Project description:The origin and early evolution of sex chromosomes are currently poorly understood. The Neurospora tetrasperma mating-type (mat) chromosomes have recently emerged as a model system for the study of early sex chromosome evolution, since they contain a young (<6 million years ago [Mya]), large (>6.6-Mb) region of suppressed recombination. Here we examined preferred-codon usage in 290 genes (121,831 codon positions) in order to test for early signs of genomic degeneration in N. tetrasperma mat chromosomes. We report several key findings about codon usage in the region of recombination suppression, including the following: (i) this region has been subjected to marked and largely independent degeneration among gene alleles; (ii) the level of degeneration is magnified over longer periods of recombination suppression; and (iii) both mat a and mat A chromosomes have been subjected to deterioration. The frequency of shifts from preferred codons to nonpreferred codons is greater for shorter genes than for longer genes, suggesting that short genes play an especially significant role in early sex chromosome evolution. Furthermore, we show that these degenerative changes in codon usage are best explained by altered selection efficiency in the recombinationally suppressed region. These findings demonstrate that the fungus N. tetrasperma provides an effective system for the study of degenerative genomic changes in young regions of recombination suppression in sex-regulating chromosomes.
Project description:Neurospora tetrasperma is a pseudohomothallic filamentous ascomycete with a large (~ 7 Mbp) region of suppressed recombination surrounding its mating-type (mat) locus. The suppressed recombination has lead to sequence divergence between the two mating-type chromosomes of wild-type heterokaryotic strains, while the remaining genome is largely homoallelic. In this study, we use microarray technology to manifest expression divergence linked to mating type in N. tetrasperma. N. tetrasperma and N. crassa, were grown on agar regimes inducing sexual growth (Synthetic Crossing medium) and vegetative growth (Vogel's Medium), respectively.
Project description:Whole-genome assemblies of 19 placental mammals and two outgroup species were used to reconstruct the order and orientation of syntenic fragments in chromosomes of the eutherian ancestor and six other descendant ancestors leading to human. For ancestral chromosome reconstructions, we developed an algorithm (DESCHRAMBLER) that probabilistically determines the adjacencies of syntenic fragments using chromosome-scale and fragmented genome assemblies. The reconstructed chromosomes of the eutherian, boreoeutherian, and euarchontoglires ancestor each included >80% of the entire length of the human genome, whereas reconstructed chromosomes of the most recent common ancestor of simians, catarrhini, great apes, and humans and chimpanzees included >90% of human genome sequence. These high-coverage reconstructions permitted reliable identification of chromosomal rearrangements over ?105 My of eutherian evolution. Orangutan was found to have eight chromosomes that were completely conserved in homologous sequence order and orientation with the eutherian ancestor, the largest number for any species. Ruminant artiodactyls had the highest frequency of intrachromosomal rearrangements, and interchromosomal rearrangements dominated in murid rodents. A total of 162 chromosomal breakpoints in evolution of the eutherian ancestral genome to the human genome were identified; however, the rate of rearrangements was significantly lower (0.80/My) during the first ?60 My of eutherian evolution, then increased to greater than 2.0/My along the five primate lineages studied. Our results significantly expand knowledge of eutherian genome evolution and will facilitate greater understanding of the role of chromosome rearrangements in adaptation, speciation, and the etiology of inherited and spontaneously occurring diseases.
Project description:Yeast chromosome III contains the mating type loci that provide a paradigm for long-range interactions between distant loci. Yeast switch mating type by gene conversion between the MAT locus and either of two silent loci (HML or HMR) on opposite ends of the chromosome. This long-range process is mating type-specific so that MATa cells choose HML as template, while MATα cells use HMR. The Recombination Enhancer (RE), located on the left arm regulates this process. One long-standing hypothesis is that switching is guided by mating type-specific, and possibly RE-dependent three-dimensional folding of chromosome III. Here we used Hi-C, 5C, and live cell imaging to characterize the conformation of chromosome III in both mating types in non-switching strains. We discovered a mating type-specific difference in the folding of the left arm: in MATa cells the left arm is located closely to the centromere-proximal portion of the chromosome as well as to MAT, whereas it is more extended away in MATα cells. Deletion analysis showed that a 1 kb subregion within the RE, which is not necessary during switching, abolished mating type-dependent chromosome folding. In this mutant the conformation of chromosome III is the same in both mating types, but distinct from the wild type MATa or MATα conformations, indicating that the RE induces conformational changes in both mating types. The RE is therefore a composite element with one subregion essential for selecting the appropriate donor during switching, and a separate region involved in modulating chromosome conformation prior to switching.
Project description:Yeast chromosome III contains the mating type loci that provide a paradigm for long-range interactions between distant loci. Yeast switch mating type by gene conversion between the MAT locus and either of two silent loci (HML or HMR) on opposite ends of the chromosome. This long-range process is mating type-specific so that MATa cells choose HML as template, while MATα cells use HMR. The Recombination Enhancer (RE), located on the left arm regulates this process. One long-standing hypothesis is that switching is guided by mating type-specific, and possibly RE-dependent three-dimensional folding of chromosome III. Here we used Hi-C, 5C, and live cell imaging to characterize the conformation of chromosome III in both mating types in non-switching strains. We discovered a mating type-specific difference in the folding of the left arm: in MATa cells the left arm is located closely to the centromere-proximal portion of the chromosome as well as to MAT, whereas it is more extended away in MATα cells. Deletion analysis showed that a 1 kb subregion within the RE, which is not necessary during switching, abolished mating type-dependent chromosome folding. In this mutant the conformation of chromosome III is the same in both mating types, but distinct from the wild type MATa or MATα conformations, indicating that the RE induces conformational changes in both mating types. The RE is therefore a composite element with one subregion essential for selecting the appropriate donor during switching, and a separate region involved in modulating chromosome conformation prior to switching. This submission contain 2 biological replicates of Hi-C experiments done in MATa and MATalpha cells in Saccharamycese cerevisiae. It also contains 3 biological replicates of 13 5C experiments in various mutants in MATa and MATalpha cells.
Project description:Neurospora tetrasperma is a pseudohomothallic filamentous ascomycete with a large (~ 7 Mbp) region of suppressed recombination surrounding its mating-type (mat) locus. The suppressed recombination has lead to sequence divergence between the two mating-type chromosomes of wild-type heterokaryotic strains, while the remaining genome is largely homoallelic. In this study, we use microarray technology to manifest expression divergence linked to mating type in N. tetrasperma. N. tetrasperma and N. crassa, were grown on agar regimes inducing sexual growth (Synthetic Crossing medium) and vegetative growth (Vogel's Medium), respectively. [SC]: Neurospora tetrasperma mat-A FGSC#1270; mat-a FGSC#1271; Mat-A FGSC#9033; mat-a FGSC#9034; N. crassa mat-A FGSC#2489 and mat-a FGSC 4200: Synthetic Crossing medium was used as a nutrient regime before sampling and processing [Veg]: Neurospora tetrasperma mat-A FGSC#1270; mat-a FGSC#1271; Mat-A FGSC#9033; mat-a FGSC#9034; N. crassa mat-A FGSC#2489 and mat-a FGSC 4200: Vogel's Medium (Vegetative Medium) was used as a nutrient regime before sampling and processing
Project description:The two partners required for sexual reproduction are rarely the same. This pattern extends to species which lack sexual dimorphism yet possess self-incompatible gametes determined at mating-type regions of suppressed recombination, likely precursors of sex chromosomes. Here we investigate the role of cellular signaling in the evolution of mating-types. We develop a model of ligand-receptor dynamics, and identify factors that determine the capacity of cells to send and receive signals. The model specifies conditions favoring the evolution of gametes producing ligand and receptor asymmetrically and shows how these are affected by recombination. When the recombination rate evolves, the conditions favoring asymmetric signaling also favor tight linkage of ligand and receptor loci in distinct linkage groups. These results suggest that selection for asymmetric gamete signaling could be the first step in the evolution of non-recombinant mating-type loci, paving the road for the evolution of anisogamy and sexes.
Project description:To date, research on the evolution of sex chromosomes has focused on sexually antagonistic selection among diploids, which has been shown to be a potent driver of the strata and reduced recombination that characterize many sex chromosomes. However, significant selection can also occur on haploid genotypes during less conspicuous life cycle stages, e.g., competition among sperm/pollen or meiotic drive during gamete/spore production. These haploid selective processes are typically sex-specific, e.g., gametic/gametophytic competition typically occurs among sperm/pollen, and meiotic drive typically occurs during either spermatogenesis or oogenesis. We use models to investigate whether sex-specific selection on haploids could drive the evolution of recombination suppression on the sex chromosomes, as has been demonstrated for sex-specific selection among diploids. A potential complication is that zygotic sex-ratios become biased when haploid selected loci become linked to the sex-determining region because the zygotic sex ratio is determined by the relative number and fitness of X- vs. Y-bearing sperm. Despite causing biased zygotic sex-ratios, we find that a period of sex-specific haploid selection generally favors recombination suppression on the sex chromosomes. Suppressed recombination is favored because it allows associations to build up between haploid-beneficial alleles and the sex that experiences haploid selection most often (e.g., pollen beneficial alleles become strongly associated with the male determining region, Y or Z). Haploid selected loci can favor recombination suppression even in the absence of selective differences between male and female diploids. Overall, we expand our view of the sex-specific life cycle stages that can drive sex chromosome evolution to include gametic competition and meiotic drive. Based on our models, sex chromosomes should become enriched for genes that experience haploid selection, as is expected for genes that experience sexually antagonistic selection. Thus, we generate a number of predictions that can be evaluated in emerging sex chromosome systems.
Project description:Diapause is a key life-history event characterised by arrested development, suppressed metabolism and increased stress tolerance. This state allows an organism to avoid prolonged periods of harsh and inhospitable environmental conditions. For species where only mated female adults undergo diapause, mating is performed prior to diapause. Mating can have a profound effect on the behaviour and physiology of females resulting in changes to the expression of key biological processes, including immunity. However, our understanding of how mating impacts long-term immunity and whether these effects persist throughout diapause is currently limited. Here we explored proteomic changes in the haemolymph of the ecologically important pollinator, Bombus terrestris. B. terrestris queens mate prior to diapause (a non-feeding arrest of development that can last 6-9 months). Using mass-spectrometry-based proteomics, we quantified changes in the pre-diapause queen haemolymph after mating, as well as the subsequent protein expression of mated queens during and post-diapause. Our results provide clear molecular evidence for the consequences and benefits of mating at the immune level through the selective increased abundance of antimicrobial peptides that are sustained throughout diapause. In addition our results provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms by which bumblebees prepare for, survive, and recover from diapause, insights that may have implications for our general understanding of these processes in other insect groups.