number was greater in the MA lines than in a wildtype nuclear background, including a severe reduction in copy-number at one generational timepoint. Evolutionary replay experiments using different generations of the MA experiment as starting points suggests that two of the secondary mutations contribute to the proliferation of the original ctb-1 deletion by unknown mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph J Dubie
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Vaishali Katju
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
- Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Ulfar Bergthorsson
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
- Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden.
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2
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Veeraragavan S, Johansen M, Johnston IG. Evolution and maintenance of mtDNA gene content across eukaryotes. Biochem J 2024; 481:1015-1042. [PMID: 39101615 PMCID: PMC11346449 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20230415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 06/26/2024] [Accepted: 07/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024]
Abstract
Across eukaryotes, most genes required for mitochondrial function have been transferred to, or otherwise acquired by, the nucleus. Encoding genes in the nucleus has many advantages. So why do mitochondria retain any genes at all? Why does the set of mtDNA genes vary so much across different species? And how do species maintain functionality in the mtDNA genes they do retain? In this review, we will discuss some possible answers to these questions, attempting a broad perspective across eukaryotes. We hope to cover some interesting features which may be less familiar from the perspective of particular species, including the ubiquity of recombination outside bilaterian animals, encrypted chainmail-like mtDNA, single genes split over multiple mtDNA chromosomes, triparental inheritance, gene transfer by grafting, gain of mtDNA recombination factors, social networks of mitochondria, and the role of mtDNA dysfunction in feeding the world. We will discuss a unifying picture where organismal ecology and gene-specific features together influence whether organism X retains mtDNA gene Y, and where ecology and development together determine which strategies, importantly including recombination, are used to maintain the mtDNA genes that are retained.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Maria Johansen
- Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Iain G. Johnston
- Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Computational Biology Unit, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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3
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Sequeira AN, O’Keefe IP, Katju V, Bergthorsson U. Friend turned foe: selfish behavior of a spontaneously arising mitochondrial deletion in an experimentally evolved Caenorhabditis elegans population. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkae018. [PMID: 38261394 PMCID: PMC11090458 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Selfish mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are variants that can proliferate within cells and enjoy a replication or transmission bias without fitness benefits for the host. mtDNA deletions in Caenorhabditis elegans can reach high heteroplasmic frequencies despite significantly reducing fitness, illustrating how new mtDNA variants can give rise to genetic conflict between different levels of selection and between the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. During a mutation accumulation experiment in C. elegans, a 1,034-bp deletion originated spontaneously and reached an 81.7% frequency within an experimental evolution line. This heteroplasmic mtDNA deletion, designated as meuDf1, eliminated portions of 2 protein-coding genes (coxIII and nd4) and tRNA-thr in entirety. mtDNA copy number in meuDf1 heteroplasmic individuals was 35% higher than in individuals with wild-type mitochondria. After backcrossing into a common genetic background, the meuDf1 mitotype was associated with reduction in several fitness traits and independent competition experiments found a 40% reduction in composite fitness. Experiments that relaxed individual selection by single individual bottlenecks demonstrated that the deletion-bearing mtDNA possessed a strong transmission bias, thereby qualifying it as a novel selfish mitotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail N Sequeira
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, 402 Raymond Stotzer Parkway, College Station, TX 77845, USA
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Ian P O’Keefe
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, 402 Raymond Stotzer Parkway, College Station, TX 77845, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland, 655 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Vaishali Katju
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, 402 Raymond Stotzer Parkway, College Station, TX 77845, USA
- Program in Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics (IEG), Evolutionsbiologiskt centrum, Norbyvägen 18D, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ulfar Bergthorsson
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, 402 Raymond Stotzer Parkway, College Station, TX 77845, USA
- Program in Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics (IEG), Evolutionsbiologiskt centrum, Norbyvägen 18D, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
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4
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Sandell L, König SG, Otto SP. Schrödinger's yeast: the challenge of using transformation to compare fitness among Saccharomyces cerevisiae that differ in ploidy or zygosity. PeerJ 2023; 11:e16547. [PMID: 38077443 PMCID: PMC10704993 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
How the number of genome copies modifies the effect of random mutations remains poorly known. In yeast, researchers have investigated these effects for knock-out or other large-effect mutations, but have not accounted for differences at the mating-type locus. We set out to compare fitness differences among strains that differ in ploidy and/or zygosity using a panel of spontaneously arising mutations acquired in haploid yeast from a previous study. To ensure no genetic differences, even at the mating-type locus, we embarked on a series of transformations, which first sterilized and then temporarily introduced plasmid-borne mating types. Despite these attempts to equalize the haplotypes, fitness variation introduced during transformation swamped the differences among the original mutation-accumulation lines. While colony size looked normal, we observed a bi-modality in the maximum growth rate of our transformed yeast and determined that many of the slow growing lines were respiratory deficient ("petite"). Not previously reported, we found that yeast that were TID1/RDH54 knockouts were less likely to become petite. Even for lines with the same petite status, however, we found no correlation in fitness between the two replicate transformations performed. These results pose a challenge for any study using transformation to measure the fitness effect of genetic differences among strains. By attempting to hold haplotypes constant, we introduced more mutations that overwhelmed our ability to measure fitness differences between the genetic states. In this study, we transformed over one hundred different lines of yeast, using two independent transformations, and found that this common laboratory procedure can cause large changes to the microbe studied. Our study provides a cautionary tale of the need to use multiple transformants in fitness assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linnea Sandell
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Center, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Stephan G. König
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Center, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Computer Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Sarah P. Otto
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Center, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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5
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Aanen DK, van ’t Padje A, Auxier B. Longevity of Fungal Mycelia and Nuclear Quality Checks: a New Hypothesis for the Role of Clamp Connections in Dikaryons. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2023; 87:e0002221. [PMID: 37409939 PMCID: PMC10521366 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00022-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper addresses the stability of mycelial growth in fungi and differences between ascomycetes and basidiomycetes. Starting with general evolutionary theories of multicellularity and the role of sex, we then discuss individuality in fungi. Recent research has demonstrated the deleterious consequences of nucleus-level selection in fungal mycelia, favoring cheaters with a nucleus-level benefit during spore formation but a negative effect on mycelium-level fitness. Cheaters appear to generally be loss-of-fusion (LOF) mutants, with a higher propensity to form aerial hyphae developing into asexual spores. Since LOF mutants rely on heterokaryosis with wild-type nuclei, we argue that regular single-spore bottlenecks can efficiently select against such cheater mutants. We then zoom in on ecological differences between ascomycetes being typically fast-growing but short-lived with frequent asexual-spore bottlenecks and basidiomycetes being generally slow-growing but long-lived and usually without asexual-spore bottlenecks. We argue that these life history differences have coevolved with stricter nuclear quality checks in basidiomycetes. Specifically, we propose a new function for clamp connections, structures formed during the sexual stage in ascomycetes and basidiomycetes but during somatic growth only in basidiomycete dikaryons. During dikaryon cell division, the two haploid nuclei temporarily enter a monokaryotic phase, by alternatingly entering a retrograde-growing clamp cell, which subsequently fuses with the subapical cell to recover the dikaryotic cell. We hypothesize that clamp connections act as screening devices for nuclear quality, with both nuclei continuously testing each other for fusion ability, a test that LOF mutants will fail. By linking differences in longevity of the mycelial phase to ecology and stringency of nuclear quality checks, we propose that mycelia have a constant and low lifetime cheating risk, irrespective of their size and longevity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duur K. Aanen
- Department of Plant Sciences, Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Anouk van ’t Padje
- Department of Plant Sciences, Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Benjamin Auxier
- Department of Plant Sciences, Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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6
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Wang YW, Elmore H, Pringle A. Uniparental Inheritance and Recombination as Strategies to Avoid Competition and Combat Muller's Ratchet among Mitochondria in Natural Populations of the Fungus Amanita phalloides. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:476. [PMID: 37108928 PMCID: PMC10142858 DOI: 10.3390/jof9040476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Uniparental inheritance of mitochondria enables organisms to avoid the costs of intracellular competition among potentially selfish organelles. By preventing recombination, uniparental inheritance may also render a mitochondrial lineage effectively asexual and expose mitochondria to the deleterious effects of Muller's ratchet. Even among animals and plants, the evolutionary dynamics of mitochondria remain obscure, and less is known about mitochondrial inheritance among fungi. To understand mitochondrial inheritance and test for mitochondrial recombination in one species of filamentous fungus, we took a population genomics approach. We assembled and analyzed 88 mitochondrial genomes from natural populations of the invasive death cap Amanita phalloides, sampling from both California (an invaded range) and Europe (its native range). The mitochondrial genomes clustered into two distinct groups made up of 57 and 31 mushrooms, but both mitochondrial types are geographically widespread. Multiple lines of evidence, including negative correlations between linkage disequilibrium and distances between sites and coalescent analysis, suggest low rates of recombination among the mitochondria (ρ = 3.54 × 10-4). Recombination requires genetically distinct mitochondria to inhabit a cell, and recombination among A. phalloides mitochondria provides evidence for heteroplasmy as a feature of the death cap life cycle. However, no mushroom houses more than one mitochondrial genome, suggesting that heteroplasmy is rare or transient. Uniparental inheritance emerges as the primary mode of mitochondrial inheritance, even as recombination appears as a strategy to alleviate Muller's ratchet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yen-Wen Wang
- Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Holly Elmore
- Rethink Priorities, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA
| | - Anne Pringle
- Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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7
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Lakovic M, Rillig MC. A Nuclei-Based Conceptual Model of (Eco)evolutionary Dynamics in Fungal Heterokaryons. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:914040. [PMID: 35711750 PMCID: PMC9194903 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.914040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Filamentous fungi are characterised by specific features, such as multinuclearity, coexistence of genetically different nuclei and nuclear movement across the mycelial network. These attributes make them an interesting, yet rather underappreciated, system for studying (eco)evolutionary dynamics. This is especially noticeable among theoretical studies, where rather few consider nuclei and their role in (eco)evolutionary dynamics. To encourage such theoretical approaches, we here provide an overview of existing research on nuclear genotype heterogeneity (NGH) and its sources, such as mutations and vegetative non-self-fusion. We then discuss the resulting intra-mycelial nuclear dynamics and the potential consequences for fitness and adaptation. Finally, we formulate a nuclei-based conceptual framework, which considers three levels of selection: a single nucleus, a subpopulation of nuclei and the mycelium. We compare this framework to other concepts, for example those that consider only the mycelium as the level of selection, and outline the benefits of our approach for studying (eco)evolutionary dynamics. Our concept should serve as a baseline for modelling approaches, such as individual-based simulations, which will contribute greatly to our understanding of multilevel selection and (eco)evolutionary dynamics in filamentous fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milica Lakovic
- Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Matthias C Rillig
- Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, Berlin, Germany
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8
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Hénault M, Marsit S, Charron G, Landry CR. Hybridization drives mitochondrial DNA degeneration and metabolic shift in a species with biparental mitochondrial inheritance. Genome Res 2022; 32:2043-2056. [PMID: 36351770 PMCID: PMC9808621 DOI: 10.1101/gr.276885.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a cytoplasmic genome that is essential for respiratory metabolism. Although uniparental mtDNA inheritance is most common in animals and plants, distinct mtDNA haplotypes can coexist in a state of heteroplasmy, either because of paternal leakage or de novo mutations. mtDNA integrity and the resolution of heteroplasmy have important implications, notably for mitochondrial genetic disorders, speciation, and genome evolution in hybrids. However, the impact of genetic variation on the transition to homoplasmy from initially heteroplasmic backgrounds remains largely unknown. Here, we use Saccharomyces yeasts, fungi with constitutive biparental mtDNA inheritance, to investigate the resolution of mtDNA heteroplasmy in a variety of hybrid genotypes. We previously designed 11 crosses along a gradient of parental evolutionary divergence using undomesticated isolates of Saccharomyces paradoxus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Each cross was independently replicated 48 to 96 times, and the resulting 864 hybrids were evolved under relaxed selection for mitochondrial function. Genome sequencing of 446 MA lines revealed extensive mtDNA recombination, but the recombination rate was not predicted by parental divergence level. We found a strong positive relationship between parental divergence and the rate of large-scale mtDNA deletions, which led to the loss of respiratory metabolism. We also uncovered associations between mtDNA recombination, mtDNA deletion, and genome instability that were genotype specific. Our results show that hybridization in yeast induces mtDNA degeneration through large-scale deletion and loss of function, with deep consequences for mtDNA evolution, metabolism, and the emergence of reproductive isolation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Hénault
- Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Département de Biochimie, Microbiologie et Bioinformatique, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering, and Applications (PROTEO), Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Université Laval Big Data Research Center (BDRC_UL), Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Souhir Marsit
- Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Département de Biochimie, Microbiologie et Bioinformatique, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering, and Applications (PROTEO), Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Université Laval Big Data Research Center (BDRC_UL), Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Département de Biologie, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Guillaume Charron
- Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering, and Applications (PROTEO), Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Université Laval Big Data Research Center (BDRC_UL), Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Département de Biologie, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Christian R. Landry
- Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Département de Biochimie, Microbiologie et Bioinformatique, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering, and Applications (PROTEO), Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Université Laval Big Data Research Center (BDRC_UL), Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada;,Département de Biologie, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada
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9
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Porath‐Krause A, Strauss AT, Henning JA, Seabloom EW, Borer ET. Pitfalls and pointers: An accessible guide to marker gene amplicon sequencing in ecological applications. Methods Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anita Porath‐Krause
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul MN USA
| | - Alexander T. Strauss
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul MN USA
| | - Jeremiah A. Henning
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul MN USA
| | - Eric W. Seabloom
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul MN USA
| | - Elizabeth T. Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul MN USA
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10
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Garoña A, Hülter NF, Romero Picazo D, Dagan T. Segregational drift constrains the evolutionary rate of prokaryotic plasmids. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:5610-5624. [PMID: 34550379 PMCID: PMC8662611 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmids are extrachromosomal genetic elements in prokaryotes that have been recognized as important drivers of microbial ecology and evolution. Plasmids are found in multiple copies inside their host cell where independent emergence of mutations may lead to intracellular genetic heterogeneity. The intracellular plasmid diversity is thus subject to changes upon cell division. However, the effect of plasmid segregation on plasmid evolution remains understudied. Here, we show that genetic drift during cell division—segregational drift—leads to the rapid extinction of novel plasmid alleles. We established a novel experimental approach to control plasmid allele frequency at the levels of a single cell and the whole population. Following the dynamics of plasmid alleles in an evolution experiment, we find that the mode of plasmid inheritance—random or clustered—is an important determinant of plasmid allele dynamics. Phylogenetic reconstruction of our model plasmid in clinical isolates furthermore reveals a slow evolutionary rate of plasmid-encoded genes in comparison to chromosomal genes. Our study provides empirical evidence that genetic drift in plasmid evolution occurs at multiple levels: the host cell and the population of hosts. Segregational drift has implications for the evolutionary rate heterogeneity of extrachromosomal genetic elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Garoña
- Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University, Kiel, 24118, Germany
| | - Nils F Hülter
- Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University, Kiel, 24118, Germany
| | | | - Tal Dagan
- Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University, Kiel, 24118, Germany
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11
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Phenotypic plasticity through disposable genetic adaptation in ciliates. Trends Microbiol 2021; 30:120-130. [PMID: 34275698 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2021.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Ciliates have an extraordinary genetic system in which each cell harbors two distinct kinds of nucleus, a transcriptionally active somatic nucleus and a quiescent germline nucleus. The latter undergoes classical, heritable genetic adaptation, while adaptation of the somatic nucleus is only short-term and thus disposable. The ecological and evolutionary relevance of this nuclear dimorphism have never been well formalized, which is surprising given the long history of using ciliates such as Tetrahymena and Paramecium as model organisms. We present a novel, alternative explanation for ciliate nuclear dimorphism which, we argue, should be considered an instrument of phenotypic plasticity by somatic selection on the level of the ciliate clone, as if it were a diffuse multicellular organism. This viewpoint helps to put some enigmatic aspects of ciliate biology into perspective and presents the diversity of ciliates as a large natural experiment that we can exploit to study phenotypic plasticity and organismality.
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12
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Pereira RJ, Lima TG, Pierce-Ward NT, Chao L, Burton RS. Recovery from hybrid breakdown reveals a complex genetic architecture of mitonuclear incompatibilities. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:6403-6416. [PMID: 34003535 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Reproductive isolation is often achieved when genes that are neutral or beneficial in their genomic background become functionally incompatible in a foreign genomic background, causing inviability, sterility or other forms of low fitness in hybrids. Recent studies suggest that mitonuclear interactions are among the initial incompatibilities to evolve at early stages of population divergence across taxa. Yet, the genomic architecture of mitonuclear incompatibilities has rarely been elucidated. We employ an experimental evolution approach starting with low-fitness F2 interpopulation hybrids of the copepod Tigriopus californicus, in which frequencies of compatible and incompatible nuclear alleles change in response to an alternative mitochondrial background. After about nine generations, we observe a generalized increase in population size and in survivorship, suggesting efficiency of selection against maladaptive phenotypes. Whole genome sequencing of evolved populations showed some consistent allele frequency changes across three replicates of each reciprocal cross, but markedly different patterns between mitochondrial backgrounds. In only a few regions (~6.5% of the genome), the same parental allele was overrepresented irrespective of the mitochondrial background. About 33% of the genome showed allele frequency changes consistent with divergent selection, with the location of these genomic regions strongly differing between mitochondrial backgrounds. In 87% and 89% of these genomic regions, the dominant nuclear allele matched the associated mitochondrial background, consistent with mitonuclear co-adaptation. These results suggest that mitonuclear incompatibilities have a complex polygenic architecture that differs between populations, potentially generating genome-wide barriers to gene flow between closely related taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo J Pereira
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Thiago G Lima
- Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - N Tessa Pierce-Ward
- Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Lin Chao
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ronald S Burton
- Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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13
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Radzvilavicius A. Beyond the "selfish mitochondrion" theory of uniparental inheritance: A unified theory based on mutational variance redistribution. Bioessays 2021; 43:e2100009. [PMID: 33729620 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202100009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
"Selfish" gene theories have offered invaluable insight into eukaryotic genome evolution, but they can also be misleading. The "selfish mitochondrion" hypothesis, developed in the 90s explained uniparental organelle inheritance as a mechanism of conflict resolution, improving cooperation between genetically distinct compartments of the cell. But modern population genetic models provided a more general explanation for uniparental inheritance based on mutational variance redistribution, modulating the efficiency of both purifying and adaptive selection. Nevertheless, as reviewed here, "selfish" conflict theories still dominate the literature. While these hypotheses are rich in metaphor and highly intuitive, selective focus on only one type of mitochondrial mutation limits the generality of our understanding and hinders progress in mito-nuclear evolution theory. Recognizing that uniparental inheritance may have evolved-and is maintained across the eukaryotic tree of life-because of its influence on mutational variance and improved selection will only increase the generality of our evolutionary reasoning, retaining "selfish" conflict explanations as a special case of a much broader theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arunas Radzvilavicius
- Department of Philosophy and Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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14
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Gitschlag BL, Tate AT, Patel MR. Nutrient status shapes selfish mitochondrial genome dynamics across different levels of selection. eLife 2020; 9:56686. [PMID: 32959778 PMCID: PMC7508553 DOI: 10.7554/elife.56686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cooperation and cheating are widespread evolutionary strategies. While cheating confers an advantage to individual entities within a group, competition between groups favors cooperation. Selfish or cheater mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) proliferates within hosts while being selected against at the level of host fitness. How does environment shape cheater dynamics across different selection levels? Focusing on food availability, we address this question using heteroplasmic Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that the proliferation of selfish mtDNA within hosts depends on nutrient status stimulating mtDNA biogenesis in the developing germline. Interestingly, mtDNA biogenesis is not sufficient for this proliferation, which also requires the stress-response transcription factor FoxO/DAF-16. At the level of host fitness, FoxO/DAF-16 also prevents food scarcity from accelerating the selection against selfish mtDNA. This suggests that the ability to cope with nutrient stress can promote host tolerance of cheaters. Our study delineates environmental effects on selfish mtDNA dynamics at different levels of selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan L Gitschlag
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
| | - Ann T Tate
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
| | - Maulik R Patel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, United States.,Diabetes Research and Training Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, United States
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15
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Hülter NF, Wein T, Effe J, Garoña A, Dagan T. Intracellular Competitions Reveal Determinants of Plasmid Evolutionary Success. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:2062. [PMID: 33013753 PMCID: PMC7500096 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.02062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmids are autonomously replicating genetic elements that are ubiquitous in all taxa and habitats where they constitute an integral part of microbial genomes. The stable inheritance of plasmids depends on their segregation during cell division and their long-term persistence in a host population is thought to largely depend on their impact on the host fitness. Nonetheless, many plasmids found in nature are lacking a clear trait that is advantageous to their host; the determinants of plasmid evolutionary success in the absence of plasmid benefit to the host remain understudied. Here we show that stable plasmid inheritance is an important determinant of plasmid evolutionary success. Borrowing terminology from evolutionary biology of cellular living forms, we hypothesize that Darwinian fitness is key for the plasmid evolutionary success. Performing intracellular plasmid competitions between non-mobile plasmids enables us to compare the evolutionary success of plasmid genotypes within the host, i.e., the plasmid fitness. Intracellular head-to-head competitions between stable and unstable variants of the same model plasmid revealed that the stable plasmid variant has a higher fitness in comparison to the unstable plasmid. Preemptive plasmid competitions reveal that plasmid fitness may depend on the order of plasmid arrival in the host. Competitions between plasmids characterized by similar stability of inheritance reveal plasmid fitness differences depending on the plasmid-encoded trait. Our results further reveal that competing plasmids can be maintained in coexistence following plasmid fusions that maintain unstable plasmid variants over time. Plasmids are not only useful accessory genetic elements to their host but they are also evolving and replicating entities, similarly to cellular living forms. There is a clear link between plasmid genetics and plasmid evolutionary success – hence plasmids are evolving entities whose fitness is quantifiable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils F Hülter
- Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Tanita Wein
- Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Johannes Effe
- Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Ana Garoña
- Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Tal Dagan
- Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
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16
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Røyrvik EC, Johnston IG. MtDNA sequence features associated with 'selfish genomes' predict tissue-specific segregation and reversion. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:8290-8301. [PMID: 32716035 PMCID: PMC7470939 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes cellular machinery vital for cell and organism survival. Mutations, genetic manipulation, and gene therapies may produce cells where different types of mtDNA coexist in admixed populations. In these admixtures, one mtDNA type is often observed to proliferate over another, with different types dominating in different tissues. This ‘segregation bias’ is a long-standing biological mystery that may pose challenges to modern mtDNA disease therapies, leading to substantial recent attention in biological and medical circles. Here, we show how an mtDNA sequence’s balance between replication and transcription, corresponding to molecular ‘selfishness’, in conjunction with cellular selection, can potentially modulate segregation bias. We combine a new replication-transcription-selection (RTS) model with a meta-analysis of existing data to show that this simple theory predicts complex tissue-specific patterns of segregation in mouse experiments, and reversion in human stem cells. We propose the stability of G-quadruplexes in the mtDNA control region, influencing the balance between transcription and replication primer formation, as a potential molecular mechanism governing this balance. Linking mtDNA sequence features, through this molecular mechanism, to cellular population dynamics, we use sequence data to obtain and verify the sequence-specific predictions from this hypothesis on segregation behaviour in mouse and human mtDNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen C Røyrvik
- Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Norway.,K.G. Jebsen Center for Autoimmune Diseases, University of Bergen, Norway
| | - Iain G Johnston
- Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Norway.,Alan Turing Institute, London, UK
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17
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Tomáška Ľ, Nosek J. Co-evolution in the Jungle: From Leafcutter Ant Colonies to Chromosomal Ends. J Mol Evol 2020; 88:293-318. [PMID: 32157325 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-020-09935-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Biological entities are multicomponent systems where each part is directly or indirectly dependent on the others. In effect, a change in a single component might have a consequence on the functioning of its partners, thus affecting the fitness of the entire system. In this article, we provide a few examples of such complex biological systems, ranging from ant colonies to a population of amino acids within a single-polypeptide chain. Based on these examples, we discuss one of the central and still challenging questions in biology: how do such multicomponent consortia co-evolve? More specifically, we ask how telomeres, nucleo-protein complexes protecting the integrity of linear DNA chromosomes, originated from the ancestral organisms having circular genomes and thus not dealing with end-replication and end-protection problems. Using the examples of rapidly evolving topologies of mitochondrial genomes in eukaryotic microorganisms, we show what means of co-evolution were employed to accommodate various types of telomere-maintenance mechanisms in mitochondria. We also describe an unprecedented runaway evolution of telomeric repeats in nuclei of ascomycetous yeasts accompanied by co-evolution of telomere-associated proteins. We propose several scenarios derived from research on telomeres and supported by other studies from various fields of biology, while emphasizing that the relevant answers are still not in sight. It is this uncertainty and a lack of a detailed roadmap that makes the journey through the jungle of biological systems still exciting and worth undertaking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ľubomír Tomáška
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia.
| | - Jozef Nosek
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia
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18
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Wagner JT, Howe DK, Estes S, Denver DR. Mitochondrial DNA Variation and Selfish Propagation Following Experimental Bottlenecking in Two Distantly Related Caenorhabditis briggsae Isolates. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11010077. [PMID: 31936803 PMCID: PMC7016712 DOI: 10.3390/genes11010077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Revised: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) evolution and inheritance has broad implications for animal speciation and human disease models. However, few natural models exist that can simultaneously represent mtDNA transmission bias, mutation, and copy number variation. Certain isolates of the nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae harbor large, naturally-occurring mtDNA deletions of several hundred basepairs affecting the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (nduo-5) gene that can be functionally detrimental. These deletion variants can behave as selfish DNA elements under genetic drift conditions, but whether all of these large deletion variants are transmitted in the same preferential manner remains unclear. In addition, the degree to which transgenerational mtDNA evolution profiles are shared between isolates that differ in their propensity to accumulate the nduo-5 deletion is also unclear. We address these knowledge gaps by experimentally bottlenecking two isolates of C. briggsae with different nduo-5 deletion frequencies for up to 50 generations and performing total DNA sequencing to identify mtDNA variation. We observed multiple mutation profile differences and similarities between C. briggsae isolates, a potentially species-specific pattern of copy number dysregulation, and some evidence for genetic hitchhiking in the deletion-bearing isolate. Our results further support C. briggsae as a practical model for characterizing naturally-occurring mtgenome variation and contribute to the understanding of how mtgenome variation persists in animal populations and how it presents in mitochondrial disease states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josiah T. Wagner
- Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research (CEDAR) Center, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97201, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Dana K. Howe
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA; (D.K.H.); (D.R.D.)
| | - Suzanne Estes
- Department of Biology, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97201, USA;
| | - Dee R. Denver
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA; (D.K.H.); (D.R.D.)
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19
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Knorre DA. Intracellular quality control of mitochondrial DNA: evidence and limitations. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 375:20190176. [PMID: 31787047 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic cells can harbour mitochondria with markedly different transmembrane potentials. Intracellular mitochondrial quality-control mechanisms (e.g. mitophagy) rely on this intracellular variation to distinguish functional and damaged (depolarized) mitochondria. Given that intracellular mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genetic variation can induce mitochondrial heterogeneity, mitophagy could remove deleterious mtDNA variants in cells. However, the reliance of mitophagy on the mitochondrial transmembrane potential suggests that mtDNAs with deleterious mutations in ATP synthase can evade the control. This evasion is possible because inhibition of ATP synthase can increase the mitochondrial transmembrane potential. Moreover, the linkage of the mtDNA genotype to individual mitochondrial performance is expected to be weak owing to intracellular mitochondrial intercomplementation. Nonetheless, I reason that intracellular mtDNA quality control is possible and crucial at the zygote stage of the life cycle. Indeed, species with biparental mtDNA inheritance or frequent 'leakage' of paternal mtDNA can be vulnerable to invasion of selfish mtDNAs at the stage of gamete fusion. Here, I critically review recent findings on intracellular mtDNA quality control by mitophagy and discuss other mechanisms by which the nuclear genome can affect the competition of mtDNA variants in the cell. This article is part of the theme issue 'Linking the mitochondrial genotype to phenotype: a complex endeavour'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry A Knorre
- A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskiye Gory 1-40, Moscow 119991, Russia.,Institute of Molecular Medicine, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Trubetskaya Str. 8-2, Moscow 119991, Russia
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20
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Dubie JJ, Caraway AR, Stout MM, Katju V, Bergthorsson U. The conflict within: origin, proliferation and persistence of a spontaneously arising selfish mitochondrial genome. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 375:20190174. [PMID: 31787044 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Mitochondrial genomes can sustain mutations that are simultaneously detrimental to individual fitness and yet, can proliferate within individuals owing to a replicative advantage. We analysed the fitness effects and population dynamics of a mitochondrial genome containing a novel 499 bp deletion in the cytochrome b(1) (ctb-1) gene (Δctb-1) encoding the cytochrome b of complex III in Caenorhabditis elegans. Δctb-1 reached a high heteroplasmic frequency of 96% in one experimental line during a mutation accumulation experiment and was linked to additional spontaneous mutations in nd5 and tRNA-Asn. The Δctb-1 mutant mitotype imposed a significant fitness cost including a 65% and 52% reduction in productivity and competitive fitness, respectively, relative to individuals bearing wild-type (WT) mitochondria. Deletion-bearing worms were rapidly purged within a few generations when competed against WT mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) bearing worms in experimental populations. By contrast, the Δctb-1 mitotype was able to persist in large populations comprising heteroplasmic individuals only, although the average intracellular frequency of Δctb-1 exhibited a slow decline owing to competition among individuals bearing different frequencies of the heteroplasmy. Within experimental lines subjected to severe population bottlenecks (n = 1), the relative intracellular frequency of Δctb-1 increased, which is a hallmark of selfish drive. A positive correlation between Δctb-1 and WT mtDNA copy-number suggests a mechanism that increases total mtDNA per se, and does not discern the Δctb-1 mitotype from the WT mtDNA. This study demonstrates the selfish nature of the Δctb-1 mitotype, given its transmission advantage and substantial fitness load for the host, and highlights the importance of population size for the population dynamics of selfish mtDNA. This article is part of the theme issue 'Linking the mitochondrial genotype to phenotype: a complex endeavour'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph James Dubie
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, 402 Raymond Stotzer Parkway, College Station, TX 77845, USA
| | - Avery Robert Caraway
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, 402 Raymond Stotzer Parkway, College Station, TX 77845, USA
| | - McKenna Margaret Stout
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, 402 Raymond Stotzer Parkway, College Station, TX 77845, USA
| | - Vaishali Katju
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, 402 Raymond Stotzer Parkway, College Station, TX 77845, USA
| | - Ulfar Bergthorsson
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, 402 Raymond Stotzer Parkway, College Station, TX 77845, USA
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21
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Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin C Havird
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | - Evan S Forsythe
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Alissa M Williams
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - John H Werren
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - Damian K Dowling
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Daniel B Sloan
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
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22
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Gorter de Vries AR, Voskamp MA, van Aalst ACA, Kristensen LH, Jansen L, van den Broek M, Salazar AN, Brouwers N, Abeel T, Pronk JT, Daran JMG. Laboratory Evolution of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae × S. eubayanus Hybrid Under Simulated Lager-Brewing Conditions. Front Genet 2019; 10:242. [PMID: 31001314 PMCID: PMC6455053 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Saccharomyces pastorianus lager-brewing yeasts are domesticated hybrids of S. cerevisiae x S. eubayanus that display extensive inter-strain chromosome copy number variation and chromosomal recombinations. It is unclear to what extent such genome rearrangements are intrinsic to the domestication of hybrid brewing yeasts and whether they contribute to their industrial performance. Here, an allodiploid laboratory hybrid of S. cerevisiae and S. eubayanus was evolved for up to 418 generations on wort under simulated lager-brewing conditions in six independent sequential batch bioreactors. Characterization of 55 single-cell isolates from the evolved cultures showed large phenotypic diversity and whole-genome sequencing revealed a large array of mutations. Frequent loss of heterozygosity involved diverse, strain-specific chromosomal translocations, which differed from those observed in domesticated, aneuploid S. pastorianus brewing strains. In contrast to the extensive aneuploidy of domesticated S. pastorianus strains, the evolved isolates only showed limited (segmental) aneuploidy. Specific mutations could be linked to calcium-dependent flocculation, loss of maltotriose utilization and loss of mitochondrial activity, three industrially relevant traits that also occur in domesticated S. pastorianus strains. This study indicates that fast acquisition of extensive aneuploidy is not required for genetic adaptation of S. cerevisiae × S. eubayanus hybrids to brewing environments. In addition, this work demonstrates that, consistent with the diversity of brewing strains for maltotriose utilization, domestication under brewing conditions can result in loss of this industrially relevant trait. These observations have important implications for the design of strategies to improve industrial performance of novel laboratory-made hybrids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur R. Gorter de Vries
- Industrial Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology Delft, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Maaike A. Voskamp
- Industrial Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology Delft, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Aafke C. A. van Aalst
- Industrial Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology Delft, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Line H. Kristensen
- Industrial Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology Delft, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Liset Jansen
- Industrial Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology Delft, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Marcel van den Broek
- Industrial Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology Delft, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Alex N. Salazar
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Department of Intelligent Systems, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Nick Brouwers
- Industrial Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology Delft, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Thomas Abeel
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Department of Intelligent Systems, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jack T. Pronk
- Industrial Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology Delft, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Jean-Marc G. Daran
- Industrial Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology Delft, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
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23
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Sex and Mitonuclear Adaptation in Experimental Caenorhabditis elegans Populations. Genetics 2019; 211:1045-1058. [PMID: 30670540 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.119.301935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
To reveal phenotypic and functional genomic patterns of mitonuclear adaptation, a laboratory adaptation study with Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes was conducted in which independently evolving lines were initiated from a low-fitness mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) mutant, gas-1 Following 60 generations of evolution in large population sizes with competition for food resources, two distinct classes of lines representing different degrees of adaptive response emerged: a low-fitness class that exhibited minimal or no improvement compared to the gas-1 mutant ancestor, and a high-fitness class containing lines that exhibited partial recovery of wild-type fitness. Many lines that achieved higher reproductive and competitive fitness levels were also noted to evolve high frequencies of males during the experiment, consistent with adaptation in these lines having been facilitated by outcrossing. Whole-genome sequencing and analysis revealed an enrichment of mutations in loci that occur in a gas-1-centric region of the C. elegans interactome and could be classified into a small number of functional genomic categories. A highly nonrandom pattern of mitochondrial DNA mutation was observed within high-fitness gas-1 lines, with parallel fixations of nonsynonymous base substitutions within genes encoding NADH dehydrogenase subunits I and VI. These mitochondrial gene products reside within ETC complex I alongside the nuclear-encoded GAS-1 protein, suggesting that rapid adaptation of select gas-1 recovery lines was driven by fixation of compensatory mitochondrial mutations.
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24
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Ratcliff WC, Herron M, Conlin PL, Libby E. Nascent life cycles and the emergence of higher-level individuality. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 372:rstb.2016.0420. [PMID: 29061893 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/31/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary transitions in individuality (ETIs) occur when formerly autonomous organisms evolve to become parts of a new, 'higher-level' organism. One of the first major hurdles that must be overcome during an ETI is the emergence of Darwinian evolvability in the higher-level entity (e.g. a multicellular group), and the loss of Darwinian autonomy in the lower-level units (e.g. individual cells). Here, we examine how simple higher-level life cycles are a key innovation during an ETI, allowing this transfer of fitness to occur 'for free'. Specifically, we show how novel life cycles can arise and lead to the origin of higher-level individuals by (i) mitigating conflicts between levels of selection, (ii) engendering the expression of heritable higher-level traits and (iii) allowing selection to efficiently act on these emergent higher-level traits. Further, we compute how canonical early life cycles vary in their ability to fix beneficial mutations via mathematical modelling. Life cycles that lack a persistent lower-level stage and develop clonally are far more likely to fix 'ratcheting' mutations that limit evolutionary reversion to the pre-ETI state. By stabilizing the fragile first steps of an evolutionary transition in individuality, nascent higher-level life cycles may play a crucial role in the origin of complex life.This article is part of the themed issue 'Process and pattern in innovations from cells to societies'.
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Affiliation(s)
- William C Ratcliff
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Matthew Herron
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Peter L Conlin
- Department of Biology and BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Eric Libby
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
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25
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Campbell MA, Łukasik P, Simon C, McCutcheon JP. Idiosyncratic Genome Degradation in a Bacterial Endosymbiont of Periodical Cicadas. Curr Biol 2017; 27:3568-3575.e3. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2017] [Revised: 09/27/2017] [Accepted: 10/03/2017] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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26
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Christie JR, Beekman M. Uniparental Inheritance Promotes Adaptive Evolution in Cytoplasmic Genomes. Mol Biol Evol 2017; 34:677-691. [PMID: 28025277 PMCID: PMC5896580 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msw266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotes carry numerous asexual cytoplasmic genomes (mitochondria and plastids). Lacking recombination, asexual genomes should theoretically suffer from impaired adaptive evolution. Yet, empirical evidence indicates that cytoplasmic genomes experience higher levels of adaptive evolution than predicted by theory. In this study, we use a computational model to show that the unique biology of cytoplasmic genomes-specifically their organization into host cells and their uniparental (maternal) inheritance-enable them to undergo effective adaptive evolution. Uniparental inheritance of cytoplasmic genomes decreases competition between different beneficial substitutions (clonal interference), promoting the accumulation of beneficial substitutions. Uniparental inheritance also facilitates selection against deleterious cytoplasmic substitutions, slowing Muller's ratchet. In addition, uniparental inheritance generally reduces genetic hitchhiking of deleterious substitutions during selective sweeps. Overall, uniparental inheritance promotes adaptive evolution by increasing the level of beneficial substitutions relative to deleterious substitutions. When we assume that cytoplasmic genome inheritance is biparental, decreasing the number of genomes transmitted during gametogenesis (bottleneck) aids adaptive evolution. Nevertheless, adaptive evolution is always more efficient when inheritance is uniparental. Our findings explain empirical observations that cytoplasmic genomes-despite their asexual mode of reproduction-can readily undergo adaptive evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua R Christie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Madeleine Beekman
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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27
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Abstract
Endosymbiosis is an idea that provided a remarkable amount of explanatory power about the origins of eukaryotic organelles. But it also promoted a number of assumptions that have also been influential, but are less well-examined. Here we look at two of these to see whether or not they fit current evidence. The assumption we first address is that endosymbiotic relationships such as nutritional symbioses and eukaryotic organelles are mutualisms. We argue instead that they are more one-sided associations that can be regarded as context-dependent power struggles like any other ecological interaction. The second assumption is that during endosymbiotic interactions (such as the origin of organelles), the host genomes will acquire a great many genes from endosymbionts that assume functions in host systems (as opposed to the well-documented genes whose products are simply targeted back to the endosymbiont or organelle). The idea that these genes exist in large numbers has been influential in a number of hypotheses about organelle evolution and distribution, but in the most carefully-examined systems no such mass migration of genes is evident. Overall, we argue that both the nature and impact of endosymbiosis need to be constantly re-evaluated to fully understand what roles it really plays in both cell biology and evolution.
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28
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Sloan DB, Havird JC, Sharbrough J. The on-again, off-again relationship between mitochondrial genomes and species boundaries. Mol Ecol 2017; 26:2212-2236. [PMID: 27997046 PMCID: PMC6534505 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2016] [Revised: 11/16/2016] [Accepted: 11/18/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The study of reproductive isolation and species barriers frequently focuses on mitochondrial genomes and has produced two alternative and almost diametrically opposed narratives. On one hand, mtDNA may be at the forefront of speciation events, with co-evolved mitonuclear interactions responsible for some of the earliest genetic incompatibilities arising among isolated populations. On the other hand, there are numerous cases of introgression of mtDNA across species boundaries even when nuclear gene flow is restricted. We argue that these seemingly contradictory patterns can result from a single underlying cause. Specifically, the accumulation of deleterious mutations in mtDNA creates a problem with two alternative evolutionary solutions. In some cases, compensatory or epistatic changes in the nuclear genome may ameliorate the effects of mitochondrial mutations, thereby establishing coadapted mitonuclear genotypes within populations and forming the basis of reproductive incompatibilities between populations. Alternatively, populations with high mitochondrial mutation loads may be rescued by replacement with a more fit, foreign mitochondrial haplotype. Coupled with many nonadaptive mechanisms of introgression that can preferentially affect cytoplasmic genomes, this form of adaptive introgression may contribute to the widespread discordance between mitochondrial and nuclear genealogies. Here, we review recent advances related to mitochondrial introgression and mitonuclear incompatibilities, including the potential for cointrogression of mtDNA and interacting nuclear genes. We also address an emerging controversy over the classic assumption that selection on mitochondrial genomes is inefficient and discuss the mechanisms that lead lineages down alternative evolutionary paths in response to mitochondrial mutation accumulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel B Sloan
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Justin C Havird
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Joel Sharbrough
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
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Positive Selection in Rapidly Evolving Plastid-Nuclear Enzyme Complexes. Genetics 2016; 204:1507-1522. [PMID: 27707788 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.116.188268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2016] [Accepted: 10/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Rates of sequence evolution in plastid genomes are generally low, but numerous angiosperm lineages exhibit accelerated evolutionary rates in similar subsets of plastid genes. These genes include clpP1 and accD, which encode components of the caseinolytic protease (CLP) and acetyl-coA carboxylase (ACCase) complexes, respectively. Whether these extreme and repeated accelerations in rates of plastid genome evolution result from adaptive change in proteins (i.e., positive selection) or simply a loss of functional constraint (i.e., relaxed purifying selection) is a source of ongoing controversy. To address this, we have taken advantage of the multiple independent accelerations that have occurred within the genus Silene (Caryophyllaceae) by examining phylogenetic and population genetic variation in the nuclear genes that encode subunits of the CLP and ACCase complexes. We found that, in species with accelerated plastid genome evolution, the nuclear-encoded subunits in the CLP and ACCase complexes are also evolving rapidly, especially those involved in direct physical interactions with plastid-encoded proteins. A massive excess of nonsynonymous substitutions between species relative to levels of intraspecific polymorphism indicated a history of strong positive selection (particularly in CLP genes). Interestingly, however, some species are likely undergoing loss of the native (heteromeric) plastid ACCase and putative functional replacement by a duplicated cytosolic (homomeric) ACCase. Overall, the patterns of molecular evolution in these plastid-nuclear complexes are unusual for anciently conserved enzymes. They instead resemble cases of antagonistic coevolution between pathogens and host immune genes. We discuss a possible role of plastid-nuclear conflict as a novel cause of accelerated evolution.
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Radzvilavicius AL. Evolutionary dynamics of cytoplasmic segregation and fusion: Mitochondrial mixing facilitated the evolution of sex at the origin of eukaryotes. J Theor Biol 2016; 404:160-168. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2016.05.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2015] [Revised: 05/05/2016] [Accepted: 05/31/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Gitschlag BL, Kirby CS, Samuels DC, Gangula RD, Mallal SA, Patel MR. Homeostatic Responses Regulate Selfish Mitochondrial Genome Dynamics in C. elegans. Cell Metab 2016; 24:91-103. [PMID: 27411011 PMCID: PMC5287496 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2016.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2016] [Revised: 05/27/2016] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Mutant mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) can be viewed as selfish genetic elements that persist in a state of heteroplasmy despite having potentially deleterious metabolic consequences. We sought to study regulation of selfish mtDNA dynamics. We establish that the large 3.1-kb deletion-bearing mtDNA variant uaDf5 is a selfish genome in Caenorhabditis elegans. Next, we show that uaDf5 mutant mtDNA replicates in addition to, not at the expense of, wild-type mtDNA. These data suggest the existence of a homeostatic copy-number control that is exploited by uaDf5 to "hitchhike" to high frequency. We also observe activation of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPR(mt)) in uaDf5 animals. Loss of UPR(mt) causes a decrease in uaDf5 frequency, whereas its constitutive activation increases uaDf5 levels. UPR(mt) activation protects uaDf5 from mitophagy. Taken together, we propose that mtDNA copy-number control and UPR(mt) represent two homeostatic response mechanisms that play important roles in regulating selfish mitochondrial genome dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan L Gitschlag
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Cait S Kirby
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Biological Sciences Graduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - David C Samuels
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Rama D Gangula
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Simon A Mallal
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
| | - Maulik R Patel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
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Ma H, O'Farrell PH. Selfish drive can trump function when animal mitochondrial genomes compete. Nat Genet 2016; 48:798-802. [PMID: 27270106 PMCID: PMC4925267 DOI: 10.1038/ng.3587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2015] [Accepted: 05/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Mitochondrial genomes compete for transmission from mother to progeny. We explored this competition by introducing a second genome into Drosophila melanogaster to follow transmission. Competitions between closely related genomes favored those functional in electron transport, resulting in a host-beneficial purifying selection. In contrast, matchups between distantly related genomes often favored those with negligible, negative or lethal consequences, indicating selfish selection. Exhibiting powerful selfish selection, a genome carrying a detrimental mutation displaced a complementing genome, leading to population death after several generations. In a different pairing, opposing selfish and purifying selection counterbalanced to give stable transmission of two genomes. Sequencing of recombinant mitochondrial genomes showed that the noncoding region, containing origins of replication, governs selfish transmission. Uniparental inheritance prevents encounters between distantly related genomes. Nonetheless, in each maternal lineage, constant competition among sibling genomes selects for super-replicators. We suggest that this relentless competition drives positive selection, promoting change in the sequences influencing transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hansong Ma
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Patrick H O'Farrell
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
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33
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Haig D. Intracellular evolution of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the tragedy of the cytoplasmic commons. Bioessays 2016; 38:549-55. [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201600003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Harvard University; Cambridge MA USA
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34
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Rollins LA, Woolnough AP, Fanson BG, Cummins ML, Crowley TM, Wilton AN, Sinclair R, Butler A, Sherwin WB. Selection on Mitochondrial Variants Occurs between and within Individuals in an Expanding Invasion. Mol Biol Evol 2016; 33:995-1007. [DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msv343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
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Shou W. Acknowledging selection at sub-organismal levels resolves controversy on pro-cooperation mechanisms. eLife 2015; 4. [PMID: 26714105 PMCID: PMC4798966 DOI: 10.7554/elife.10106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2015] [Accepted: 12/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Cooperators who pay a cost to produce publically-available benefits can be exploited by cheaters who do not contribute fairly. How might cooperation persist against cheaters? Two classes of mechanisms are known to promote cooperation: 'partner choice', where a cooperator preferentially interacts with cooperative over cheating partners; and 'partner fidelity feedback', where repeated interactions between individuals ensure that cheaters suffer as their cooperative partners languish (see, for example, Momeni et al., 2013). However when both mechanisms can act, differentiating them has generated controversy. Here, I resolve this controversy by noting that selection can operate on organismal and sub-organismal 'entities' such that partner fidelity feedback at sub-organismal level can appear as partner choice at organismal level. I also show that cooperation between multicellular eukaryotes and mitochondria is promoted by partner fidelity feedback and partner choice between sub-organismal entities, in addition to being promoted by partner fidelity feedback between hosts and symbionts, as was previously known.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenying Shou
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, United States
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Abstract
With the increasing appreciation for the crucial roles that microbial symbionts play in the development and fitness of plant and animal hosts, there has been a recent push to interpret evolution through the lens of the "hologenome"--the collective genomic content of a host and its microbiome. But how symbionts evolve and, particularly, whether they undergo natural selection to benefit hosts are complex issues that are associated with several misconceptions about evolutionary processes in host-associated microbial communities. Microorganisms can have intimate, ancient, and/or mutualistic associations with hosts without having undergone natural selection to benefit hosts. Likewise, observing host-specific microbial community composition or greater community similarity among more closely related hosts does not imply that symbionts have coevolved with hosts, let alone that they have evolved for the benefit of the host. Although selection at the level of the symbiotic community, or hologenome, occurs in some cases, it should not be accepted as the null hypothesis for explaining features of host-symbiont associations.
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Havird JC, Hall MD, Dowling DK. The evolution of sex: A new hypothesis based on mitochondrial mutational erosion: Mitochondrial mutational erosion in ancestral eukaryotes would favor the evolution of sex, harnessing nuclear recombination to optimize compensatory nuclear coadaptation. Bioessays 2015. [PMID: 26201475 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201500057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of sex in eukaryotes represents a paradox, given the "twofold" fitness cost it incurs. We hypothesize that the mutational dynamics of the mitochondrial genome would have favored the evolution of sexual reproduction. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) exhibits a high-mutation rate across most eukaryote taxa, and several lines of evidence suggest that this high rate is an ancestral character. This seems inexplicable given that mtDNA-encoded genes underlie the expression of life's most salient functions, including energy conversion. We propose that negative metabolic effects linked to mitochondrial mutation accumulation would have invoked selection for sexual recombination between divergent host nuclear genomes in early eukaryote lineages. This would provide a mechanism by which recombinant host genotypes could be rapidly shuffled and screened for the presence of compensatory modifiers that offset mtDNA-induced harm. Under this hypothesis, recombination provides the genetic variation necessary for compensatory nuclear coadaptation to keep pace with mitochondrial mutation accumulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin C Havird
- Deptartment of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.,Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Matthew D Hall
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
| | - Damian K Dowling
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
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38
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Phillips WS, Coleman-Hulbert AL, Weiss ES, Howe DK, Ping S, Wernick RI, Estes S, Denver DR. Selfish Mitochondrial DNA Proliferates and Diversifies in Small, but not Large, Experimental Populations of Caenorhabditis briggsae. Genome Biol Evol 2015; 7:2023-37. [PMID: 26108490 PMCID: PMC4524483 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evv116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary interactions across levels of biological organization contribute to a variety of fundamental processes including genome evolution, reproductive mode transitions, species diversification, and extinction. Evolutionary theory predicts that so-called “selfish” genetic elements will proliferate when the host effective population size (Ne) is small, but direct tests of this prediction remain few. We analyzed the evolutionary dynamics of deletion-containing mitochondrial DNA (ΔmtDNA) molecules, previously characterized as selfish elements, in six different natural strains of the nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae allowed to undergo experimental evolution in a range of population sizes (N = 1, 10, 100, and 1,000) for a maximum of 50 generations. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was analyzed for replicate lineages at each five-generation time point. Ten different ΔmtDNA molecule types were observed and characterized across generations in the experimental populations. Consistent with predictions from evolutionary theory, lab lines evolved in small-population sizes (e.g., nematode N = 1) were more susceptible to accumulation of high levels of preexisting ΔmtDNA compared with those evolved in larger populations. New ΔmtDNA elements were observed to increase in frequency and persist across time points, but almost exclusively at small population sizes. In some cases, ΔmtDNA levels decreased across generations when population size was large (nematode N = 1,000). Different natural strains of C. briggsae varied in their susceptibilities to ΔmtDNA accumulation, owing in part to preexisting compensatory mtDNA alleles in some strains that prevent deletion formation. This analysis directly demonstrates that the evolutionary trajectories of ΔmtDNA elements depend upon the population-genetic environments and molecular-genetic features of their hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Emily S Weiss
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University
| | - Dana K Howe
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University
| | - Sita Ping
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University
| | | | | | - Dee R Denver
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University
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39
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Abstract
In virtually all multicellular eukaryotes, mitochondria are transmitted exclusively through one parent, usually the mother. In this short review, we discuss some of the major consequences of uniparental transmission of mitochondria, including deleterious effects in males and selection for increased transmission through females. Many of these consequences, particularly sex ratio distortion, have well-studied parallels in other maternally transmitted genetic elements, such as bacterial endosymbionts of arthropods. We also discuss the consequences of linkage between mitochondria and other maternally transmitted genetic elements, including the role of cytonuclear incompatibilities in maintaining polymorphism. Finally, as a case study, we discuss a recently discovered maternally transmitted sex ratio distortion in an insect that is associated with extraordinarily divergent mitochondria.
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40
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Beekman M, Dowling DK, Aanen DK. The costs of being male: are there sex-specific effects of uniparental mitochondrial inheritance? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2015; 369:20130440. [PMID: 24864311 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic cells typically contain numerous mitochondria, each with multiple copies of their own genome, the mtDNA. Uniparental transmission of mitochondria, usually via the mother, prevents the mixing of mtDNA from different individuals. While on the one hand, this should resolve the potential for selection for fast-replicating mtDNA variants that reduce organismal fitness, maternal inheritance will, in theory, come with another set of problems that are specifically relevant to males. Maternal inheritance implies that the mitochondrial genome is never transmitted through males, and thus selection can target only the mtDNA sequence when carried by females. A consequence is that mtDNA mutations that confer male-biased phenotypic expression will be prone to evade selection, and accumulate. Here, we review the evidence from the ecological, evolutionary and medical literature for male specificity of mtDNA mutations affecting fertility, health and ageing. While such effects have been discovered experimentally in the laboratory, their relevance to natural populations--including the human population--remains unclear. We suggest that the existence of male expression-biased mtDNA mutations is likely to be a broad phenomenon, but that these mutations remain cryptic owing to the presence of counter-adapted nuclear compensatory modifier mutations, which offset their deleterious effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Beekman
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Damian K Dowling
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Duur K Aanen
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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41
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Sloan DB, Wu Z. History of plastid DNA insertions reveals weak deletion and at mutation biases in angiosperm mitochondrial genomes. Genome Biol Evol 2014; 6:3210-21. [PMID: 25416619 PMCID: PMC4986453 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evu253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Angiosperm mitochondrial genomes exhibit many unusual properties, including heterogeneous nucleotide composition and exceptionally large and variable genome sizes. Determining the role of nonadaptive mechanisms such as mutation bias in shaping the molecular evolution of these unique genomes has proven challenging because their dynamic structures generally prevent identification of homologous intergenic sequences for comparative analyses. Here, we report an analysis of angiosperm mitochondrial DNA sequences that are derived from inserted plastid DNA (mtpts). The availability of numerous completely sequenced plastid genomes allows us to infer the evolutionary history of these insertions, including the specific nucleotide substitutions and indels that have occurred because their incorporation into the mitochondrial genome. Our analysis confirmed that many mtpts have a complex history, including frequent gene conversion and multiple examples of horizontal transfer between divergent angiosperm lineages. Nevertheless, it is clear that the majority of extant mtpt sequence in angiosperms is the product of recent transfer (or gene conversion) and is subject to rapid loss/deterioration, suggesting that most mtpts are evolving relatively free from functional constraint. The evolution of mtpt sequences reveals a pattern of biased mutational input in angiosperm mitochondrial genomes, including an excess of small deletions over insertions and a skew toward nucleotide substitutions that increase AT content. However, these mutation biases are far weaker than have been observed in many other cellular genomes, providing insight into some of the notable features of angiosperm mitochondrial architecture, including the retention of large intergenic regions and the relatively neutral GC content found in these regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel B Sloan
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
| | - Zhiqiang Wu
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
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42
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Bastiaans E, Aanen DK, Debets AJM, Hoekstra RF, Lestrade B, Maas MFPM. Regular bottlenecks and restrictions to somatic fusion prevent the accumulation of mitochondrial defects in Neurospora. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2014; 369:20130448. [PMID: 24864316 PMCID: PMC4032522 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The replication and segregation of multi-copy mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are not under strict control of the nuclear DNA. Within-cell selection may thus favour variants with an intracellular selective advantage but a detrimental effect on cell fitness. High relatedness among the mtDNA variants of an individual is predicted to disfavour such deleterious selfish genetic elements, but experimental evidence for this hypothesis is scarce. We studied the effect of mtDNA relatedness on the opportunities for suppressive mtDNA variants in the fungus Neurospora carrying the mitochondrial mutator plasmid pKALILO. During growth, this plasmid integrates into the mitochondrial genome, generating suppressive mtDNA variants. These mtDNA variants gradually replace the wild-type mtDNA, ultimately culminating in growth arrest and death. We show that regular sequestration of mtDNA variation is required for effective selection against suppressive mtDNA variants. First, bottlenecks in the number of mtDNA copies from which a 'Kalilo' culture started significantly increased the maximum lifespan and variation in lifespan among cultures. Second, restrictions to somatic fusion among fungal individuals, either by using anastomosis-deficient mutants or by generating allotype diversity, prevented the accumulation of suppressive mtDNA variants. We discuss the implications of these results for the somatic accumulation of mitochondrial defects during ageing.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Bastiaans
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - D K Aanen
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - A J M Debets
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - R F Hoekstra
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - B Lestrade
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
| | - M F P M Maas
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
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43
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Aanen DK, Spelbrink JN, Beekman M. What cost mitochondria? The maintenance of functional mitochondrial DNA within and across generations. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2014; 369:20130438. [PMID: 24864309 PMCID: PMC4032515 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The peculiar biology of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) potentially has detrimental consequences for organismal health and lifespan. Typically, eukaryotic cells contain multiple mitochondria, each with multiple mtDNA genomes. The high copy number of mtDNA implies that selection on mtDNA functionality is relaxed. Furthermore, because mtDNA replication is not strictly regulated, within-cell selection may favour mtDNA variants with a replication advantage, but a deleterious effect on cell fitness. The opportunities for selfish mtDNA mutations to spread are restricted by various organism-level adaptations, such as uniparental transmission, germline mtDNA bottlenecks, germline selection and, during somatic growth, regular alternation between fusion and fission of mitochondria. These mechanisms are all hypothesized to maintain functional mtDNA. However, the strength of selection for maintenance of functional mtDNA progressively declines with age, resulting in age-related diseases. Furthermore, organismal adaptations that most probably evolved to restrict the opportunities for selfish mtDNA create secondary problems. Owing to predominantly maternal mtDNA transmission, recombination among mtDNA from different individuals is highly restricted or absent, reducing the scope for repair. Moreover, maternal inheritance precludes selection against mtDNA variants with male-specific effects. We finish by discussing the consequences of life-history differences among taxa with respect to mtDNA evolution and make a case for the use of microorganisms to experimentally manipulate levels of selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duur K Aanen
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, PO Box 309, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Johannes N Spelbrink
- Department of Pediatrics, Nijmegen Centre for Mitochondrial Disorders, Radboud University Medical Centre, Geert Grooteplein 10, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands FinMIT Centre of Excellence, BioMediTech and Tampere University Hospital, Pirkanmaa Hospital District, 33014 Tampere, Finland
| | - Madeleine Beekman
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Lab, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
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Nobre T, Koopmanschap B, Baars JJP, Sonnenberg ASM, Aanen DK. The scope for nuclear selection within Termitomyces fungi associated with fungus-growing termites is limited. BMC Evol Biol 2014; 14:121. [PMID: 24902958 PMCID: PMC4085734 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-14-121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2014] [Accepted: 05/29/2014] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND We investigate the scope for selection at the level of nuclei within fungal individuals (mycelia) of the mutualistic Termitomyces cultivated by fungus-growing termites. Whereas in most basidiomycete fungi the number and kind of nuclei is strictly regulated to be two per cell, in Termitomyces mycelia the number of nuclei per cell is highly variable. We hypothesised that natural selection on these fungi not only occurs between mycelia, but also at the level of nuclei within the mycelium. We test this hypothesis using in vitro tests with five nuclear haplotypes of a Termitomyces species. RESULTS First, we studied the transition from a mixture of five homokaryons (mycelia with identical nuclei) each with a different nuclear haplotype to heterokaryons (mycelia with genetically different nuclei). In vitro cultivation of this mixture for multiple asexual transfers led to the formation of multiple heterokaryotic mycelia, and a reduction of mycelial diversity over time. All heterokaryotic mycelia contained exactly two types of nucleus. The success of a heterokaryon during in vitro cultivation was mainly determined by spore production and to a lesser extent by mycelial growth rate. Second, heterokaryons invariably produced more spores than homokaryons implying that homokaryons will be outcompeted. Third, no homokaryotic 'escapes' from a heterokaryon via the formation of homokaryotic spores were found, despite extensive spore genotyping. Fourth, in contrast to most studied basidiomycete fungi, in Termitomyces sp. no nuclear migration occurs during mating, limiting the scope for nuclear competition within the mycelium. CONCLUSIONS Our experiments demonstrate that in this species of Termitomyces the scope for selection at the level of the nucleus within an established mycelium is limited. Although 'mate choice' of a particular nuclear haplotype is possible during mating, we infer that selection primarily occurs between mycelia with two types of nucleus (heterokaryons).
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania Nobre
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University and Research Center, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Radix West, Building 107, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Currently: ICAAM, University of Évora, Pólo da Mitra Apartado 94, 7002-554 Évora, Portugal
| | - Bertha Koopmanschap
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University and Research Center, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Radix West, Building 107, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Johan JP Baars
- Plant Research International – Mushrooms, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Anton SM Sonnenberg
- Plant Research International – Mushrooms, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Duur K Aanen
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University and Research Center, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Radix West, Building 107, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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45
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Harrison E, MacLean RC, Koufopanou V, Burt A. Sex drives intracellular conflict in yeast. J Evol Biol 2014; 27:1757-63. [PMID: 24825743 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2013] [Accepted: 04/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Theory predicts that sex can drive the evolution of conflict within the cell. During asexual reproduction, genetic material within the cell is inherited as a single unit, selecting for cooperation both within the genome as well as between the extra-genomic elements within the cell (e.g. plasmids and endosymbionts). Under sexual reproduction, this unity is broken down as parental genomes are distributed between meiotic progeny. Genetic elements able to transmit to more than 50% of meiotic progeny have a transmission advantage over the rest of the genome and are able to spread, even where they reduce the fitness of the individual as a whole. Sexual reproduction is therefore expected to drive the evolution of selfish genetic elements (SGEs). Here, we directly test this hypothesis by studying the evolution of two independent SGEs, the 2-μm plasmid and selfish mitochondria, in populations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Following 22 rounds of sexual reproduction, 2-μm copy number increased by approximately 13.2 (±5.6) copies per cell, whereas in asexual populations copy number decreased by approximately 5.1 (±1.5) copies per cell. Given that the burden imposed by this parasite increases with copy number, these results support the idea that sex drives the evolution of increased SGE virulence. Moreover, we found that mitochondria that are respiratory-deficient rapidly invaded sexual but not asexual populations, demonstrating that frequent outcrossed sex can drive the de novo evolution of genetic parasites. Our study highlights the genomic perils of sex and suggests that SGEs may play a key role in driving major evolutionary transitions, such as uniparental inheritance.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Harrison
- NERC Center for Population Biology, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
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de la Providencia IE, Nadimi M, Beaudet D, Rodriguez Morales G, Hijri M. Detection of a transient mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmy in the progeny of crossed genetically divergent isolates of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2013; 200:211-221. [PMID: 23790215 DOI: 10.1111/nph.12372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2013] [Accepted: 05/14/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Nonself fusion and nuclear genetic exchange have been documented in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), particularly in Rhizophagus irregularis. However, mitochondrial transmission accompanying nonself fusion of genetically divergent isolates remains unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmy occurs in the progeny of spores, obtained by crossing genetically divergent mtDNAs in R. irregularis isolates. Three isolates of geographically distant locations were used to investigate nonself fusions and mtDNA transmission to the progeny. We sequenced two additional mtDNAs of two R. irregularis isolates and developed isolate-specific size-variable markers in intergenic regions of these isolates and those of DAOM-197198. We achieved three crossing combinations in pre-symbiotic and symbiotic phases. Progeny spores per crossing combination were genotyped using isolate-specific markers. We found evidence that nonself recognition occurs between isolates originating from different continents both in pre-symbiotic and symbiotic phases. Genotyping patterns of individual spores from the progeny clearly showed the presence of markers of the two parental mtDNA haplotypes. Our results demonstrate that mtDNA heteroplasmy occurs in the progeny of the crossed isolates. However, this heteroplasmy appears to be a transient stage because all the live progeny spores that were able to germinate showed only one mtDNA haplotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Enrique de la Providencia
- Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, 4101 Rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, Québec, H1X 2B2, Canada
| | - Maryam Nadimi
- Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, 4101 Rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, Québec, H1X 2B2, Canada
| | - Denis Beaudet
- Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, 4101 Rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, Québec, H1X 2B2, Canada
| | - Gabriela Rodriguez Morales
- Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, 4101 Rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, Québec, H1X 2B2, Canada
| | - Mohamed Hijri
- Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, 4101 Rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, Québec, H1X 2B2, Canada
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Jasmin JN, Zeyl C. RAPID EVOLUTION OF CHEATING MITOCHONDRIAL GENOMES IN SMALL YEAST POPULATIONS. Evolution 2013; 68:269-75. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2013] [Accepted: 07/30/2013] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Nicolas Jasmin
- Department of Biology; Wake Forest University; Winston-Salem North Carolina 27109
| | - Clifford Zeyl
- Department of Biology; Wake Forest University; Winston-Salem North Carolina 27109
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Model-selection-based approach for calculating cellular multiplicity of infection during virus colonization of multi-cellular hosts. PLoS One 2013; 8:e64657. [PMID: 23724074 PMCID: PMC3665715 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2013] [Accepted: 04/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The cellular multiplicity of infection (MOI) is a key parameter for describing the interactions between virions and cells, predicting the dynamics of mixed-genotype infections, and understanding virus evolution. Two recent studies have reported in vivo MOI estimates for Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV), using sophisticated approaches to measure the distribution of two virus variants over host cells. Although the experimental approaches were similar, the studies employed different definitions of MOI and estimation methods. Here, new model-selection-based methods for calculating MOI were developed. Seven alternative models for predicting MOI were formulated that incorporate an increasing number of parameters. For both datasets the best-supported model included spatial segregation of virus variants over time, and to a lesser extent aggregation of virus-infected cells was also implicated. Three methods for MOI estimation were then compared: the two previously reported methods and the best-supported model. For CaMV data, all three methods gave comparable results. For TMV data, the previously reported methods both predicted low MOI values (range: 1.04–1.23) over time, whereas the best-supported model predicted a wider range of MOI values (range: 1.01–2.10) and an increase in MOI over time. Model selection can therefore identify suitable alternative MOI models and suggest key mechanisms affecting the frequency of coinfected cells. For the TMV data, this leads to appreciable differences in estimated MOI values.
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Abstract
Organismal development and evolution are complex, multifaceted processes that depend intimately on context. They are subject to environmental influences, chance appearance and fixation of mutations, and numerous other idiosyncrasies. Genomics is detailing the molecular signature of effects of these mechanisms on phenotypes, but because numerous distinct evolutionary explanations can produce a given genomic pattern, the molecular details, rather than elucidating process, typically distract from explanatory insight and contribute little to predictive capability. While genomic research has burgeoned, direct study of evolutionary and developmental processes has lagged. We advocate for reinvigoration of direct study of process, along with refocusing of attention on questions of broad biological import, as more productive of urgently needed insights, which genomic approaches are not providing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Travisano
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
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Selfish little circles: transmission bias and evolution of large deletion-bearing mitochondrial DNA in Caenorhabditis briggsae nematodes. PLoS One 2012; 7:e41433. [PMID: 22859984 PMCID: PMC3409194 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2012] [Accepted: 06/25/2012] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Selfish DNA poses a significant challenge to genome stability and organismal fitness in diverse eukaryotic lineages. Although selfish mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has known associations with cytoplasmic male sterility in numerous gynodioecious plant species and is manifested as petite mutants in experimental yeast lab populations, examples of selfish mtDNA in animals are less common. We analyzed the inheritance and evolution of mitochondrial DNA bearing large heteroplasmic deletions including nad5 gene sequences (nad5Δ mtDNA), in the nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae. The deletion is widespread in C. briggsae natural populations and is associated with deleterious organismal effects. We studied the inheritance patterns of nad5Δ mtDNA using eight sets of C. briggsae mutation-accumulation (MA) lines, each initiated from a different natural strain progenitor and bottlenecked as single hermaphrodites across generations. We observed a consistent and strong drive toward higher levels of deletion-bearing molecules in the heteroplasmic pool of mtDNA after ten generations of bottlenecking. Our results demonstrate a uniform transmission bias whereby nad5Δ mtDNA accumulates to higher levels relative to intact mtDNA in multiple genetically diverse natural strains of C. briggsae. We calculated an average 1% per-generation transmission bias for deletion-bearing mtDNA relative to intact genomes. Our study, coupled with known deleterious phenotypes associated with high deletion levels, shows that nad5Δ mtDNA are selfish genetic elements that have evolved in natural populations of C. briggsae, offering a powerful new system to study selfish mtDNA dynamics in metazoans.
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