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Walsh ME, King GA, Ünal E. Not just binary: embracing the complexity of nuclear division dynamics. Nucleus 2024; 15:2360601. [PMID: 38842147 PMCID: PMC11164224 DOI: 10.1080/19491034.2024.2360601] [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: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Cell division presents a challenge for eukaryotic cells: how can chromosomes effectively segregate within the confines of a membranous nuclear compartment? Different organisms have evolved diverse solutions by modulating the degree of nuclear compartmentalization, ranging from complete nuclear envelope breakdown to complete maintenance of nuclear compartmentalization via nuclear envelope expansion. Many intermediate forms exist between these extremes, suggesting that nuclear dynamics during cell division are surprisingly plastic. In this review, we highlight the evolutionary diversity of nuclear divisions, focusing on two defining characteristics: (1) chromosome compartmentalization and (2) nucleocytoplasmic transport. Further, we highlight recent evidence that nuclear behavior during division can vary within different cellular contexts in the same organism. The variation observed within and between organisms underscores the dynamic evolution of nuclear divisions tailored to specific contexts and cellular requirements. In-depth investigation of diverse nuclear divisions will enhance our understanding of the nucleus, both in physiological and pathological states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison E. Walsh
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Barker Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Grant A. King
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Barker Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Elçin Ünal
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Barker Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
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2
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Pinello JF, Loidl J, Seltzer ES, Cassidy-Hanley D, Kolbin D, Abdelatif A, Rey FA, An R, Newberger NJ, Bisharyan Y, Papoyan H, Byun H, Aguilar HC, Lai AL, Freed JH, Maugel T, Cole ES, Clark TG. Novel requirements for HAP2/GCS1-mediated gamete fusion in Tetrahymena. iScience 2024; 27:110146. [PMID: 38904066 PMCID: PMC11187246 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The ancestral gamete fusion protein, HAP2/GCS1, plays an essential role in fertilization in a broad range of taxa. To identify factors that may regulate HAP2/GCS1 activity, we screened mutants of the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila for behaviors that mimic Δhap2/gcs1 knockout phenotypes in this species. Using this approach, we identified two new genes, GFU1 and GFU2, whose products are necessary for membrane pore formation following mating type recognition and adherence. GFU2 is predicted to be a single-pass transmembrane protein, while GFU1, though lacking obvious transmembrane domains, has the potential to interact directly with membrane phospholipids in the cytoplasm. Like Tetrahymena HAP2/GCS1, expression of GFU1 is required in both cells of a mating pair for efficient fusion to occur. To explain these bilateral requirements, we propose a model that invokes cooperativity between the fusion machinery on apposed membranes of mating cells and accounts for successful fertilization in Tetrahymena's multiple mating type system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer F. Pinello
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Josef Loidl
- Department of Chromosome Biology, Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ethan S. Seltzer
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Donna Cassidy-Hanley
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Daniel Kolbin
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Anhar Abdelatif
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Félix A. Rey
- Unité de Virologie Structurale, Institut Pasteur, 75724 Paris, France
- CNRS UMR 3569, 75724 Paris, France
| | - Rocky An
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Nicole J. Newberger
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Yelena Bisharyan
- Office of Technology Development, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Hayk Papoyan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Haewon Byun
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Hector C. Aguilar
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Alex L. Lai
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Jack H. Freed
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Timothy Maugel
- Department of Biology, Laboratory for Biological Ultrastructure, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Eric S. Cole
- Biology Department, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN 55057, USA
| | - Theodore G. Clark
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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3
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Hörandl E. Apomixis and the paradox of sex in plants. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2024; 134:1-18. [PMID: 38497809 PMCID: PMC11161571 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcae044] [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: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The predominance of sex in eukaryotes, despite the high costs of meiosis and mating, remains an evolutionary enigma. Many theories have been proposed, none of them being conclusive on its own, and they are, in part, not well applicable to land plants. Sexual reproduction is obligate in embryophytes for the great majority of species. SCOPE This review compares the main forms of sexual and asexual reproduction in ferns and angiosperms, based on the generation cycling of sporophyte and gametophyte (leaving vegetative propagation aside). The benefits of sexual reproduction for maintenance of genomic integrity in comparison to asexuality are discussed in the light of developmental, evolutionary, genetic and phylogenetic studies. CONCLUSIONS Asexual reproduction represents modifications of the sexual pathway, with various forms of facultative sexuality. For sexual land plants, meiosis provides direct DNA repair mechanisms for oxidative damage in reproductive tissues. The ploidy alternations of meiosis-syngamy cycles and prolonged multicellular stages in the haploid phase in the gametophytes provide a high efficiency of purifying selection against recessive deleterious mutations. Asexual lineages might buffer effects of such mutations via polyploidy and can purge the mutational load via facultative sexuality. The role of organelle-nuclear genome compatibility for maintenance of genome integrity is not well understood. In plants in general, the costs of mating are low because of predominant hermaphroditism. Phylogenetic patterns in the archaeplastid clade suggest that high frequencies of sexuality in land plants are concomitant with a stepwise increase of intrinsic and extrinsic stress factors. Furthermore, expansion of genome size in land plants would increase the potential mutational load. Sexual reproduction appears to be essential for keeping long-term genomic integrity, and only rare combinations of extrinsic and intrinsic factors allow for shifts to asexuality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvira Hörandl
- Department of Systematics, Biodiversity and Evolution of Plants (with herbarium), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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4
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Krueger-Hadfield SA. Let's talk about sex: Why reproductive systems matter for understanding algae. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2024; 60:581-597. [PMID: 38743848 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13462] [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: 03/28/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Sex is a crucial process that has molecular, genetic, cellular, organismal, and population-level consequences for eukaryotic evolution. Eukaryotic life cycles are composed of alternating haploid and diploid phases but are constrained by the need to accommodate the phenotypes of these different phases. Critical gaps in our understanding of evolutionary drivers of the diversity in algae life cycles include how selection acts to stabilize and change features of the life cycle. Moreover, most eukaryotes are partially clonal, engaging in both sexual and asexual reproduction. Yet, our understanding of the variation in their reproductive systems is largely based on sexual reproduction in animals or angiosperms. The relative balance of sexual versus asexual reproduction not only controls but also is in turn controlled by standing genetic variability, thereby shaping evolutionary trajectories. Thus, we must quantitatively assess the consequences of the variation in life cycles on reproductive systems. Algae are a polyphyletic group spread across many of the major eukaryotic lineages, providing powerful models by which to resolve this knowledge gap. There is, however, an alarming lack of data about the population genetics of most algae and, therefore, the relative frequency of sexual versus asexual processes. For many algae, the occurrence of sexual reproduction is unknown, observations have been lost in overlooked papers, or data on population genetics do not yet exist. This greatly restricts our ability to forecast the consequences of climate change on algal populations inhabiting terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems. This perspective summarizes our extant knowledge and provides some future directions to pursue broadly across micro- and macroalgal species.
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5
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Kurth-Nelson Z, Sullivan S, Leibo JZ, Guitart-Masip M. Dynamic diversity is the answer to proxy failure. Behav Brain Sci 2024; 47:e77. [PMID: 38738350 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x23002923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
We argue that a diverse and dynamic pool of agents mitigates proxy failure. Proxy modularity plays a key role in the ongoing production of diversity. We review examples from a range of scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeb Kurth-Nelson
- Google DeepMind, London, UK
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - Steve Sullivan
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | | | - Marc Guitart-Masip
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK
- Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Center for Psychiatry Research, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden. Center for Cognitive
- Computational Neuropsychiatry (CCNP), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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6
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Wilson CG, Pieszko T, Nowell RW, Barraclough TG. Recombination in bdelloid rotifer genomes: asexuality, transfer and stress. Trends Genet 2024; 40:422-436. [PMID: 38458877 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2024.02.001] [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: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
Bdelloid rotifers constitute a class of microscopic animals living in freshwater habitats worldwide. Several strange features of bdelloids have drawn attention: their ability to tolerate desiccation and other stresses, a lack of reported males across the clade despite centuries of study, and unusually high numbers of horizontally acquired, non-metazoan genes. Genome sequencing is transforming our understanding of their lifestyle and its consequences, while in turn providing wider insights about recombination and genome organisation in animals. Many questions remain, not least how to reconcile apparent genomic signatures of sex with the continued absence of reported males, why bdelloids have so many horizontally acquired genes, and how their remarkable ability to survive stress interacts with recombination and other genomic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher G Wilson
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK.
| | - Tymoteusz Pieszko
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Reuben W Nowell
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Ashworth Laboratories, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK; Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
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7
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van der Gulik PTS, Hoff WD, Speijer D. The contours of evolution: In defence of Darwin's tree of life paradigm. Bioessays 2024; 46:e2400012. [PMID: 38436469 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202400012] [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: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Both the concept of a Darwinian tree of life (TOL) and the possibility of its accurate reconstruction have been much criticized. Criticisms mostly revolve around the extensive occurrence of lateral gene transfer (LGT), instances of uptake of complete organisms to become organelles (with the associated subsequent gene transfer to the nucleus), as well as the implications of more subtle aspects of the biological species concept. Here we argue that none of these criticisms are sufficient to abandon the valuable TOL concept and the biological realities it captures. Especially important is the need to conceptually distinguish between organismal trees and gene trees, which necessitates incorporating insights of widely occurring LGT into modern evolutionary theory. We demonstrate that all criticisms, while based on important new findings, do not invalidate the TOL. After considering the implications of these new insights, we find that the contours of evolution are best represented by a TOL.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wouter D Hoff
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Dave Speijer
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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8
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Ma Y, Yan G, Zhang J, Xiong J, Miao W. Cip1, a CDK regulator, determines heterothallic mating or homothallic selfing in a protist. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2315531121. [PMID: 38498704 PMCID: PMC10990102 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2315531121] [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: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Mating type (sex) plays a crucial role in regulating sexual reproduction in most extant eukaryotes. One of the functions of mating types is ensuring self-incompatibility to some extent, thereby promoting genetic diversity. However, heterothallic mating is not always the best mating strategy. For example, in low-density populations or specific environments, such as parasitic ones, species may need to increase the ratio of potential mating partners. Consequently, many species allow homothallic selfing (i.e., self-fertility or intraclonal mating). Throughout the extensive evolutionary history of species, changes in environmental conditions have influenced mating strategies back and forth. However, the mechanisms through which mating-type recognition regulates sexual reproduction and the dynamics of mating strategy throughout evolution remain poorly understood. In this study, we show that the Cip1 protein is responsible for coupling sexual reproduction initiation to mating-type recognition in the protozoal eukaryote Tetrahymena thermophila. Deletion of the Cip1 protein leads to the loss of the selfing-avoidance function of mating-type recognition, resulting in selfing without mating-type recognition. Further experiments revealed that Cip1 is a regulatory subunit of the Cdk19-Cyc9 complex, which controls the initiation of sexual reproduction. These results reveal a mechanism that regulates the choice between mating and selfing. This mechanism also contributes to the debate about the ancestral state of sexual reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Ma
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
| | - Guanxiong Yan
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
| | - Jie Xiong
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
- Key Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
| | - Wei Miao
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
- College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
- Key laboratory of Lake and Watershed Science for Water Security, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing210000, China
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan430000, China
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9
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Ruggiero MV, Buffoli M, Wolf KKE, D'Alelio D, Di Tuccio V, Lombardi E, Manfellotto F, Vitale L, Margiotta F, Sarno D, John U, Ferrante MI, Montresor M. Multiannual patterns of genetic structure and mating type ratios highlight the complex bloom dynamics of a marine planktonic diatom. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6028. [PMID: 38472358 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56292-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the genetic structure of populations and the processes responsible for its spatial and temporal dynamics is vital for assessing species' adaptability and survival in changing environments. We investigate the genetic fingerprinting of blooming populations of the marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata in the Gulf of Naples (Mediterranean Sea) from 2008 to 2020. Strains were genotyped using microsatellite fingerprinting and natural samples were also analysed with Microsatellite Pool-seq Barcoding based on Illumina sequencing of microsatellite loci. Both approaches revealed a clonal expansion event in 2013 and a more stable genetic structure during 2017-2020 compared to previous years. The identification of a mating type (MT) determination gene allowed to assign MT to strains isolated over the years. MTs were generally at equilibrium with two notable exceptions, including the clonal bloom of 2013. The populations exhibited linkage equilibrium in most blooms, indicating that sexual reproduction leads to genetic homogenization. Our findings show that P. multistriata blooms exhibit a dynamic genetic and demographic composition over time, most probably determined by deeper-layer cell inocula. Occasional clonal expansions and MT imbalances can potentially affect the persistence and ecological success of planktonic diatoms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marina Buffoli
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Klara K E Wolf
- Institut für Marine Ökosystem- und Fischereiwissenschaften, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- Limnological Institute, Environmental Genomics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Domenico D'Alelio
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Viviana Di Tuccio
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Ernestina Lombardi
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Francesco Manfellotto
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Vitale
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Francesca Margiotta
- Department of Research Infrastructures for Marine Biological Resources, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Diana Sarno
- Department of Research Infrastructures for Marine Biological Resources, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Uwe John
- Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
- Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Maria Immacolata Ferrante
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
- Oceanography Section, National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, Trieste, Italy
| | - Marina Montresor
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy.
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10
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Sun S, Defosse T, Boyd A, Sop J, Verderose F, Surray D, Aziz M, Howland M, Wu S, Changela N, Jang J, Schindler K, Xing J, McKim KS. Whole transcriptome screening for novel genes involved in meiosis and fertility in Drosophila melanogaster. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3602. [PMID: 38351116 PMCID: PMC10864285 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53346-z] [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: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Reproductive success requires the development of viable oocytes and the accurate segregation of chromosomes during meiosis. Failure to segregate chromosomes properly can lead to infertility, miscarriages, or developmental disorders. A variety of factors contribute to accurate chromosome segregation and oocyte development, such as spindle assembly and sister chromatid cohesion. However, many proteins required for meiosis remain unknown. In this study, we aimed to develop a screening pipeline for identifying novel meiotic and fertility genes using the genome of Drosophila melanogaster. To accomplish this goal, genes upregulated within meiotically active tissues were identified. More than 240 genes with no known function were silenced using RNA interference (RNAi) and the effects on meiosis and fertility were assessed. We identified 94 genes that when silenced caused infertility and/or high levels of chromosomal nondisjunction. The vast majority of these genes have human and mouse homologs that are also poorly studied. Through this screening process, we identified novel genes that are crucial for meiosis and oocyte development but have not been extensively studied in human or model organisms. Understanding the function of these genes will be an important step towards the understanding of their biological significance during reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siqi Sun
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Tyler Defosse
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Ayla Boyd
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Joel Sop
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Faith Verderose
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Diya Surray
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Mark Aziz
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Margaret Howland
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Siwen Wu
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Neha Changela
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Janet Jang
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Karen Schindler
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA
- Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Jinchuan Xing
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
- Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA.
| | - Kim S McKim
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA.
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11
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Lacy KD, Hart T, Kronauer DJ. Unselfish meiotic drive maintains heterozygosity in a parthenogenetic ant. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.09.579553. [PMID: 38405725 PMCID: PMC10888755 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.09.579553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
According to Mendel's second law, chromosomes segregate randomly in meiosis. Nonrandom segregation is primarily known for cases of selfish meiotic drive in females, in which particular alleles bias their own transmission into the oocyte1,2. Here, we report a rare example of unselfish meiotic drive for crossover inheritance in the clonal raider ant, Ooceraea biroi. This species produces diploid offspring parthenogenetically via fusion of two haploid nuclei from the same meiosis3. This process should cause rapid genotypic degeneration due to loss of heterozygosity, which results if crossover recombination is followed by random (Mendelian) segregation of chromosomes4,5. However, by comparing whole genomes of mothers and daughters, we show that loss of heterozygosity is exceedingly rare, raising the possibility that crossovers are infrequent or absent in O. biroi meiosis. Using a combination of cytology and whole genome sequencing, we show that crossover recombination is, in fact, common, but that loss of heterozygosity is avoided because crossover products are faithfully co-inherited. This results from a programmed violation of Mendel's law of segregation, such that crossover products segregate together rather than randomly. This discovery highlights an extreme example of cellular "memory" of crossovers, which could be a common yet cryptic feature of chromosomal segregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kip D. Lacy
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Taylor Hart
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Daniel J.C. Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY, USA
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12
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Romero H, Aguilar PS, Graña M, Langleib M, Gudiño V, Podbilewicz B. Membrane fusion and fission during eukaryogenesis. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2024; 86:102321. [PMID: 38219525 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2023.102321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
All eukaryotes can be traced back to a single shared ancestral lineage that emerged from interactions between different prokaryotic cells. Current models of eukaryogenesis describe various selective forces and evolutionary mechanisms that contributed to the formation of eukaryotic cells. Central to this process were significant changes in cellular structure, resulting in the configuration of a new cell type characterized by internal membrane compartments. Additionally, eukaryogenesis results in a life cycle that relies on cell-cell fusion. We discuss the potential roles of proteins involved in remodeling cellular membranes, highlighting two critical stages in the evolution of eukaryotes: the internalization of symbiotic partners and a scenario wherein the emergence of sexual reproduction is linked to a polyploid ancestor generated by cell-cell fusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Héctor Romero
- Laboratorio de Genómica Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias/CURE, Universidad de la República, Uruguay; Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencia de Datos y Aprendizaje Automático (CICADA), Espacio Interdisciplinario, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
| | - Pablo S Aguilar
- Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Martin Graña
- Unidad de Bioinformática, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Mauricio Langleib
- Laboratorio de Genómica Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias/CURE, Universidad de la República, Uruguay; Unidad de Bioinformática, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Virginia Gudiño
- Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Benjamin Podbilewicz
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Instituto de Fisiología Celular, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
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13
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Li T, Zhu S, Li Y, Yao J, Wang C, Fang S, Pan J, Chen W, Zhang Y. Characteristic of GEX1 genes reveals the essential roles for reproduction in cotton. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 253:127645. [PMID: 37879575 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.127645] [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: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
GEX1 (gamete expressed 1) proteins are critical membrane proteins conserved among flowering plants that are involved in the nuclear fusion and embryonic development. Herein, we identified the 32 GEX1 proteins from representative land plants. In cotton, GEX1 genes expressed in various tissues across all stages of the life cycle, especially in pollen. Subcellular localization indicated the position of GhGEX1 protein was localized in the endoplasmic reticulum. Experimental research has demonstrated that GhGEX1 has the potential to improve the partial abortion phenotype in Arabidopsis. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of GhGEX1 exhibited the seed abortion. Paraffin section of the ovule revealed that the polar nuclear fusion of ghgex1 plants remains at a standstill when the wild type has developed into a normal embryo. Comparative transcriptome analysis showed that the DEGs of reproductive-related processes and membrane-related processes were repressed in the pollen of knockout lines. The predicted protein interactions showed that GhGEX1 probably functioned through interactions with proteins related to reproduction and membrane. From all these investigations, it was possible to conclude that the GEX1 proteins are evolutionarily conserved in flowering plants and elucidated the pivotal roles during fertilization and early embryonic development in cotton.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tengyu Li
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Anyang 455000, China; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Shouhong Zhu
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Anyang 455000, China
| | - Yan Li
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Anyang 455000, China
| | - Jinbo Yao
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Anyang 455000, China
| | - Chenlei Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Anyang 455000, China
| | - Shengtao Fang
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Anyang 455000, China
| | - Jingwen Pan
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Anyang 455000, China
| | - Wei Chen
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Anyang 455000, China.
| | - Yongshan Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Anyang 455000, China.
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14
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Catta-Preta CMC, Ferreira TR, Ghosh K, Paun A, Sacks D. HOP1 and HAP2 are conserved components of the meiosis-related machinery required for successful mating in Leishmania. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7159. [PMID: 37935664 PMCID: PMC10630298 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42789-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Whole genome analysis of Leishmania hybrids generated experimentally in sand flies supports a meiotic mechanism of genetic exchange, with Mendelian segregation of the nuclear genome. Here, we perform functional analyses through the generation of double drug-resistant hybrids in vitro and in vivo (during sand fly infections) to assess the importance of conserved meiosis-related genes in recombination and plasmogamy. We report that HOP1 and a HAP2-paralog (HAP2-2) are essential components of the Leishmania meiosis machinery and cell-to-cell fusion mechanism, respectively, since deletion of either gene in one or both parents significantly reduces or completely abrogates mating competence. These findings significantly advance our understanding of sexual reproduction in Leishmania, with likely relevance to other trypanosomatids, by formally demonstrating the involvement of a meiotic protein homolog and a distinct fusogen that mediates non-canonical, bilateral fusion in the hybridizing cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Moura Costa Catta-Preta
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Tiago Rodrigues Ferreira
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kashinath Ghosh
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Andrea Paun
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - David Sacks
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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15
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Silva MG, Bastos RG, Laughery JM, Alzan HF, Rathinasamy VA, Cooke BM, Suarez CE. Vaccination of cattle with the Babesia bovis sexual-stage protein HAP2 abrogates parasite transmission by Rhipicephalus microplus ticks. NPJ Vaccines 2023; 8:140. [PMID: 37758790 PMCID: PMC10533483 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-023-00741-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The apicomplexan parasite Babesia bovis is responsible for bovine babesiosis, a poorly controlled tick-borne disease of global impact. The widely conserved gametocyte protein HAPLESS2/GCS1 (HAP2) is uniquely expressed on the surface of B. bovis sexual stage parasites and is a candidate for transmission-blocking vaccines (TBV). Here, we tested whether vaccination of calves with recombinant HAP2 (rHAP2) interferes with the transmission of B. bovis by competent ticks. Calves vaccinated with rHAP2 (n = 3), but not control animals (n = 3) developed antibodies specific to the vaccine antigen. Vaccinated and control animals were infested with Rhipicephalus microplus larvae and subsequently infected with virulent blood stage B. bovis parasites by needle inoculation, with all animals developing clinical signs of acute babesiosis. Engorged female ticks fed on the infected calves were collected for oviposition, hatching, and obtention of larvae. Transmission feeding was then conducted using pools of larvae derived from ticks fed on rHAP2-vaccinated or control calves. Recipient calves (n = 3) exposed to larvae derived from control animals, but none of the recipient calves (n = 3) challenged with larvae from ticks fed on rHAP2-vaccinated animals, developed signs of acute babesiosis within 11 days after tick infestation. Antibodies against B. bovis antigens and parasite DNA were found in all control recipient animals, but not in any of the calves exposed to larvae derived from HAP2-vaccinated animals, consistent with the absence of B. bovis infection via tick transmission. Overall, our results are consistent with the abrogation of parasite tick transmission in rHAP2-vaccinated calves, confirming this antigen as a prime TBV candidate against B. bovis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta G Silva
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Reginaldo G Bastos
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
- Animal Disease Research Unit, United States Department of Agricultural - Agricultural Research Service, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Jacob M Laughery
- Animal Disease Research Unit, United States Department of Agricultural - Agricultural Research Service, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Heba F Alzan
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
- Parasitology and Animal Diseases Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt
| | - Vignesh A Rathinasamy
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia
| | - Brian M Cooke
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia
| | - Carlos E Suarez
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
- Animal Disease Research Unit, United States Department of Agricultural - Agricultural Research Service, Pullman, WA, USA.
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16
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Gollo G. On the emergence of eukaryotes and other enigmas. Biosystems 2023; 231:104958. [PMID: 37442362 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2023.104958] [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: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 05/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
The origin of eukaryotes is one of the most fundamental problems in the entire history of life. How did eukaryotes arise? Previous attempts to solve the problem are very far from an answer, at best they propose a solution to one of the various innovations that ended up culminating in eukaryotes. Based on a hypothetical-deductive methodology, as usual in evolutionary issues, I propose that eukaryotes emerged from the endosymbiotic association between a flagellate parasite and its host, of which the sperm is the main vestige. The hypothesis unifies the solution to the vast array of acquisitions shared by eukaryotes that differentiate them from other beings, remarkably cell nucleus, mitosis, meiosis and sexual reproduction. The solution has a deep impact on understanding the origin and functioning of all complex life forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo Gollo
- Universidade de Brasília, Eecologia, Brasilia, DF, Brazil.
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17
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Rybnikov SR, Frenkel Z, Hübner S, Weissman DB, Korol AB. Modeling the evolution of recombination plasticity: A prospective review. Bioessays 2023; 45:e2200237. [PMID: 37246937 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202200237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Meiotic recombination is one of the main sources of genetic variation, a fundamental factor in the evolutionary adaptation of sexual eukaryotes. Yet, the role of variation in recombination rate and other recombination features remains underexplored. In this review, we focus on the sensitivity of recombination rates to different extrinsic and intrinsic factors. We briefly present the empirical evidence for recombination plasticity in response to environmental perturbations and/or poor genetic background and discuss theoretical models developed to explain how such plasticity could have evolved and how it can affect important population characteristics. We highlight a gap between the evidence, which comes mostly from experiments with diploids, and theory, which typically assumes haploid selection. Finally, we formulate open questions whose solving would help to outline conditions favoring recombination plasticity. This will contribute to answering the long-standing question of why sexual recombination exists despite its costs, since plastic recombination may be evolutionary advantageous even in selection regimes rejecting any non-zero constant recombination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sviatoslav R Rybnikov
- Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Zeev Frenkel
- Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Sariel Hübner
- Galilee Research Institute (MIGAL), Tel-Hai College, Kiryat Shmona, Israel
| | | | - Abraham B Korol
- Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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18
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Uchida M, Konishi T, Fujigasaki A, Kita K, Arie T, Teraoka T, Kanda Y, Mori M, Arazoe T, Kamakura T. Dysfunctional Pro1 leads to female sterility in rice blast fungi. iScience 2023; 26:107020. [PMID: 37416480 PMCID: PMC10320130 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Although sexual reproduction is widespread in eukaryotes, some fungal species can only reproduce asexually. In the rice blast fungus Pyricularia (Magnaporthe) oryzae, several isolates from the region of origin retain mating ability, but most isolates are female sterile. Therefore, female fertility may have been lost during its spread from the origin. Here, we show that functional mutations of Pro1, a global transcriptional regulator of mating-related genes in filamentous fungi, is one cause of loss of female fertility in this fungus. We identified the mutation of Pro1 by backcrossing analysis between female-fertile and female-sterile isolates. The dysfunctional Pro1 did not affect the infection processes but conidial release was increased. Furthermore, various mutations in Pro1 were detected in geographically distant P. oryzae, including pandemic isolates of wheat blast fungus. These results provide the first evidence that loss of female fertility may be advantageous to the life cycle of some plant pathogenic fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Momotaka Uchida
- Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan
| | - Takahiro Konishi
- Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan
| | - Ayaka Fujigasaki
- Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan
| | - Kohtetsu Kita
- Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Arie
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), 3-5-8 Saiwai-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-0054, Japan
| | - Tohru Teraoka
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), 3-5-8 Saiwai-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-0054, Japan
| | - Yasukazu Kanda
- Division of Plant Molecular Regulation Research, Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, NARO (NIAS), 2-1-2 Kan-nondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8602, Japan
| | - Masaki Mori
- Division of Plant Molecular Regulation Research, Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, NARO (NIAS), 2-1-2 Kan-nondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8602, Japan
| | - Takayuki Arazoe
- Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan
| | - Takashi Kamakura
- Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan
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19
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López-García P, Moreira D. The symbiotic origin of the eukaryotic cell. C R Biol 2023; 346:55-73. [PMID: 37254790 DOI: 10.5802/crbiol.118] [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: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Eukaryogenesis represented a major evolutionary transition that led to the emergence of complex cells from simpler ancestors. For several decades, the most accepted scenario involved the evolution of an independent lineage of proto-eukaryotes endowed with an endomembrane system, including a nuclear compartment, a developed cytoskeleton and phagocytosis, which engulfed the alphaproteobacterial ancestor of mitochondria. However, the recent discovery by metagenomic and cultural approaches of Asgard archaea, which harbour many genes in common with eukaryotes and are their closest relatives in phylogenomic trees, rather supports scenarios based on the symbiosis of one Asgard-like archaeon and one or more bacteria at the origin of the eukaryotic cell. Here, we review the recent discoveries that led to this conceptual shift, briefly evoking current models of eukaryogenesis and the challenges ahead to discriminate between them and to establish a detailed, plausible scenario that accounts for the evolution of eukaryotic traits from those of their prokaryotic ancestors.
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20
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Niccolò T, Anderson AW, Emidio A. Apomixis: oh, what a tangled web we have! PLANTA 2023; 257:92. [PMID: 37000270 PMCID: PMC10066125 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-023-04124-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Apomixis is a complex evolutionary trait with many possible origins. Here we discuss various clues and causes, ultimately proposing a model harmonizing the three working hypotheses on the topic. Asexual reproduction through seeds, i.e., apomixis, is the holy grail of plant biology. Its implementation in modern breeding could be a game-changer for agriculture. It has the potential to generate clonal crops and maintain valuable complex genotypes and their associated heterotic traits without inbreeding depression. The genetic basis and origins of apomixis are still unclear. There are three central hypothesis for the development of apomixis that could be: i) a deviation from the sexual developmental program caused by an asynchronous development, ii) environmentally triggered through epigenetic regulations (a polyphenism of sex), iii) relying on one or more genes/alleles. Because of the ever-increasing complexity of the topic, the path toward a detailed understanding of the mechanisms underlying apomixis remains unclear. Here, we discuss the most recent advances in the evolution perspective of this multifaceted trait. We incorporated our understanding of the effect of endogenous effectors, such as small RNAs, epigenetic regulation, hormonal pathways, protein turnover, and cell wall modification in response to an upside stress. This can be either endogenous (hybridization or polyploidization) or exogenous environmental stress, mainly due to oxidative stress and the corresponding ROS (Reacting Oxygen Species) effectors. Finally, we graphically represented this tangled web.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terzaroli Niccolò
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121, Perugia, Italy.
| | - Aaron W Anderson
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121, Perugia, Italy
- Fulbright Scholar From Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, USA
| | - Albertini Emidio
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121, Perugia, Italy
- Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Biotecnologie (CIB), Trieste, Italy
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21
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Speijer D. How mitochondria showcase evolutionary mechanisms and the importance of oxygen. Bioessays 2023; 45:e2300013. [PMID: 36965057 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202300013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/27/2023]
Abstract
Darwinian evolution can be simply stated: natural selection of inherited variations increasing differential reproduction. However, formulated thus, links with biochemistry, cell biology, ecology, and population dynamics remain unclear. To understand interactive contributions of chance and selection, higher levels of biological organization (e.g., endosymbiosis), complexities of competing selection forces, and emerging biological novelties (such as eukaryotes or meiotic sex), we must analyze actual examples. Focusing on mitochondria, I will illuminate how biology makes sense of life's evolution, and the concepts involved. First, looking at the bacterium - mitochondrion transition: merging with an archaeon, it lost its independence, but played a decisive role in eukaryogenesis, as an extremely efficient aerobic ATP generator and internal ROS source. Second, surveying later mitochondrion adaptations and diversifications illustrates concepts such as constructive neutral evolution, dynamic interactions between endosymbionts and hosts, the contingency of life histories, and metabolic reprogramming. Without oxygen, mitochondria disappear; with (intermittent) oxygen diversification occurs in highly complex ways, especially upon (temporary) phototrophic substrate supply. These expositions show the Darwinian model to be a highly fruitful paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dave Speijer
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Amsterdam UMC location University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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22
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Yadav V, Sun S, Heitman J. On the evolution of variation in sexual reproduction through the prism of eukaryotic microbes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2219120120. [PMID: 36867686 PMCID: PMC10013875 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2219120120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Almost all eukaryotes undergo sexual reproduction to generate diversity and select for fitness in their population pools. Interestingly, the systems by which sex is defined are highly diverse and can even differ between evolutionarily closely related species. While the most commonly known form of sex determination involves males and females in animals, eukaryotic microbes can have as many as thousands of different mating types for the same species. Furthermore, some species have found alternatives to sexual reproduction and prefer to grow clonally and yet undergo infrequent facultative sexual reproduction. These organisms are mainly invertebrates and microbes, but several examples are also present among vertebrates suggesting that alternative modes of sexual reproduction evolved multiple times throughout evolution. In this review, we summarize the sex-determination modes and variants of sexual reproduction found across the eukaryotic tree of life and suggest that eukaryotic microbes provide unique opportunities to study these processes in detail. We propose that understanding variations in modes of sexual reproduction can serve as a foundation to study the evolution of sex and why and how it evolved in the first place.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikas Yadav
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC27710
| | - Sheng Sun
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC27710
| | - Joseph Heitman
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC27710
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23
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Bremer N, Tria FDK, Skejo J, Martin WF. The Ancestral Mitotic State: Closed Orthomitosis With Intranuclear Spindles in the Syncytial Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor. Genome Biol Evol 2023; 15:7031494. [PMID: 36752808 PMCID: PMC9985178 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
All eukaryotes have linear chromosomes that are distributed to daughter nuclei during mitotic division, but the ancestral state of nuclear division in the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA) is so far unresolved. To address this issue, we have employed ancestral state reconstructions for mitotic states that can be found across the eukaryotic tree concerning the intactness of the nuclear envelope during mitosis (open or closed), the position of spindles (intranuclear or extranuclear), and the symmetry of spindles being either axial (orthomitosis) or bilateral (pleuromitosis). The data indicate that the LECA possessed closed orthomitosis with intranuclear spindles. Our reconstruction is compatible with recent findings indicating a syncytial state of the LECA, because it decouples three main processes: chromosome division, chromosome partitioning, and cell division (cytokinesis). The possession of closed mitosis using intranuclear spindles adds to the number of cellular traits that can now be attributed to LECA, providing insights into the lifestyle of this otherwise elusive biological entity at the origin of eukaryotic cells. Closed mitosis in a syncytial eukaryotic common ancestor would buffer mutations arising at the origin of mitotic division by allowing nuclei with viable chromosome sets to complement defective nuclei via mRNA in the cytosol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nico Bremer
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Fernando D K Tria
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Josip Skejo
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - William F Martin
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
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24
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Raval PK, Garg SG, Gould SB. Endosymbiotic selective pressure at the origin of eukaryotic cell biology. eLife 2022; 11:e81033. [PMID: 36355038 PMCID: PMC9648965 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The dichotomy that separates prokaryotic from eukaryotic cells runs deep. The transition from pro- to eukaryote evolution is poorly understood due to a lack of reliable intermediate forms and definitions regarding the nature of the first host that could no longer be considered a prokaryote, the first eukaryotic common ancestor, FECA. The last eukaryotic common ancestor, LECA, was a complex cell that united all traits characterising eukaryotic biology including a mitochondrion. The role of the endosymbiotic organelle in this radical transition towards complex life forms is, however, sometimes questioned. In particular the discovery of the asgard archaea has stimulated discussions regarding the pre-endosymbiotic complexity of FECA. Here we review differences and similarities among models that view eukaryotic traits as isolated coincidental events in asgard archaeal evolution or, on the contrary, as a result of and in response to endosymbiosis. Inspecting eukaryotic traits from the perspective of the endosymbiont uncovers that eukaryotic cell biology can be explained as having evolved as a solution to housing a semi-autonomous organelle and why the addition of another endosymbiont, the plastid, added no extra compartments. Mitochondria provided the selective pressures for the origin (and continued maintenance) of eukaryotic cell complexity. Moreover, they also provided the energetic benefit throughout eukaryogenesis for evolving thousands of gene families unique to eukaryotes. Hence, a synthesis of the current data lets us conclude that traits such as the Golgi apparatus, the nucleus, autophagosomes, and meiosis and sex evolved as a response to the selective pressures an endosymbiont imposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parth K Raval
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich-Heine-University DüsseldorfDusseldorfGermany
| | - Sriram G Garg
- Evolutionary Biochemistry Group, Max-Planck Institute for Terrestrial MicrobiologyMarburgGermany
| | - Sven B Gould
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich-Heine-University DüsseldorfDusseldorfGermany
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25
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Genome-wide quantification of contributions to sexual fitness identifies genes required for spore viability and health in fission yeast. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010462. [DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous genes required for sexual reproduction remain to be identified even in simple model species like Schizosaccharomyces pombe. To address this, we developed an assay in S. pombe that couples transposon mutagenesis with high-throughput sequencing (TN-seq) to quantitatively measure the fitness contribution of nonessential genes across the genome to sexual reproduction. This approach identified 532 genes that contribute to sex, including more than 200 that were not previously annotated to be involved in the process, of which more than 150 have orthologs in vertebrates. Among our verified hits was an uncharacterized gene, ifs1 (important for sex), that is required for spore viability. In two other hits, plb1 and alg9, we observed a novel mutant phenotype of poor spore health wherein viable spores are produced, but the spores exhibit low fitness and are rapidly outcompeted by wild type. Finally, we fortuitously discovered that a gene previously thought to be essential, sdg1 (social distancing gene), is instead required for growth at low cell densities and can be rescued by conditioned medium. Our assay will be valuable in further studies of sexual reproduction in S. pombe and identifies multiple candidate genes that could contribute to sexual reproduction in other eukaryotes, including humans.
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26
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Snell WJ. Uncovering an ancestral green ménage à trois: Contributions of Chlamydomonas to the discovery of a broadly conserved triad of plant fertilization proteins. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 69:102275. [PMID: 36007296 PMCID: PMC9899528 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2022.102275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
During sexual reproduction in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas, gametes undergo the conserved cellular events that define fertilization across the tree of life. After initial ciliary adhesion, plus and minus gametes attach to each other at plasma membrane sites specialized for fusion, their bilayers merge, and cell coalescence into a quadri-ciliated cell signals for nuclear fusion. Recent findings show that these conserved cellular events are driven by 3 conserved protein families, FUS1/GEX2, HAP2/GCS1, and KAR5/GEX1. New results also show that species-specific recognition in Chlamydomonas activates the ancestral, viral-like fusogen HAP2 to drive fusion; that the conserved nuclear envelope fusion protein KAR5/GEX1 is also essential for nuclear fusion in Arabidopsis; and that heterodimerization of BELL-KNOX proteins signals for nuclear fusion in Chlamydomonas through early diverging land plants. This review outlines how Chlamydomonas's Janus-like position in evolution along with the ease of working with its gametes have revealed broadly conserved mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- William J Snell
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
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27
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Lin S, Yu L, Wu X, Li M, Zhang Y, Luo H, Li H, Li T, Li L. Active meiosis during dinoflagellate blooms: A 'sex for proliferation' hypothesis. HARMFUL ALGAE 2022; 118:102307. [PMID: 36195414 DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2022.102307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In dinoflagellates, sexual reproduction is best known to be induced by adverse environmental conditions and culminate in encystment for survival ('sex for encystment'). Although increasing laboratory observations indicate that sex can lead to production of vegetative cells bypassing encystment, the occurrence of this alternative pathway in natural populations and its ecological roles remain poorly understood. Here we report evidence that sex in dinoflagellates can potentially be an instrument for bloom proliferation or extension. By bloom metatranscriptome profiling, we documented elevated expression of meiosis genes in two evolutionarily distinct species (Prorocentrum shikokuense and Karenia mikimotoi) during bloom, a timing unexpected of the 'sex for encystment' scenario. To link these genes to meiosis, we induced encystment and cyst germination in the cyst-forming species Scrippsiella acuminata, and found that five of these genes were upregulated during cyst germination, when meiosis occurs. Integrating data from all three species revealed that SPO11, MND1, and DMC1 were likely common between cyst-forming and non-encysting sex in dinoflagellates. Furthermore, flow cytometric analyses revealed consecutive rounds of DNA halving during blooms of P. shikokuense and K. mikimotoi, evidencing meiosis. These data provided novel evidence that sexual reproduction in dinoflagellates might serve to promote cell proliferation, and along with the consequent enhancement of genetic diversity facilitating resistance against pathogens and environmental stress, to boost or extend a bloom ('sex for proliferation'). The putative meiosis-specific genes and insights reported here will prove to be helpful for rigorously testing the hypothesis and addressing whether the two modes of sex are genetically predisposed (i.e. species-specific) or environmentally induced (switchable within species), and if the latter what triggers the switch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Senjie Lin
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT 06340, USA.
| | - Liying Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Xiaomei Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Meizhen Li
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Yaqun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Hao Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Hongfei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Tangcheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Ling Li
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
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Repeat sequences limit the effectiveness of lateral gene transfer and favored the evolution of meiotic sex in early eukaryotes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2205041119. [PMID: 35994648 PMCID: PMC9436333 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2205041119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The transition from prokaryotic lateral gene transfer to eukaryotic meiotic sex is poorly understood. Phylogenetic evidence suggests that it was tightly linked to eukaryogenesis, which involved an unprecedented rise in both genome size and the density of genetic repeats. Expansion of genome size raised the severity of Muller's ratchet, while limiting the effectiveness of lateral gene transfer (LGT) at purging deleterious mutations. In principle, an increase in recombination length combined with higher rates of LGT could solve this problem. Here, we show using a computational model that this solution fails in the presence of genetic repeats prevalent in early eukaryotes. The model demonstrates that dispersed repeat sequences allow ectopic recombination, which leads to the loss of genetic information and curtails the capacity of LGT to prevent mutation accumulation. Increasing recombination length in the presence of repeat sequences exacerbates the problem. Mutational decay can only be resisted with homology along extended sequences of DNA. We conclude that the transition to homologous pairing along linear chromosomes was a key innovation in meiotic sex, which was instrumental in the expansion of eukaryotic genomes and morphological complexity.
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Pierre JS, Stoeckel S, Wajnberg E. The advantage of sex: Reinserting fluctuating selection in the pluralist approach. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0272134. [PMID: 35917359 PMCID: PMC9345338 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The advantage of sex, and its fixation in some clades and species all over the eukaryote tree of life, is considered an evolutionary enigma, especially regarding its assumed two-fold cost. Several likely hypotheses have been proposed such as (1) a better response to the negative frequency-dependent selection imposed by the “Red Queen” hypothesis; (2) the competition between siblings induced by the Tangled Bank hypothesis; (3) the existence of genetic and of (4) ecological factors that can diminish the cost of sex to less than the standard assumed two-fold; and (5) a better maintenance of genetic diversity and its resulting phenotypic variation, providing a selective advantage in randomly fluctuating environments. While these hypotheses have mostly been studied separately, they can also act simultaneously. This was advocated by several studies which presented a pluralist point of view. Only three among the five causes cited above were considered yet in such a framework: the Red Queen hypothesis, the Tangled Bank and the genetic factors lowering the cost of sex. We thus simulated the evolution of a finite mutating population undergoing negative frequency-dependent selection on phenotypes and a two-fold (or less) cost of sexuality, experiencing randomly fluctuating selection along generations. The individuals inherited their reproductive modes, either clonal or sexual. We found that exclusive sexuality begins to fix in populations exposed to environmental variation that exceeds the width of one ecological niche (twice the standard deviation of a Gaussian response to environment). This threshold was lowered by increasing negative frequency-dependent selection and when reducing the two-fold cost of sex. It contributes advocating that the different processes involved in a short-term advantage of sex and recombination can act in combination to favor the fixation of sexual reproduction in populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Sébastien Pierre
- UMR 6553 Ecologie Biodiversité Evolution, CNRS INEE, Université de Rennes 1, OSUR, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes Cedex, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Solenn Stoeckel
- IGEPP, INRAE, Institut Agro, Université de Rennes, Le Rheu, France
| | - Eric Wajnberg
- INRAE, Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France
- Projet Hephaistos, INRIA, Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France
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Discovery of archaeal fusexins homologous to eukaryotic HAP2/GCS1 gamete fusion proteins. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3880. [PMID: 35794124 PMCID: PMC9259645 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31564-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractSexual reproduction consists of genome reduction by meiosis and subsequent gamete fusion. The presence of genes homologous to eukaryotic meiotic genes in archaea and bacteria suggests that DNA repair mechanisms evolved towards meiotic recombination. However, fusogenic proteins resembling those found in gamete fusion in eukaryotes have so far not been found in prokaryotes. Here, we identify archaeal proteins that are homologs of fusexins, a superfamily of fusogens that mediate eukaryotic gamete and somatic cell fusion, as well as virus entry. The crystal structure of a trimeric archaeal fusexin (Fusexin1 or Fsx1) reveals an archetypical fusexin architecture with unique features such as a six-helix bundle and an additional globular domain. Ectopically expressed Fusexin1 can fuse mammalian cells, and this process involves the additional globular domain and a conserved fusion loop. Furthermore, archaeal fusexin genes are found within integrated mobile elements, suggesting potential roles in cell-cell fusion and gene exchange in archaea, as well as different scenarios for the evolutionary history of fusexins.
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31
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Eukaryotes were shaped by Oxygen. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1242. [PMID: 35773346 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01819-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Bell PJL. Eukaryogenesis: The Rise of an Emergent Superorganism. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:858064. [PMID: 35633668 PMCID: PMC9130767 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.858064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it is widely taught that all modern life descended via modification from a last universal common ancestor (LUCA), this dominant paradigm is yet to provide a generally accepted explanation for the chasm in design between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Counter to this dominant paradigm, the viral eukaryogenesis (VE) hypothesis proposes that the eukaryotes originated as an emergent superorganism and thus did not evolve from LUCA via descent with incremental modification. According to the VE hypothesis, the eukaryotic nucleus descends from a viral factory, the mitochondrion descends from an enslaved alpha-proteobacteria and the cytoplasm and plasma membrane descend from an archaeal host. A virus initiated the eukaryogenesis process by colonising an archaeal host to create a virocell that had its metabolism reprogrammed to support the viral factory. Subsequently, viral processes facilitated the entry of a bacterium into the archaeal cytoplasm which was also eventually reprogrammed to support the viral factory. As the viral factory increased control of the consortium, the archaeal genome was lost, the bacterial genome was greatly reduced and the viral factory eventually evolved into the nucleus. It is proposed that the interaction between these three simple components generated a superorganism whose emergent properties allowed the evolution of eukaryotic complexity. If the radical tenets of the VE hypothesis are ultimately accepted, current biological paradigms regarding viruses, cell theory, LUCA and the universal Tree of Life (ToL) should be fundamentally altered or completely abandoned.
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Li XY, Mei J, Ge CT, Liu XL, Gui JF. Sex determination mechanisms and sex control approaches in aquaculture animals. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2022; 65:1091-1122. [PMID: 35583710 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-021-2075-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Aquaculture is one of the most efficient modes of animal protein production and plays an important role in global food security. Aquaculture animals exhibit extraordinarily diverse sexual phenotypes and underlying mechanisms, providing an ideal system to perform sex determination research, one of the important areas in life science. Moreover, sex is also one of the most valuable traits because sexual dimorphism in growth, size, and other economic characteristics commonly exist in aquaculture animals. Here, we synthesize current knowledge of sex determination mechanisms, sex chromosome evolution, reproduction strategies, and sexual dimorphism, and also review several approaches for sex control in aquaculture animals, including artificial gynogenesis, application of sex-specific or sex chromosome-linked markers, artificial sex reversal, as well as gene editing. We anticipate that better understanding of sex determination mechanisms and innovation of sex control approaches will facilitate sustainable development of aquaculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi-Yin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Jie Mei
- College of Fisheries, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Chu-Tian Ge
- College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Wanli University, Ningbo, 315100, China
| | - Xiao-Li Liu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical & Subtropical Fishery Resource Application & Cultivation of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou, 510380, China
| | - Jian-Fang Gui
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
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34
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Pla S, Benvenuto C, Capellini I, Piferrer F. Switches, stability and reversals in the evolutionary history of sexual systems in fish. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3029. [PMID: 35637181 PMCID: PMC9151764 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30419-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual systems are highly diverse and have profound consequences for population dynamics and resilience. Yet, little is known about how they evolved. Using phylogenetic Bayesian modelling and a sample of 4614 species, we show that gonochorism is the likely ancestral condition in teleost fish. While all hermaphroditic forms revert quickly to gonochorism, protogyny and simultaneous hermaphroditism are evolutionarily more stable than protandry. In line with theoretical expectations, simultaneous hermaphroditism does not evolve directly from gonochorism but can evolve slowly from sequential hermaphroditism, particularly protandry. We find support for the predictions from life history theory that protogynous, but not protandrous, species live longer than gonochoristic species and invest the least in male gonad mass. The distribution of teleosts' sexual systems on the tree of life does not seem to reflect just adaptive predictions, suggesting that adaptations alone may not fully explain why some sexual forms evolve in some taxa but not others (Williams' paradox). We propose that future studies should incorporate mating systems, spawning behaviours, and the diversity of sex determining mechanisms. Some of the latter might constrain the evolution of hermaphroditism, while the non-duality of the embryological origin of teleost gonads might explain why protogyny predominates over protandry in teleosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanna Pla
- Institut de Ciències del Mar, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Chiara Benvenuto
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Salford, UK
| | | | - Francesc Piferrer
- Institut de Ciències del Mar, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
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35
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Čertnerová D, Čertner M, Škaloud P. Alternating nuclear DNA content in chrysophytes provides evidence of their isomorphic haploid-diploid life cycle. ALGAL RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2022.102707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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36
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Wang C, Lashua LP, Carter CE, Johnson SK, Wang M, Ross TM, Ghedin E, Zhang B, Forst CV. Sex disparities in influenza: A multiscale network analysis. iScience 2022; 25:104192. [PMID: 35479404 PMCID: PMC9036134 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 12/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex differences in the pathogenesis of infectious diseases because of differential immune responses between females and males have been well-documented for multiple pathogens. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the observed sex differences in influenza virus infection remains poorly understood. In this study, we used a network-based approach to characterize the blood transcriptome collected over the course of infection with influenza A virus from female and male ferrets to dissect sex-biased gene expression. We identified significant differences in the temporal dynamics and regulation of immune responses between females and males. Our results elucidate sex-differentiated pathways involved in the unfolded protein response (UPR), lipid metabolism, and inflammatory responses, including a female-biased IRE1/XBP1 activation and male-biased crosstalk between metabolic reprogramming and IL-1 and AP-1 pathways. Overall, our study provides molecular insights into sex differences in transcriptional regulation of immune responses and contributes to a better understanding of sex biases in influenza pathogenesis. Regulation of immune responses between females and males is significantly different Rapid activation of UPR in females triggers potent immune and inflammatory responses Male-specific regulatory pattern in the AP1 pathway indicate a bias in immune response
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Wang
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lauren P. Lashua
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Chalise E. Carter
- Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Scott K. Johnson
- Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Minghui Wang
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1498, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1425 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10029-6501, USA
| | - Ted M. Ross
- Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Elodie Ghedin
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Systems Genomics Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1498, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1425 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10029-6501, USA
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1677, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA
| | - Christian V. Forst
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1498, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1425 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10029-6501, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1498, New York, NY 10029-6574
- Corresponding author
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Sanchez-Vera V, Landberg K, Lopez-Obando M, Thelander M, Lagercrantz U, Muñoz-Viana R, Schmidt A, Grossniklaus U, Sundberg E. The Physcomitrium patens egg cell expresses several distinct epigenetic components and utilizes homologues of BONOBO genes for cell specification. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 233:2614-2628. [PMID: 34942024 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Although land plant germ cells have received much attention, knowledge about their specification is still limited. We thus identified transcripts enriched in egg cells of the bryophyte model species Physcomitrium patens, compared the results with angiosperm egg cells, and selected important candidate genes for functional analysis. We used laser-assisted microdissection to perform a cell-type-specific transcriptome analysis on egg cells for comparison with available expression profiles of vegetative tissues and male reproductive organs. We made reporter lines and knockout mutants of the two BONOBO (PbBNB) genes and studied their role in reproduction. We observed an overlap in gene activity between bryophyte and angiosperm egg cells, but also clear differences. Strikingly, several processes that are male-germline specific in Arabidopsis are active in the P. patens egg cell. Among those were the moss PbBNB genes, which control proliferation and identity of both female and male germlines. Pathways shared between male and female germlines were most likely present in the common ancestors of land plants, besides sex-specifying factors. A set of genes may also be involved in the switches between the diploid and haploid moss generations. Nonangiosperm gene networks also contribute to the specification of the P. patens egg cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Sanchez-Vera
- Department of Plant Biology, The Linnean Centre of Plant Biology in Uppsala, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7080, Uppsala, SE-75007, Sweden
| | - Katarina Landberg
- Department of Plant Biology, The Linnean Centre of Plant Biology in Uppsala, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7080, Uppsala, SE-75007, Sweden
| | - Mauricio Lopez-Obando
- Department of Plant Biology, The Linnean Centre of Plant Biology in Uppsala, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7080, Uppsala, SE-75007, Sweden
| | - Mattias Thelander
- Department of Plant Biology, The Linnean Centre of Plant Biology in Uppsala, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7080, Uppsala, SE-75007, Sweden
| | - Ulf Lagercrantz
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18 D, Uppsala, SE-752 36, Sweden
| | - Rafael Muñoz-Viana
- Department of Plant Biology, The Linnean Centre of Plant Biology in Uppsala, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7080, Uppsala, SE-75007, Sweden
| | - Anja Schmidt
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology & Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, Zurich, CH-8008, Switzerland
| | - Ueli Grossniklaus
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology & Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, Zurich, CH-8008, Switzerland
| | - Eva Sundberg
- Department of Plant Biology, The Linnean Centre of Plant Biology in Uppsala, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7080, Uppsala, SE-75007, Sweden
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Histone demethylase IBM1-mediated meiocyte gene expression ensures meiotic chromosome synapsis and recombination. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010041. [PMID: 35192603 PMCID: PMC8896719 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Histone methylation and demethylation play important roles in plant growth and development, but the involvement of histone demethylation during meiosis is poorly understood. Here we show that disruption of Arabidopsis thaliana INCREASE IN BONSAI METHYLATION 1 (IBM1) causes incomplete synapsis, chromosome entanglement and reduction of recombination during meiosis, leading to sterility. Interestingly, these ibm1 meiotic defects are rescued by mutations in either SUVH4/KYP or CMT3. Using transcriptomic analyses we show that mutation of IBM1 down-regulates thousands of genes expressed in meiocytes, and that expression of about 38% of these genes are restored to wild type levels in ibm1 cmt3 double mutants. Changes in the expression of 437 of these, including the ARABIDOPSIS MEI2-LIKE AML3-5 genes, are correlated with a significant reduction of gene body CHG methylation. Consistently, the aml3 aml4 aml5 triple have defects in synapsis and chromosome entanglement similar to ibm1. Genetic analysis shows that aml3 aml4 aml5 ibm1 quadruple mutants resembles the ibm1 single mutant. Strikingly, over expression of AML5 in ibm1 can partially rescue the ibm1 meiotic defects. Taken together, our results demonstrate that histone demethylase IBM1 is required for meiosis likely via coordinated regulation of meiocyte gene expression during meiosis.
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39
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Weinkauf MFG, Siccha M, Weiner AKM. Reproduction dynamics of planktonic microbial eukaryotes in the open ocean. J R Soc Interface 2022; 19:20210860. [PMID: 35167772 PMCID: PMC8847003 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2021.0860] [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] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the biology of reproduction of an organismal lineage is important for retracing key evolutionary processes, yet gaining detailed insights often poses major challenges. Planktonic Foraminifera are globally distributed marine microbial eukaryotes and important contributors to the global carbon cycle. They cannot routinely be cultured under laboratory conditions across generations, and thus details of their life cycle remain incomplete. The production of flagellated gametes has long been taken as an indication of exclusively sexual reproduction, but recent research suggests the existence of an additional asexual generation in the life cycle. To gain a better understanding of the reproductive biology of planktonic Foraminifera, we applied a dynamic, individual-based modelling approach with parameters based on laboratory and field observations to test if sexual reproduction is sufficient for maintaining viable populations. We show that temporal synchronization and potentially spatial concentration of gamete release seems inevitable for maintenance of the population under sexual reproduction. We hypothesize that sexual reproduction is likely beneficial during the adaptation to new environments, while population sustenance in stable environments can be ensured through asexual reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel F G Weinkauf
- Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Univerzita Karlova, 128 43 Praha, Czech Republic.,Department of Earth Sciences, Université de Genève, 1205 Genève, Switzerland
| | - Michael Siccha
- Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM), Universität Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Agnes K M Weiner
- NORCE Climate and Environment, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS, 5007 Bergen, Norway
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Brukman NG, Li X, Podbilewicz B. Fusexins, HAP2/GCS1 and Evolution of Gamete Fusion. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 9:824024. [PMID: 35083224 PMCID: PMC8784728 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.824024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Gamete fusion is the climax of fertilization in all sexually reproductive organisms, from unicellular fungi to humans. Similarly to other cell-cell fusion events, gamete fusion is mediated by specialized proteins, named fusogens, that overcome the energetic barriers during this process. In recent years, HAPLESS 2/GENERATIVE CELL-SPECIFIC 1 (HAP2/GCS1) was identified as the fusogen mediating sperm-egg fusion in flowering plants and protists, being both essential and sufficient for the membrane merger in some species. The identification of HAP2/GCS1 in invertebrates, opens the possibility that a similar fusogen may be used in vertebrate fertilization. HAP2/GCS1 proteins share a similar structure with two distinct families of exoplasmic fusogens: the somatic Fusion Family (FF) proteins discovered in nematodes, and class II viral glycoproteins (e.g., rubella and dengue viruses). Altogether, these fusogens form the Fusexin superfamily. While some attributes are shared among fusexins, for example the overall structure and the possibility of assembly into trimers, some other characteristics seem to be specific, such as the presence or not of hydrophobic loops or helices at the distal tip of the protein. Intriguingly, HAP2/GCS1 or other fusexins have neither been identified in vertebrates nor in fungi, raising the question of whether these genes were lost during evolution and were replaced by other fusion machinery or a significant divergence makes their identification difficult. Here, we discuss the biology of HAP2/GCS1, its involvement in gamete fusion and the structural, mechanistic and evolutionary relationships with other fusexins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas G Brukman
- Department of Biology, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Xiaohui Li
- Department of Biology, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
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41
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Annunziata R, Mele BH, Marotta P, Volpe M, Entrambasaguas L, Mager S, Stec K, d’Alcalà MR, Sanges R, Finazzi G, Iudicone D, Montresor M, Ferrante MI. Trade-off between sex and growth in diatoms: Molecular mechanisms and demographic implications. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabj9466. [PMID: 35044817 PMCID: PMC8769554 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj9466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Diatoms are fast-growing and winning competitors in aquatic environments, possibly due to optimized growth performance. However, their life cycles are complex, heteromorphic, and not fully understood. Here, we report on the fine control of cell growth and physiology during the sexual phase of the marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata. We found that mating, under nutrient replete conditions, induces a prolonged growth arrest in parental cells. Transcriptomic analyses revealed down-regulation of genes related to major metabolic functions from the early phases of mating. Single-cell photophysiology also pinpointed an inhibition of photosynthesis and storage lipids accumulated in the arrested population, especially in gametes and zygotes. Numerical simulations revealed that growth arrest affects the balance between parental cells and their siblings, possibly favoring the new generation. Thus, in addition to resources availability, life cycle traits contribute to shaping the species ecological niches and must be considered to describe and understand the structure of plankton communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossella Annunziata
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Napoli, Italy
- Corresponding author. (R.A.); (M.I.F.)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Remo Sanges
- International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Via Bonomea 265, Trieste 34136, Italy
| | - Giovanni Finazzi
- Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), Centre National Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat Energie Atomique, Energies Alternatives (CEA), Institut National Recherche Agriculture, Alimentation, Environnement (INRAE), Interdisciplinary Research Institute of Grenoble, IRIG-Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire et Végétale, Grenoble, France
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42
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Klabacka RL, Parry HA, Yap KN, Cook RA, Herron VA, Horne LM, Wolak ME, Maldonado JA, Kavazis AN, Fujita MK, Oaks JR, Schwartz TS. Reduced mitochondrial respiration in hybrid asexual lizards. Am Nat 2022; 199:719-728. [DOI: 10.1086/719014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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43
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Hörandl E. Novel Approaches for Species Concepts and Delimitation in Polyploids and Hybrids. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 11:plants11020204. [PMID: 35050093 PMCID: PMC8781807 DOI: 10.3390/plants11020204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Hybridization and polyploidization are important processes for plant evolution. However, classification of hybrid or polyploid species has been notoriously difficult because of the complexity of processes and different evolutionary scenarios that do not fit with classical species concepts. Polyploid complexes are formed via combinations of allopolyploidy, autopolyploidy and homoploid hybridization with persisting sexual reproduction, resulting in many discrete lineages that have been classified as species. Polyploid complexes with facultative apomixis result in complicated net-work like clusters, or rarely in agamospecies. Various case studies illustrate the problems that apply to traditional species concepts to hybrids and polyploids. Conceptual progress can be made if lineage formation is accepted as an inevitable consequence of meiotic sex, which is established already in the first eukaryotes as a DNA restoration tool. The turnaround of the viewpoint that sex forms species as lineages helps to overcome traditional thinking of species as "units". Lineage formation and self-sustainability is the prerequisite for speciation and can also be applied to hybrids and polyploids. Species delimitation is aided by the improved recognition of lineages via various novel -omics methods, by understanding meiosis functions, and by recognizing functional phenotypes by considering morphological-physiological-ecological adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvira Hörandl
- Department of Systematics, Biodiversity and Evolution of Plants (with Herbarium), University of Goettingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
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44
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Pinello JF, Clark TG. HAP2-Mediated Gamete Fusion: Lessons From the World of Unicellular Eukaryotes. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 9:807313. [PMID: 35071241 PMCID: PMC8777248 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.807313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Most, if not all the cellular requirements for fertilization and sexual reproduction arose early in evolution and are retained in extant lineages of single-celled organisms including a number of important model organism species. In recent years, work in two such species, the green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and the free-living ciliate, Tetrahymena thermophila, have lent important new insights into the role of HAP2/GCS1 as a catalyst for gamete fusion in organisms ranging from protists to flowering plants and insects. Here we summarize the current state of knowledge around how mating types from these algal and ciliate systems recognize, adhere and fuse to one another, current gaps in our understanding of HAP2-mediated gamete fusion, and opportunities for applying what we know in practical terms, especially for the control of protozoan parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer F. Pinello
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Theodore G. Clark
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
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45
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Louradour I, Ferreira TR, Duge E, Karunaweera N, Paun A, Sacks D. Stress conditions promote Leishmania hybridization in vitro marked by expression of the ancestral gamete fusogen HAP2 as revealed by single-cell RNA-seq. eLife 2022; 11:73488. [PMID: 34994687 PMCID: PMC8794473 DOI: 10.7554/elife.73488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania are protozoan parasites transmitted by the bite of sand fly vectors producing a wide spectrum of diseases in their mammalian hosts. These diverse clinical outcomes are directly associated with parasite strain and species diversity. Although Leishmania reproduction is mainly clonal, a cryptic sexual cycle capable of producing hybrid genotypes has been inferred from population genetic studies and directly demonstrated by laboratory crosses. Experimentally, mating competence has been largely confined to promastigotes developing in the sand fly midgut. The ability to hybridize culture promastigotes in vitro has been limited so far to low-efficiency crosses between two Leishmania tropica strains, L747 and MA37, that mate with high efficiency in flies. Here, we show that exposure of promastigote cultures to DNA damage stress produces a remarkably enhanced efficiency of in vitro hybridization of the L. tropica strains and extends to other species, including Leishmania donovani, Leishmania infantum, and Leishmania braziliensis, a capacity to generate intra- and interspecific hybrids. Whole-genome sequencing and total DNA content analyses indicate that the hybrids are in each case full genome, mostly tetraploid hybrids. Single-cell RNA sequencing of the L747 and MA37 parental lines highlights the transcriptome heterogeneity of culture promastigotes and reveals discrete clusters that emerge post-irradiation in which genes potentially involved in genetic exchange are expressed, including the ancestral gamete fusogen HAP2. By generating reporter constructs for HAP2, we could select for promastigotes that could either hybridize or not in vitro. Overall, this work reveals that there are specific populations involved in Leishmania hybridization associated with a discernible transcriptomic signature, and that stress facilitated in vitro hybridization can be a transformative approach to generate large numbers of hybrid genotypes between diverse species and strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Louradour
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, United States
| | - Tiago Rodrigues Ferreira
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, United States
| | - Emma Duge
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, United States
| | - Nadira Karunaweera
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
| | - Andrea Paun
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, United States
| | - David Sacks
- Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, United States
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46
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Wilson AM, Wilken PM, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD. Genetic Networks That Govern Sexual Reproduction in the Pezizomycotina. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2021; 85:e0002021. [PMID: 34585983 PMCID: PMC8485983 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00020-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexual development in filamentous fungi is a complex process that relies on the precise control of and interaction between a variety of genetic networks and pathways. The mating-type (MAT) genes are the master regulators of this process and typically act as transcription factors, which control the expression of genes involved at all stages of the sexual cycle. In many fungi, the sexual cycle typically begins when the mating pheromones of one mating type are recognized by a compatible partner, followed by physical interaction and fertilization. Subsequently, highly specialized sexual structures are formed, within which the sexual spores develop after rounds of meiosis and mitosis. These spores are then released and germinate, forming new individuals that initiate new cycles of growth. This review provides an overview of the known genetic networks and pathways that are involved in each major stage of the sexual cycle in filamentous ascomycete fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andi M. Wilson
- Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - P. Markus Wilken
- Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Michael J. Wingfield
- Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Brenda D. Wingfield
- Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
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47
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Allison TM, Radzvilavicius AL, Dowling DK. Selection for biparental inheritance of mitochondria under hybridization and mitonuclear fitness interactions. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211600. [PMID: 34875196 PMCID: PMC8651416 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Uniparental inheritance (UPI) of mitochondria predominates over biparental inheritance (BPI) in most eukaryotes. However, examples of BPI of mitochondria, or paternal leakage, are becoming increasingly prevalent. Most reported cases of BPI occur in hybrids of distantly related sub-populations. It is thought that BPI in these cases is maladaptive; caused by a failure of female or zygotic autophagy machinery to recognize divergent male-mitochondrial DNA ‘tags’. Yet recent theory has put forward examples in which BPI can evolve under adaptive selection, and empirical studies across numerous metazoan taxa have demonstrated outbreeding depression in hybrids attributable to disruption of population-specific mitochondrial and nuclear genotypes (mitonuclear mismatch). Based on these developments, we hypothesize that BPI may be favoured by selection in hybridizing populations when fitness is shaped by mitonuclear interactions. We test this idea using a deterministic, simulation-based population genetic model and demonstrate that BPI is favoured over strict UPI under moderate levels of gene flow typical of hybridizing populations. Our model suggests that BPI may be stable, rather than a transient phenomenon, in hybridizing populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom M Allison
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Damian K Dowling
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
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48
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Sharma V, Clark AJ, Kawashima T. Insights into the molecular evolution of fertilization mechanism in land plants. PLANT REPRODUCTION 2021; 34:353-364. [PMID: 34061252 DOI: 10.1007/s00497-021-00414-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Comparative genetics and genomics among green plants, including algae, provide deep insights into the evolution of land plant sexual reproduction. Land plants have evolved successive changes during their conquest of the land and innovations in sexual reproduction have played a major role in their terrestrialization. Recent years have seen many revealing dissections of the molecular mechanisms of sexual reproduction and much new genomics data from the land plant lineage, including early diverging land plants, as well as algae. This new knowledge is being integrated to further understand how sexual reproduction in land plants evolved, identifying highly conserved factors and pathways, but also molecular changes that underpinned the emergence of new modes of sexual reproduction. Here, we review recent advances in the knowledge of land plant sexual reproduction from an evolutionary perspective and also revisit the evolution of angiosperm double fertilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vijyesh Sharma
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA
| | - Anthony J Clark
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA
| | - Tomokazu Kawashima
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA.
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49
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Benites LF, Bucchini F, Sanchez-Brosseau S, Grimsley N, Vandepoele K, Piganeau G. Evolutionary Genomics of Sex-Related Chromosomes at the Base of the Green Lineage. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:6380139. [PMID: 34599324 PMCID: PMC8557840 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Although sex is now accepted as a ubiquitous and ancestral feature of eukaryotes, direct observation of sex is still lacking in most unicellular eukaryotic lineages. Evidence of sex is frequently indirect and inferred from the identification of genes involved in meiosis from whole genome data and/or the detection of recombination signatures from genetic diversity in natural populations. In haploid unicellular eukaryotes, sex-related chromosomes are named mating-type (MTs) chromosomes and generally carry large genomic regions where recombination is suppressed. These regions have been characterized in Fungi and Chlorophyta and determine gamete compatibility and fusion. Two candidate MT+ and MT− alleles, spanning 450–650 kb, have recently been described in Ostreococcus tauri, a marine phytoplanktonic alga from the Mamiellophyceae class, an early diverging branch in the green lineage. Here, we investigate the architecture and evolution of these candidate MT+ and MT− alleles. We analyzed the phylogenetic profile and GC content of MT gene families in eight different genomes whose divergence has been previously estimated at up to 640 Myr, and found evidence that the divergence of the two MT alleles predates speciation in the Ostreococcus genus. Phylogenetic profiles of MT trans-specific polymorphisms in gametologs disclosed candidate MTs in two additional species, and possibly a third. These Mamiellales MT candidates are likely to be the oldest mating-type loci described to date, which makes them fascinating models to investigate the evolutionary mechanisms of haploid sex determination in eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Felipe Benites
- Integrative Biology of Marine Organisms (BIOM), Sorbonne University, CNRS, Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - François Bucchini
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Belgium.,VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sophie Sanchez-Brosseau
- Integrative Biology of Marine Organisms (BIOM), Sorbonne University, CNRS, Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - Nigel Grimsley
- Integrative Biology of Marine Organisms (BIOM), Sorbonne University, CNRS, Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - Klaas Vandepoele
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Belgium.,VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium.,Bioinformatics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Gwenaël Piganeau
- Integrative Biology of Marine Organisms (BIOM), Sorbonne University, CNRS, Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
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50
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Cellular pathways during spawning induction in the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Sci Rep 2021; 11:15451. [PMID: 34326433 PMCID: PMC8322078 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95033-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In cnidarians, long-term ecological success relies on sexual reproduction. The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, which has emerged as an important model organism for developmental studies, can be induced for spawning by temperature elevation and light exposure. To uncover molecular mechanisms and pathways underlying spawning, we characterized the transcriptome of Nematostella females before and during spawning induction. We identified an array of processes involving numerous receptors, circadian clock components, cytoskeleton, and extracellular transcripts that are upregulated upon spawning induction. Concurrently, processes related to the cell cycle, fatty acid metabolism, and other housekeeping functions are downregulated. Real-time qPCR revealed that light exposure has a minor effect on expression levels of most examined transcripts, implying that temperature change is a stronger inducer for spawning in Nematostella. Our findings reveal the potential mechanisms that may enable the mesenteries to serve as a gonad-like tissue for the developing oocytes and expand our understanding of sexual reproduction in cnidarians.
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