Nuckolls Nicole L, Bravo Núñez María Angélica, Eickbush Michael T, Young Janet M, Lange Jeffrey J, Yu Jonathan S, Smith Gerald R, Jaspersen Sue L, Malik Harmit S, Zanders Sarah E
Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, United States.
Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, United States.
Elife. 2017 Jun 20;6:e26033. doi: 10.7554/eLife.26033.
Meiotic drivers are selfish genes that bias their transmission into gametes, defying Mendelian inheritance. Despite the significant impact of these genomic parasites on evolution and infertility, few meiotic drive loci have been identified or mechanistically characterized. Here, we demonstrate a complex landscape of meiotic drive genes on chromosome 3 of the fission yeasts and . We identify as one of these genes that acts to kill gametes (known as spores in yeast) that do not inherit the gene from heterozygotes. utilizes dual, overlapping transcripts to encode both a gamete-killing poison and an antidote to the poison. To enact drive, all gametes are poisoned, whereas only those that inherit are rescued by the antidote. Our work suggests that the multigene family proliferated due to meiotic drive and highlights the power of selfish genes to shape genomes, even while imposing tremendous costs to fertility.
减数分裂驱动基因是一种自私基因，它们在遗传给配子时会产生偏差，违背孟德尔遗传定律。尽管这些基因组寄生虫对进化和不育有着重大影响，但很少有减数分裂驱动位点被识别或进行机制表征。在这里，我们展示了裂殖酵母三号染色体上减数分裂驱动基因的复杂情况。我们将[基因名称]确定为其中一个基因，它会杀死那些没有从杂合子中继承该基因的配子（在酵母中称为孢子）。[基因名称]利用双重重叠转录本编码一种杀死配子的毒素和该毒素的解毒剂。为了实现驱动，所有配子都会被下毒，而只有那些继承了[基因名称]的配子会被解毒剂拯救。我们的研究表明，[基因名称]多基因家族因减数分裂驱动而增殖，并突出了自私基因塑造基因组的能力，即使这会给生育带来巨大代价。
