Remarkable chromosomes and karyotypes: A top 10 list

Chromosomes and karyotypes are particularly rich in oddities and extremes. Described below are 10 remarkable chromosomes and karyotypes sprinkled throughout the tree of life. These include variants in chromosome number, structure, and dynamics both natural and engineered. This versatility highlights the robustness and tolerance of the mitotic and meiotic machinery to dramatic changes in chromosome and karyotype architecture. These examples also illustrate that the robustness comes at a cost, enabling the evolution of chromosomes that subvert mitosis and meiosis.

Male triploid oysters of Crassostrea gigas exhibit defects in mitosis and meiosis during early spermatogenesis

The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas is a successive irregular hermaphrodite mollusc which has an annual breeding cycle. Oysters are naturally diploid organisms, but triploid oysters have been developed for use in shellfish aquaculture, with the aim of obtaining sterile animals with commercial value. However, studies have shown that some triploid oysters are partially able to undergo gametogenesis, with numerous proliferating cells closed to diploids (3n alpha) or a partial one with an accumulation of locked germ cells (3n beta). The aim of our study therefore was to understand the regulation of spermatogenesis in both groups of triploid oysters (alpha and beta) from the beginning of spermatogenesis, during mitosis and meiosis events. Our results demonstrate that the reduced spermatogenesis in triploids results from a deregulation of the development of the germinal lineage and the establishment of the gonadal tract led by a lower number of tubules. Morphological cellular investigation also revealed an abnormal condensation of germ cell nuclei and the presence of clear patches in the nucleoplasm of triploid cells, which were more pronounced in beta oysters. Furthermore, studies of molecular and cellular regulation showed a downregulation of mitotic spindle checkpoint in beta oysters, resulting in disturbance of chromosomal segregation, notably on Spindle Assembly Checkpoint involved in the binding of microtubules to chromosomes. Taken together, our results suggest that the lower reproductive ability of triploid oysters may be due to cellular and molecular events such as impairment of spermatogenesis and disruptions of mitosis and meiosis, occurring early and at various stages of the gametogenetic cycle.

Gonadal transcriptomes associated with sex phenotypes provide potential male and female candidate genes of sex determination or early differentiation in Crassostrea gigas, a sequential hermaphrodite mollusc

Background

In the animal kingdom, mollusca is an important phylum of the Lophotrochozoa. However, few studies have investigated the molecular cascade of sex determination/early gonadal differentiation within this phylum. The oyster Crassostrea gigas is a sequential irregular hermaphrodite mollusc of economic, physiological and phylogenetic importance. Although some studies identified genes of its sex-determining/−differentiating pathway, this particular topic remains to be further deepened, in particular with regard to the expression patterns. Indeed, these patterns need to cover the entire period of sex lability and have to be associated to future sex phenotypes, usually impossible to establish in this sequential hermaphrodite. This is why we performed a gonadal RNA-Seq analysis of diploid male and female oysters that have not changed sex for 4 years, sampled during the entire time-window of sex determination/early sex differentiation (stages 0 and 3 of the gametogenetic cycle). This individual long-term monitoring gave us the opportunity to explain the molecular expression patterns in the light of the most statistically likely future sex of each oyster.

Results

The differential gene expression analysis of gonadal transcriptomes revealed that 9723 genes were differentially expressed between gametogenetic stages, and 141 between sexes (98 and 43 genes highly expressed in females and males, respectively). Eighty-four genes were both stage- and sex-specific, 57 of them being highly expressed at the time of sex determination/early sex differentiation. These 4 novel genes including Trophoblast glycoprotein-like, Protein PML-like, Protein singed-like and PREDICTED: paramyosin, while being supported by RT-qPCR, displayed sexually dimorphic gene expression patterns.

Conclusions

This gonadal transcriptome analysis, the first one associated with sex phenotypes in C. gigas, revealed 57 genes highly expressed in stage 0 or 3 of gametogenesis and which could be linked to the future sex of the individuals. While further study will be needed to suggest a role for these factors, some could certainly be original potential actors involved in sex determination/early sex differentiation, like paramyosin and could be used to predict the future sex of oysters.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07838-1.

The diverse consequences of aneuploidy

Aneuploidy, or imbalanced chromosome number, has profound effects on eukaryotic cells. In humans, aneuploidy is associated with various pathologies, including cancer, which suggests that it mediates a proliferative advantage under these conditions. Here, we discuss physiological changes triggered by aneuploidy, such as altered cell growth, transcriptional changes, proteotoxic stress, genomic instability and response to interferons, and how cancer cells adapt to the changing aneuploid genome.

Chromosomal organization of simple sequence repeats in the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas): (GGAT)(4), (GT)(7) and (TA)(10) chromosome patterns

Chromosome identification is essential in oyster genomic research. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) offers new opportunities for the identification of oyster chromosomes. It has been used to locate satellite DNAs, telomeres or ribosomal DNA sequences. However, regarding chromosome identification, no study has been conducted with simple sequence repeats (SSRs). FISH was used to probe the physical organization of three particular SSRs, (GGAT)(4), (GT)(7) and (TA)(10) onto metaphase chromosomes of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. Hybridization signals were observed in all the SSR probes, but the distribution and intensity of signals varied according to the oligonucleotide repeat. The intercalary, centromeric and telomeric bands were observed along the chromosomes, and for each particular repeat every chromosome pair presented a similar pattern, allowing karyotypic analysis with all the SSRs tested. Our study is the first in mollusks to show the application of SSR in situ hybridization for chromosome identification and karyotyping. This technique can be a useful tool for oyster comparative studies and to understand genome organization in different oyster taxa.

Impact of diuron on aneuploidy and hemocyte parameters in Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas

Diuron is a substituted urea herbicide used for agricultural and nonagricultural weed control. Its widespread use and relatively slow breakdown led us to analyze its influence on aneuploidy level (lowered chromosome number in a percentage of somatic cells) and hemocyte parameters in Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas. Adult oysters were subjected to two diuron concentrations (300 ng L(-1) and 3 microg L(-1)) for 11 weeks. Significantly higher aneuploidy level was observed in diuron-treated oysters compared with the control. Furthermore, the observed impact on aneuploidy persisted to the next generation as offspring exhibited significantly higher aneuploidy levels when their parents had been exposed to diuron. Significant increases in hemocyte parameters (cell mortality, phagocytosis, granulocyte percentage, reactive oxygen species, and lysosome presence) of the adults were also observed after 4 weeks of diuron exposure. The effects observed on oyster aneuploidy level and hemocyte parameters could have serious environmental and practical consequences.

Karyology of the Antarctic scallop Adamussium colbecki, with some comments on the karyological evolution of pectinids

Karyotype, location of the nucleolar organiser region (NOR) and heterochromatin presence and composition were studied in the Antarctic scallop Adamussium colbecki Smith, 1902. The karyotype exhibits 2n = 38 chromosomes with 11 pairs of metacentrics, 5 of submetacentrics, one subtelocentric and two telocentrics. Ag-NOR, CMA(3), DA/MM and NOR-FISH evidenced paracentromeric NORs on the short arm of 2nd pair chromosomes. Digestion with three restriction endonucleases followed by sequential staining with Giemsa, CMA(3) and DAPI evidenced on all chromosomes centromeric heterochromatin positive for both DAPI and CMA(3). In situ hybridisation analysis showed the presence of an AT-rich satellite DNA in the centromeric heterochromatin of several chromosomes. A mosaicism was detected in the germinal cell lines of one specimen, as in six of the 20 plates examined the set had 37 chromosomes with a missing pair of telocentrics and an unpaired metacentric. Comparison of the chromosome sets of all the pectinids studied to date and comparison with a phyletic tree obtained from molecular mitochondrial genes studies yielded good agreement between karyotype morphology and taxonomic classification.

Endonuclease banding reveals that atrazine-induced aneuploidy resembles spontaneous chromosome loss in Crassostrea gigas

Aneuploidy has previously been observed in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, and shown to be negatively correlated with growth. Moreover, a significant impact of atrazine exposure has been described in C. gigas, and persistence of that effect has been observed between generations. Evidence of differential chromosome loss has been demonstrated in aneuploid karyotypes of C. gigas using the G-banding technique. Pairs 1, 5, 9, and 10 are characterized by the loss of 1 chromosome. As restriction enzyme (RE) digestion chromosome banding allows a better identification of chromosome pairs, we used this technique to identify which chromosomes are affected when aneuploidy is increased by exposure to atrazine. The progeny of oysters contaminated by atrazine were analysed using the restriction enzyme HaeIII. The study of 26 RE-banded aneuploid karyotypes showed that the same chromosome pairs (1, 5, 9, and 10) were affected by the loss of 1 chromosome (61%, 15%, 42%, and 42%, respectively). Further investigation is required to enable a better understanding of aneuploidy in oysters, especially with respect to why some chromosomes are more easily lost than others, and why cells tolerate the loss of these chromosomes.

Restriction enzyme digestion chromosome banding in Crassostrea and Ostrea species: comparative karyological analysis within Ostreidae

Reliable banding techniques are a major necessity for genetic research in oysters. In this study, we carried out the cytogenetic characterization of four oyster species (family Ostreidae) using restriction endonuclease treatments. Chromosomes were treated with three different restriction enzymes, stained with Giemsa, and examined for banding patterns. The following species were studied: Crassostrea gigas (2n = 20; total number of bands with ApaI, 74; HaeIII, 61; PstI, 76), Crassostrea angulata (2n = 20; ApaI, 62; HaeIII, 61; PstI, 55) (subfamily Crassostreinae), Ostrea edulis (2n = 20; ApaI, 82; HaeIII, 59; PstI, 66), and Ostrea conchaphila (2n = 20; ApaI, 68; HaeIII, 62; PstI, 69) (subfamily Ostreinae). Treatment of samples with ApaI, HaeIII, and PstI produced specific banding patterns, which demonstrates the potential of these enzymes for chromosome banding in oysters. This is of special interest, since it has been recently shown in mammalian chromosomes that restriction enzyme banding is compatible with fluorescence in situ hybridization. This study therefore provides a fundamental step in genome mapping of oysters, since chromosome banding with restriction enzymes facilitates physical gene mapping in these important aquaculture species. The analysis of the banded karyotypes revealed a greater similarity within the genera of Crassostrea and Ostrea than between them.