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Kage A, Takahashi K, Nozaki H, Higashiyama T, Baba SA, Nishizaka T. Swimming ability and flagellar motility of sperm packets of the volvocine green alga Pleodorina starrii. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0287561. [PMID: 39024288 PMCID: PMC11257277 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic flagella collectively form metachronal waves that facilitate the ability to cause flow or swim. Among such flagellated and planktonic swimmers, large volvocine genera such as Eudorina, Pleodorina and Volvox form bundles of small male gametes (sperm) called "sperm packets" for sexual reproduction. Although these sperm packets reportedly have flagella and the ability to swim, previous studies on volvocine motility have focused on asexual forms and the swimming characteristics of sperm packets remain unknown. However, it is important to quantify the motility of sperm packets and sperm in order to gain insights into the significance of motility in the sexual reproduction of planktonic algae. In this study, we quantitatively described the behavior of three flagellated forms of a male strain of Pleodorina starrii-asexual colonies, sperm packets, and single dissociated sperm-with emphasis on comparison of the two multicellular forms. Despite being smaller, sperm packets swam approximately 1.4 times faster than the asexual colonies of the same male strain. Body length was approximately 0.5 times smaller in the sperm packets than in asexual colonies. The flagella from sperm packets and asexual colonies showed asymmetric waveforms, whereas those from dissociated single sperm showed symmetric waveforms, suggesting the presence of a switching mechanism between sperm packets and dissociated sperm. Flagella from sperm packets were approximately 0.5 times shorter and had a beat period approximately twice as long as those from asexual colonies. The flagella of sperm packets were densely distributed over the anterior part of the body, whereas the flagella of asexual colonies were sparse and evenly distributed. The distribution of flagella, but not the number of flagella, appear to illustrate a significant difference in the speeds of sperm packets and asexual colonies. Our findings reveal novel aspects of the regulation of eukaryotic flagella and shed light on the role of flagellar motility in sexual reproduction of planktonic algae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azusa Kage
- Department of Physics, Gakushuin University, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kohei Takahashi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hisayoshi Nozaki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Higashiyama
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shoji A. Baba
- Department of Biology, Ochanomizu University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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Takahashi K, Suzuki S, Kawai-Toyooka H, Yamamoto K, Hamaji T, Ootsuki R, Yamaguchi H, Kawachi M, Higashiyama T, Nozaki H. Reorganization of the ancestral sex-determining regions during the evolution of trioecy in Pleodorina starrii. Commun Biol 2023; 6:590. [PMID: 37296191 PMCID: PMC10256686 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04949-1] [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: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The coexistence of three sexual phenotypes (male, female and bisexual) in a single species, 'trioecy', is rarely found in diploid organisms such as flowering plants and invertebrates. However, trioecy in haploid organisms has only recently been reported in a green algal species, Pleodorina starrii. Here, we generated whole-genome data of the three sex phenotypes of P. starrii to reveal a reorganization of the ancestral sex-determining regions (SDRs) in the sex chromosomes: the male and bisexual phenotypes had the same "male SDR" with paralogous gene expansions of the male-determining gene MID, whereas the female phenotype had a "female SDR" with transposition of the female-specific gene FUS1 to autosomal regions. Although the male and bisexual sex phenotypes had the identical male SDR and harbored autosomal FUS1, MID and FUS1 expression during sexual reproduction differed between them. Thus, the coexistence of three sex phenotypes in P. starrii is possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kohei Takahashi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Shigekatsu Suzuki
- Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan
| | - Hiroko Kawai-Toyooka
- Department of Frontier Bioscience, Hosei University, Kajino-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8584, Japan
| | - Kayoko Yamamoto
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Takashi Hamaji
- Research and Development Initiative, Chuo University, Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8551, Japan
| | - Ryo Ootsuki
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
- Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Komazawa University, Komazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 154-8525, Japan
| | - Haruyo Yamaguchi
- Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan
| | - Masanobu Kawachi
- Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Higashiyama
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Hisayoshi Nozaki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
- Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan.
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Sekimoto H, Komiya A, Tsuyuki N, Kawai J, Kanda N, Ootsuki R, Suzuki Y, Toyoda A, Fujiyama A, Kasahara M, Abe J, Tsuchikane Y, Nishiyama T. A divergent RWP-RK transcription factor determines mating type in heterothallic Closterium. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 237:1636-1651. [PMID: 36533897 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The Closterium peracerosum-strigosum-littorale complex (Closterium, Zygnematophyceae) has an isogamous mating system. Members of the Zygnematophyceae are the closest relatives to extant land plants and are distantly related to chlorophytic models, for which a genetic basis of mating type (MT) determination has been reported. We thus investigated MT determination in Closterium. We sequenced genomes representing the two MTs, mt+ and mt-, in Closterium and identified CpMinus1, a gene linked to the mt- phenotype. We analyzed its function using reverse genetics methods. CpMinus1 encodes a divergent RWP-RK domain-containing-like transcription factor and is specifically expressed during gamete differentiation. Introduction of CpMinus1 into an mt+ strain was sufficient to convert it to a phenotypically mt- strain, while CpMinus1-knockout mt- strains were phenotypically mt+. We propose that CpMinus1 is the major MT determinant that acts by evoking the mt- phenotype and suppressing the mt+ phenotype in heterothallic Closterium. CpMinus1 likely evolved independently in the Zygnematophyceae lineage, which lost an egg-sperm anisogamous mating system. mt- specific regions possibly constitute an MT locus flanked by common sequences that undergo some recombination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroyuki Sekimoto
- Division of Material and Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Ayumi Komiya
- Division of Material and Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Natsumi Tsuyuki
- Division of Material and Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Junko Kawai
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Naho Kanda
- Division of Material and Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Ryo Ootsuki
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Yutaka Suzuki
- Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8568, Japan
| | - Atsushi Toyoda
- Comparative Genomics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Asao Fujiyama
- Comparative Genomics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Masahiro Kasahara
- Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8568, Japan
| | - Jun Abe
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Yuki Tsuchikane
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
- Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Tomoaki Nishiyama
- Research Center for Experimental Modeling of Human Disease, Kanazawa University, Kakumacho, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192, Japan
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Nozaki H, Mori F, Tanaka Y, Matsuzaki R, Yamaguchi H, Kawachi M. Cryopreservation of vegetative cells and zygotes of the multicellular volvocine green alga Gonium pectorale. BMC Microbiol 2022; 22:103. [PMID: 35421922 PMCID: PMC9008917 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-022-02519-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Colonial and multicellular volvocine green algae have been extensively studied recently in various fields of the biological sciences. However, only one species (Pandorina morum) has been cryopreserved in public culture collections. Results Here, we investigated conditions for cryopreservation of the multicellular volvocine alga Gonium pectorale using vegetative colonies or cells and zygotes. Rates of vegetative cell survival in a G. pectorale strain after two-step cooling and freezing in liquid nitrogen were compared between different concentrations (3% and 6%) of the cryoprotectant N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and two types of tubes (0.2-mL polymerase chain reaction tubes and 2-mL cryotubes) used for cryopreservation. Among the four conditions investigated, the highest rate of survival [2.7 ± 3.6% (0.54–10%) by the most probable number (MPN) method] was obtained when 2.0-mL cryotubes containing 1.0 mL of culture samples with 6% DMF were subjected to cryogenic treatment. Using these optimized cryopreservation conditions, survival rates after freezing in liquid nitrogen were examined for twelve other strains of G. pectorale and twelve strains of five other Gonium species. We obtained ≥ 0.1% MPN survival in nine of the twelve G. pectorale strains tested. However, < 0.1% MPN survival was detected in eleven of twelve strains of five other Gonium species. In total, ten cryopreserved strains of G. pectorale were newly established in the Microbial Culture Collection at the National Institute for Environmental Studies. Although the cryopreservation of zygotes of volvocine algae has not been previously reported, high rates (approximately 60%) of G. pectorale zygote germination were observed after thawing zygotes that had been cryopreserved with 5% or 10% methanol as the cryoprotectant during two-step cooling and freezing in liquid nitrogen. Conclusions The present study demonstrated that cryopreservation of G. pectorale is possible with 6% DMF as a cryoprotectant and 1.0-mL culture samples in 2.0-mL cryotubes subjected to two-step cooling in a programmable freezer. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12866-022-02519-9.
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Sex-linked deubiquitinase establishes uniparental transmission of chloroplast DNA. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1133. [PMID: 35241655 PMCID: PMC8894339 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28807-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Most sexual organisms inherit organelles from one parent, commonly by excluding organelles from the smaller gametes. However, post-mating elimination of organelles derived from one gamete ensures uniparental inheritance, where the underlying mechanisms to distinguish organelles by their origin remain obscure. Mating in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii combines isomorphic plus and minus gametes, but chloroplast DNA from minus gametes is selectively degraded in zygotes. Here, we identify OTU2p (otubain protein 2), encoded in the plus mating-type locus MT+, as the protector of plus chloroplast. Otu2p is an otubain-like deubiquitinase, which prevents proteasome-mediated degradation of the preprotein translocase of the outer chloroplast membrane (TOC) during gametogenesis. Using OTU2p-knockouts and proteasome inhibitor treatment, we successfully redirect selective DNA degradation in chloroplasts with reduced TOC levels regardless of mating type, demonstrating that plus-specific Otu2p establishes uniparental chloroplast DNA inheritance. Our work documents that a sex-linked organelle quality control mechanism drives the uniparental organelle inheritance without dimorphic gametes. Most sexual organisms ensure that organelles are inherited from a single parent. Here, the authors describe OTU2p, a Chlamydomonas deubiquitinase that drives uniparental organelle inheritance without gametic dimorphism by preventing proteasome-mediated degradation exclusively in gametes of the plus mating type.
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6
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Shetty P, Farkas A, Pap B, Hupp B, Ördög V, Bíró T, Varga T, Maróti G. Comparative and phylogenomic analysis of nuclear and organelle genes in cryptic Coelastrella vacuolata MACC-549 green algae. ALGAL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2021.102380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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7
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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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8
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Craig RJ, Hasan AR, Ness RW, Keightley PD. Comparative genomics of Chlamydomonas. THE PLANT CELL 2021; 33:1016-1041. [PMID: 33793842 PMCID: PMC8226300 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koab026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite its role as a reference organism in the plant sciences, the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii entirely lacks genomic resources from closely related species. We present highly contiguous and well-annotated genome assemblies for three unicellular C. reinhardtii relatives: Chlamydomonas incerta, Chlamydomonas schloesseri, and the more distantly related Edaphochlamys debaryana. The three Chlamydomonas genomes are highly syntenous with similar gene contents, although the 129.2 Mb C. incerta and 130.2 Mb C. schloesseri assemblies are more repeat-rich than the 111.1 Mb C. reinhardtii genome. We identify the major centromeric repeat in C. reinhardtii as a LINE transposable element homologous to Zepp (the centromeric repeat in Coccomyxa subellipsoidea) and infer that centromere locations and structure are likely conserved in C. incerta and C. schloesseri. We report extensive rearrangements, but limited gene turnover, between the minus mating type loci of these Chlamydomonas species. We produce an eight-species core-Reinhardtinia whole-genome alignment, which we use to identify several hundred false positive and missing genes in the C. reinhardtii annotation and >260,000 evolutionarily conserved elements in the C. reinhardtii genome. In summary, these resources will enable comparative genomics analyses for C. reinhardtii, significantly extending the analytical toolkit for this emerging model system.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ahmed R Hasan
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Onatrio, Canada L5L 1C6
| | - Rob W Ness
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Onatrio, Canada L5L 1C6
| | - Peter D Keightley
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3FL Edinburgh, UK
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9
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Three genomes in the algal genus Volvox reveal the fate of a haploid sex-determining region after a transition to homothallism. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2100712118. [PMID: 34011609 PMCID: PMC8166075 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100712118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary transitions between species with separate sexes and species in which individuals have both sex functions have wide-ranging biological implications. It is largely unknown how such transitions occur in systems with haploid male- and female-determining chromosomes in algae and bryophytes. We investigated such a transition in the algal genus Volvox by making whole-genome sequences of two closely related species, one of which is heterothallic (with distinct males and females) and the other homothallic (with only bisexual, self-compatible individuals). The heterothallic species harbors a sex-determining region (SDR), while the homothallic species retains a nearly intact female-derived SDR-like region and separate regions containing key male genes. Thus, an ancestral female has probably become homothallic by acquiring genes that confer male functions. Transitions between separate sexes (dioecy) and other mating systems are common across eukaryotes. Here, we study a change in a haploid dioecious green algal species with male- and female-determining chromosomes (U and V). The genus Volvox is an oogamous (with large, immotile female gametes and small, motile male gametes) and includes both heterothallic species (with distinct male and female genotypes, associated with a mating-type system that prevents fusion of gametes of the same sex) and homothallic species (bisexual, with the ability to self-fertilize). We date the origin of an expanded sex-determining region (SDR) in Volvox to at least 75 Mya, suggesting that homothallism represents a breakdown of dioecy (heterothallism). We investigated the involvement of the SDR of the U and V chromosomes in this transition. Using de novo whole-genome sequences, we identified a heteromorphic SDR of ca 1 Mbp in male and female genotypes of the heterothallic species Volvox reticuliferus and a homologous region (SDLR) in the closely related homothallic species Volvox africanus, which retained several different hallmark features of an SDR. The V. africanus SDLR includes a large region resembling the female SDR of the presumptive heterothallic ancestor, whereas most genes from the male SDR are absent. However, we found a multicopy array of the male-determining gene, MID, in a different genomic location from the SDLR. Thus, in V. africanus, an ancestrally female genotype may have acquired MID and thereby gained male traits.
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10
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Hasan AR, Duggal JK, Ness RW. Consequences of recombination for the evolution of the mating type locus in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 224:1339-1348. [PMID: 31222749 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Recombination suppression in sex chromosomes and mating type loci can lead to degeneration as a result of reduced selection efficacy and Muller's ratchet effects. However, genetic exchange in the form of noncrossover gene conversions may still take place within crossover-suppressed regions. Recent work has found evidence that gene conversion may explain the low degrees of allelic differentiation in the dimorphic mating-type locus (MT) of the isogamous alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. However, no one has tested whether gene conversion is sufficient to avoid the degeneration of functional sequence within MT. Here, we calculate degree of linkage disequilibrium (LD) across MT as a proxy for recombination rate and investigate its relationship to patterns of population genetic variation and the efficacy of selection in the region. We find that degree of LD predicts selection efficacy across MT, and that purifying selection is stronger in shared genes than in MT-limited genes to the point of being equivalent to that of autosomal genes. We argue that while crossover suppression is needed in the mating-type loci of many isogamous systems, these loci are less likely to experience selection to differentiate further. Thus, recombination can act in these regions and prevent degeneration caused by Hill-Robertson effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed R Hasan
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G5, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
| | - Jaspreet K Duggal
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
| | - Rob W Ness
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G5, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
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11
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Desnitskiy AG. Advances in the Research of Sexual Reproduction in Colonial Volvocine Algae. Russ J Dev Biol 2019. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062360419050047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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12
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Abstract
Algae are photosynthetic eukaryotes whose taxonomic breadth covers a range of life histories, degrees of cellular and developmental complexity, and diverse patterns of sexual reproduction. These patterns include haploid- and diploid-phase sex determination, isogamous mating systems, and dimorphic sexes. Despite the ubiquity of sexual reproduction in algae, their mating-type-determination and sex-determination mechanisms have been investigated in only a limited number of representatives. These include volvocine green algae, where sexual cycles and sex-determining mechanisms have shed light on the transition from mating types to sexes, and brown algae, which are a model for UV sex chromosome evolution in the context of a complex haplodiplontic life cycle. Recent advances in genomics have aided progress in understanding sexual cycles in less-studied taxa including ulvophyte, charophyte, and prasinophyte green algae, as well as in diatoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Umen
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri 63132, USA;
| | - Susana Coelho
- Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, UPMC Université Paris 06, CNRS, CS 90074, F-29688 Roscoff, France;
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13
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Coelho SM, Gueno J, Lipinska AP, Cock JM, Umen JG. UV Chromosomes and Haploid Sexual Systems. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2018; 23:794-807. [PMID: 30007571 PMCID: PMC6128410 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2018.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Revised: 06/04/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of sex determination continues to pose major questions in biology. Sex-determination mechanisms control reproductive cell differentiation and development of sexual characteristics in all organisms, from algae to animals and plants. While the underlying processes defining sex (meiosis and recombination) are conserved, sex-determination mechanisms are highly labile. In particular, a flow of new discoveries has highlighted several fascinating features of the previously understudied haploid UV sex determination and related mating systems found in diverse photosynthetic taxa including green algae, bryophytes, and brown algae. Analyses integrating information from these systems and contrasting them with classical XY and ZW systems are providing exciting insights into both the universality and the diversity of sex-determining chromosomes across eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana Margarida Coelho
- Sorbonne Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR), 29680 Roscoff, France.
| | - Josselin Gueno
- Sorbonne Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR), 29680 Roscoff, France
| | - Agnieszka Paulina Lipinska
- Sorbonne Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR), 29680 Roscoff, France
| | - Jeremy Mark Cock
- Sorbonne Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR), 29680 Roscoff, France
| | - James G Umen
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63132, USA.
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14
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The rate of facultative sex governs the number of expected mating types in isogamous species. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:1168-1175. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0580-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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15
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Geng S, Miyagi A, Umen JG. Evolutionary divergence of the sex-determining gene MID uncoupled from the transition to anisogamy in volvocine algae. Development 2018; 145:dev.162537. [PMID: 29549112 DOI: 10.1242/dev.162537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Volvocine algae constitute a unique comparative model for investigating the evolution of oogamy from isogamous mating types. The sex- or mating type-determining gene MID encodes a conserved RWP-RK transcription factor found in either the MT- or male mating locus of dioecious volvocine species. We previously found that MID from the isogamous species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (CrMID) could not induce ectopic spermatogenesis when expressed heterologously in Volvox carteri females, suggesting coevolution of Mid function with gamete dimorphism. Here we found that ectopic expression of MID from the anisogamous species Pleodorina starrii (PsMID) could efficiently induce spermatogenesis when expressed in V. carteri females and, unexpectedly, that GpMID from the isogamous species Gonium pectorale was also able to induce V. carteri spermatogenesis. Neither VcMID nor GpMID could complement a C. reinhardtii mid mutant, at least partly owing to instability of heterologous Mid proteins. Our data show that Mid divergence was not a major contributor to the transition between isogamy and anisogamy/oogamy in volvocine algae, and instead implicate changes in cis-regulatory interactions and/or trans-acting factors of the Mid network in the evolution of sexual dimorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sa Geng
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N. Warson Rd., St. Louis, MO 63132, USA
| | - Ayano Miyagi
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N. Warson Rd., St. Louis, MO 63132, USA
| | - James G Umen
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N. Warson Rd., St. Louis, MO 63132, USA
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16
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Hamaji T, Kawai-Toyooka H, Uchimura H, Suzuki M, Noguchi H, Minakuchi Y, Toyoda A, Fujiyama A, Miyagishima SY, Umen JG, Nozaki H. Anisogamy evolved with a reduced sex-determining region in volvocine green algae. Commun Biol 2018; 1:17. [PMID: 30271904 PMCID: PMC6123790 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-018-0019-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Male and female gametes differing in size-anisogamy-emerged independently from isogamous ancestors in various eukaryotic lineages, although genetic bases of this emergence are still unknown. Volvocine green algae are a model lineage for investigating the transition from isogamy to anisogamy. Here we focus on two closely related volvocine genera that bracket this transition-isogamous Yamagishiella and anisogamous Eudorina. We generated de novo nuclear genome assemblies of both sexes of Yamagishiella and Eudorina to identify the dimorphic sex-determining chromosomal region or mating-type locus (MT) from each. In contrast to the large (>1 Mb) and complex MT of oogamous Volvox, Yamagishiella and Eudorina MT are smaller (7-268 kb) and simpler with only two sex-limited genes-the minus/male-limited MID and the plus/female-limited FUS1. No prominently dimorphic gametologs were identified in either species. Thus, the first step to anisogamy in volvocine algae presumably occurred without an increase in MT size and complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Hamaji
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwakecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan
| | - Hiroko Kawai-Toyooka
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
| | - Haruka Uchimura
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Masahiro Suzuki
- Kobe University Research Center for Inland Seas, Awaji, Hyogo, 656-2401, Japan
| | - Hideki Noguchi
- Center for Genome Informatics, Joint Support-Center for Data Science Research, Research Organization of Information and Systems, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
- Advanced Genomics Center, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Yohei Minakuchi
- Center for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Atsushi Toyoda
- Advanced Genomics Center, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
- Center for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Asao Fujiyama
- Advanced Genomics Center, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Shin-Ya Miyagishima
- Department of Cell Genetics, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - James G Umen
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N Warson Rd, St. Louis, MO, 63132, USA
| | - Hisayoshi Nozaki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
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17
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Yamazaki T, Ichihara K, Suzuki R, Oshima K, Miyamura S, Kuwano K, Toyoda A, Suzuki Y, Sugano S, Hattori M, Kawano S. Genomic structure and evolution of the mating type locus in the green seaweed Ulva partita. Sci Rep 2017; 7:11679. [PMID: 28916791 PMCID: PMC5601483 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-11677-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 08/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolution of sex chromosomes and mating loci in organisms with UV systems of sex/mating type determination in haploid phases via genes on UV chromosomes is not well understood. We report the structure of the mating type (MT) locus and its evolutionary history in the green seaweed Ulva partita, which is a multicellular organism with an isomorphic haploid-diploid life cycle and mating type determination in the haploid phase. Comprehensive comparison of a total of 12.0 and 16.6 Gb of genomic next-generation sequencing data for mt- and mt+ strains identified highly rearranged MT loci of 1.0 and 1.5 Mb in size and containing 46 and 67 genes, respectively, including 23 gametologs. Molecular evolutionary analyses suggested that the MT loci diverged over a prolonged period in the individual mating types after their establishment in an ancestor. A gene encoding an RWP-RK domain-containing protein was found in the mt- MT locus but was not an ortholog of the chlorophycean mating type determination gene MID. Taken together, our results suggest that the genomic structure and its evolutionary history in the U. partita MT locus are similar to those on other UV chromosomes and that the MT locus genes are quite different from those of Chlorophyceae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomokazu Yamazaki
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Kensuke Ichihara
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Ryogo Suzuki
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Kenshiro Oshima
- Department of Medical Genome Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Shinichi Miyamura
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Kazuyoshi Kuwano
- Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Atsushi Toyoda
- Center for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Yutaka Suzuki
- Department of Medical Genome Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Sumio Sugano
- Department of Medical Genome Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Masahira Hattori
- Department of Medical Genome Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
- Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shigeyuki Kawano
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.
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18
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Brodie J, Chan CX, De Clerck O, Cock JM, Coelho SM, Gachon C, Grossman AR, Mock T, Raven JA, Smith AG, Yoon HS, Bhattacharya D. The Algal Revolution. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2017; 22:726-738. [PMID: 28610890 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2017.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Revised: 05/04/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2017] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Algae are (mostly) photosynthetic eukaryotes that occupy multiple branches of the tree of life, and are vital for planet function and health. In this review, we highlight a transformative period in studies of the evolution and functioning of this extraordinary group of organisms and their potential for novel applications, wrought by high-throughput 'omic' and reverse genetic methods. We cover the origin and diversification of algal groups, explore advances in understanding the link between phenotype and genotype, consider algal sex determination, and review progress in understanding the roots of algal multicellularity. Experimental evolution studies to determine how algae evolve in changing environments are highlighted, as is their potential as production platforms for compounds of commercial interest, such as biofuel precursors, nutraceuticals, or therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliet Brodie
- Natural History Museum, Department of Life Sciences, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Cheong Xin Chan
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Olivier De Clerck
- Research Group Phycology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - J Mark Cock
- CNRS, Sorbonne Université, UPMC University Paris 06, Algal Genetics Group, UMR 8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, Roscoff F-29688, France
| | - Susana M Coelho
- CNRS, Sorbonne Université, UPMC University Paris 06, Algal Genetics Group, UMR 8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, Roscoff F-29688, France
| | - Claire Gachon
- Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban, PA37 1QA, UK
| | - Arthur R Grossman
- Department of Plant Biology, The Carnegie Institution, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Thomas Mock
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - John A Raven
- Permanent address: Division of Plant Sciences, University of Dundee at the James Hutton Institute, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK; School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Alison G Smith
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Hwan Su Yoon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea
| | - Debashish Bhattacharya
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
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19
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Yamamoto K, Kawai-Toyooka H, Hamaji T, Tsuchikane Y, Mori T, Takahashi F, Sekimoto H, Ferris PJ, Nozaki H. Molecular evolutionary analysis of a gender-limited MID ortholog from the homothallic species Volvox africanus with male and monoecious spheroids. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0180313. [PMID: 28665990 PMCID: PMC5493378 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Volvox is a very interesting oogamous organism that exhibits various types of sexuality and/or sexual spheroids depending upon species or strains. However, molecular bases of such sexual reproduction characteristics have not been studied in this genus. In the model species V. carteri, an ortholog of the minus mating type-determining or minus dominance gene (MID) of isogamous Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is male-specific and determines the sperm formation. Male and female genders are genetically determined (heterothallism) in V. carteri, whereas in several other species of Volvox both male and female gametes (sperm and eggs) are formed within the same clonal culture (homothallism). To resolve the molecular basis of the evolution of Volvox species with monoecious spheroids, we here describe a MID ortholog in the homothallic species V. africanus that produces both monoecious and male spheroids within a single clonal culture. Comparison of synonymous and nonsynonymous nucleotide substitutions in MID genes between V. africanus and heterothallic volvocacean species suggests that the MID gene of V. africanus evolved under the same degree of functional constraint as those of the heterothallic species. Based on semi quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses using the asexual, male and monoecious spheroids isolated from a sexually induced V. africanus culture, the MID mRNA level was significantly upregulated in the male spheroids, but suppressed in the monoecious spheroids. These results suggest that the monoecious spheroid-specific down regulation of gene expression of the MID homolog correlates with the formation of both eggs and sperm in the same spheroid in V. africanus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayoko Yamamoto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroko Kawai-Toyooka
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takashi Hamaji
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuki Tsuchikane
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshiyuki Mori
- Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, School of Medicine, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Fumio Takahashi
- College of Life Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu-shi, Shiga, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Sekimoto
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Patrick J. Ferris
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Hisayoshi Nozaki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- * E-mail:
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20
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Sekimoto H. Sexual reproduction and sex determination in green algae. JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH 2017; 130:423-431. [PMID: 28188480 DOI: 10.1007/s10265-017-0908-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2016] [Accepted: 12/26/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The sexual reproductive processes of some representative freshwater green algae are reviewed. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a unicellular volvocine alga having two mating types: mating type plus (mt+) and mating type minus (mt-), which are controlled by a single, complex mating-type locus. Sexual adhesion between the gametes is mediated by sex-specific agglutinin molecules on their flagellar membranes. Cell fusion is initiated by an adhesive interaction between the mt+ and mt- mating structures, followed by localized membrane fusion. The loci of sex-limited genes and the conformation of sex-determining regions have been rearranged during the evolution of volvocine algae; however, the essential function of the sex-determining genes of the isogamous unicellular Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is conserved in the multicellular oogamous Volvox carteri. The sexual reproduction of the unicellular charophycean alga, Closterium peracerosum-strigosum-littorale complex, is also focused on here. The sexual reproductive processes of heterothallic strains are controlled by two multifunctional sex pheromones, PR-IP and PR-IP Inducer, which independently promote multiple steps in conjugation at the appropriate times through different induction mechanisms. The molecules involved in sexual reproduction and sex determination have also been characterized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroyuki Sekimoto
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan.
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