A large gene family in fission yeast encodes spore killers that subvert Mendel's law

Spore killers in fungi are selfish genetic elements that distort Mendelian segregation in their favor. It remains unclear how many species harbor them and how diverse their mechanisms are. Here, we discover two spore killers from a natural isolate of the fission yeast . Both killers belong to the pr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published ineLife Vol. 6
Main Authors Hu, Wen, Jiang, Zhao-Di, Suo, Fang, Zheng, Jin-Xin, He, Wan-Zhong, Du, Li-Lin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England eLife Science Publications, Ltd 20.06.2017
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Subjects
Chromosomes
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Fungi
Gene expression
Genes
Genes, Fungal
Genetic aspects
Genetic engineering
Genomes
Genomics and Evolutionary Biology
Laboratories
meiotic drive
Microbial Viability - drug effects
Observations
Phylogenetics
Poisons - metabolism
Reproductive isolation
Schizosaccharomyces - drug effects
Schizosaccharomyces - genetics
Schizosaccharomyces - metabolism
segregation distortion
Selection, Genetic
spore killer
Spores
Spores, Fungal - drug effects
Yeast
Yeasts (Fungi)
genomics
segregation distortion
evolutionary biology
S. pombe
spore killer
meiotic drive
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Spore killers in fungi are selfish genetic elements that distort Mendelian segregation in their favor. It remains unclear how many species harbor them and how diverse their mechanisms are. Here, we discover two spore killers from a natural isolate of the fission yeast . Both killers belong to the previously uncharacterized gene family with 25 members in the reference genome. These two killers act in strain-background-independent and genome-location-independent manners to perturb the maturation of spores not inheriting them. Spores carrying one killer are protected from its killing effect but not that of the other killer. The killing and protecting activities can be uncoupled by mutation. The numbers and sequences of genes vary considerably between isolates, indicating rapid divergence. We propose that genes contribute to the extensive intraspecific reproductive isolation in , and represent ideal models for understanding how segregation-distorting elements act and evolve.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:2050-084X
2050-084X
DOI:10.7554/eLife.26057