Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2022 Aug;128:51-60. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.03.026. Epub 2022 Mar 26.
Despite the universal requirement for faithful chromosome segregation, eukaryotic centromeres are rapidly evolving. It is hypothesized that rapid centromere evolution represents an evolutionary arms race between selfish genetic elements that drive, or propagate at the expense of organismal fitness, and mechanisms that suppress fitness costs. Selfish centromere DNA achieves preferential inheritance in female meiosis by recruiting more effector proteins that alter spindle microtubule interaction dynamics. Parallel pathways for effector recruitment are adaptively evolved to suppress functional differences between centromeres. Opportunities to drive are not limited to female meiosis, and selfish transposons, plasmids and B chromosomes also benefit by maximizing their inheritance. Rapid evolution of selfish genetic elements can diversify suppressor mechanisms in different species that may cause hybrid incompatibility.
尽管普遍需要忠实的染色体分离，但真核生物的着丝粒却在迅速进化。有人假设，快速的着丝粒进化代表了一种进化军备竞赛，其中自私的遗传元件驱动或以生物体适应性为代价传播，而抑制适应性代价的机制也在进化。自私的着丝粒 DNA 通过招募更多改变纺锤体微管相互作用动力学的效应蛋白，在雌性减数分裂中优先遗传。用于招募效应蛋白的平行途径是适应性进化的，以抑制着丝粒之间的功能差异。驱动的机会不仅限于雌性减数分裂，自私的转座子、质粒和 B 染色体也通过最大限度地增加其遗传来获益。自私遗传元件的快速进化可以使不同物种中的抑制机制多样化，这可能导致杂种不育。
