scholarly journals Widespread Recombination Suppression Facilitates Plant Sex Chromosome Evolution

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna L Rifkin ◽  
Felix E G Beaudry ◽  
Zoë Humphries ◽  
Baharul I Choudhury ◽  
Spencer C H Barrett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Genetic Maps ◽  
Recombination Rates ◽  
Recombination Suppression ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Classical Models ◽  
Element Type ◽  
Chromosome Formation

Abstract Classical models suggest that recombination rates on sex chromosomes evolve in a stepwise manner to localize sexually antagonistic variants in the sex in which they are beneficial, thereby lowering rates of recombination between X and Y chromosomes. However, it is also possible that sex chromosome formation occurs in regions with preexisting recombination suppression. To evaluate these possibilities, we constructed linkage maps and a chromosome-scale genome assembly for the dioecious plant Rumex hastatulus. This species has a polymorphic karyotype with a young neo-sex chromosome, resulting from a Robertsonian fusion between the X chromosome and an autosome, in part of its geographic range. We identified the shared and neo-sex chromosomes using comparative genetic maps of the two cytotypes. We found that sex-linked regions of both the ancestral and the neo-sex chromosomes are embedded in large regions of low recombination. Furthermore, our comparison of the recombination landscape of the neo-sex chromosome to its autosomal homolog indicates that low recombination rates mainly preceded sex linkage. These patterns are not unique to the sex chromosomes; all chromosomes were characterized by massive regions of suppressed recombination spanning most of each chromosome. This represents an extreme case of the periphery-biased recombination seen in other systems with large chromosomes. Across all chromosomes, gene and repetitive sequence density correlated with recombination rate, with patterns of variation differing by repetitive element type. Our findings suggest that ancestrally low rates of recombination may facilitate the formation and subsequent evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes.

scholarly journals Widespread Recombination Suppression Facilitates Plant Sex Chromosome Evolution

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna L. Rifkin ◽  
Felix E.G. Beaudry ◽  
Zoë Humphries ◽  
Baharul I. Choudhury ◽  
Spencer C.H. Barrett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Recombination Rates ◽  
Recombination Suppression ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Heteromorphic Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Classical Models ◽  
Formation And Evolution ◽  
Rumex Hastatulus ◽  
Chromosome Formation

1SummaryClassical models suggest recombination rates on sex chromosomes evolve in a stepwise manner to localize the inheritance of sexually antagonistic variation in the sex where it is beneficial, thereby lowering rates of recombination between X and Y chromosomes. However, it is also possible that sex chromosome formation occurs in regions with pre-existing recombination suppression. To evaluate these possibilities, we constructed linkage maps and a chromosome-scale genome assembly for the dioecious plant Rumex hastatulus, a species with a young neo-sex chromosome found in part of its geographical range. We found that the ancestral sex-linked region is located in a large region characterized by low recombination. Furthermore, comparison between the recombination landscape of the neo-sex chromosome and its autosomal homologue indicates that low recombination rates preceded sex linkage. Our findings suggest that ancestrally low rates of recombination have facilitated the formation and evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes.

scholarly journals Telomere-to-telomere assembly of a fish Y chromosome reveals the origin of a young sex chromosome pair

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingzhan Xue ◽  
Yu Gao ◽  
Meiying Wu ◽  
Tian Tian ◽  
Haiping Fan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Y Chromosome ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Chromosome Pair ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Structural Variations ◽  
Recombination Suppression ◽  
Chromosome Differentiation ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Recent Origin ◽  
Mastacembelus Armatus

Abstract Background The origin of sex chromosomes requires the establishment of recombination suppression between the proto-sex chromosomes. In many fish species, the sex chromosome pair is homomorphic with a recent origin, providing species for studying how and why recombination suppression evolved in the initial stages of sex chromosome differentiation, but this requires accurate sequence assembly of the X and Y (or Z and W) chromosomes, which may be difficult if they are recently diverged. Results Here we produce a haplotype-resolved genome assembly of zig-zag eel (Mastacembelus armatus), an aquaculture fish, at the chromosomal scale. The diploid assembly is nearly gap-free, and in most chromosomes, we resolve the centromeric and subtelomeric heterochromatic sequences. In particular, the Y chromosome, including its highly repetitive short arm, has zero gaps. Using resequencing data, we identify a ~7 Mb fully sex-linked region (SLR), spanning the sex chromosome centromere and almost entirely embedded in the pericentromeric heterochromatin. The SLRs on the X and Y chromosomes are almost identical in sequence and gene content, but both are repetitive and heterochromatic, consistent with zero or low recombination. We further identify an HMG-domain containing gene HMGN6 in the SLR as a candidate sex-determining gene that is expressed at the onset of testis development. Conclusions Our study supports the idea that preexisting regions of low recombination, such as pericentromeric regions, can give rise to SLR in the absence of structural variations between the proto-sex chromosomes.

scholarly journals Evolution of recombination rates between sex chromosomes

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1736) ◽  
pp. 20160456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Charlesworth
Keyword(s):  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Rate Variation ◽  
Recombination Rates ◽  
Recombination Suppression ◽  
Proximate Mechanisms ◽  
Chromosomal Heteromorphism ◽  
Suppressed Recombination ◽  
Recombination Rate Variation

In species with genetic sex-determination, the chromosomes carrying the sex-determining genes have often evolved non-recombining regions and subsequently evolved the full set of characteristics denoted by the term ‘sex chromosomes’. These include size differences, creating chromosomal heteromorphism, and loss of gene functions from one member of the chromosome pair. Such characteristics and changes have been widely reviewed, and underlie molecular genetic approaches that can detect sex chromosome regions. This review deals mainly with the evolution of new non-recombining regions, focusing on how certain evolutionary situations select for suppressed recombination (rather than the proximate mechanisms causing suppressed recombination between sex chromosomes). Particularly important is the likely involvement of sexually antagonistic polymorphisms in genome regions closely linked to sex-determining loci. These may be responsible for the evolutionary strata of sex chromosomes that have repeatedly formed by recombination suppression evolving across large genome regions. More studies of recently evolved non-recombining sex-determining regions should help to test this hypothesis empirically, and may provide evidence about whether other situations can sometimes lead to sex-linked regions evolving. Similarities with other non-recombining genome regions are discussed briefly, to illustrate common features of the different cases, though no general properties apply to all of them. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Evolutionary causes and consequences of recombination rate variation in sexual organisms’.

scholarly journals Single-molecule genome assembly of the BasketWillow, Salix viminalis, reveals earliest stages of sex chromosome expansion

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Almeida ◽  
Estelle Proux-Wera ◽  
Allison Churcher ◽  
Lucile Soler ◽  
Jacques Dainat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Phylogenetic Trees ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Draft Genome ◽  
Salix Viminalis ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Recombination Suppression ◽  
Gradual Process ◽  
Chromosome Formation

AbstractSex chromosomes have evolved independently multiple times in eukaryotes and are therefore considered a prime example of convergent genome evolution. Sex chromosomes are known to emerge after recombination is halted between a homologous pair of chromosomes and this leads to a range of non-adaptive modifications causing the gradual degeneration and gene loss on the sex-limited chromosome. However, because studies on sex chromosomes have primarily focused on old and highly differentiated sex chromosomes, the causes of recombination suppression and the pace at which degeneration subsequently occurs remain unclear. Here, we use long- and short-read single molecule sequencing approaches to assemble and annotate a draft genome of the basket willow,Salix viminalis, a species with a female heterogametic system at the earliest stages of sex chromosome emergence. Our single-molecule approach allowed us to phase the emerging Z and W haplotypes in a female, and we detected very low levels of Z/W divergence, largely the result of the accumulation of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the non-recombining region. Linked-read sequencing of the same female and an additional male (ZZ) revealed the presence of two evolutionary strata supported by both divergence between the Z and W haplotypes and by haplotype phylogenetic trees. Gene order is still largely conserved between the Z and W homologs, although a few genes present on the Z have already been lost from the W. Furthermore, we use multiple lines of evidence to test for inversions, which have long been assumed to halt recombination between the sex chromosomes. Our data suggest that selection against recombination is a more gradual process at the earliest stages of sex chromosome formation than would be expected from an inversion. Our results present a cohesive understanding of the earliest genomic consequences of recombination suppression as well as valuable insights into the initial stages of sex chromosome formation.

scholarly journals Differential Gene Expression between Fungal Mating Types Is Associated with Sequence Degeneration

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 243-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Juan Ma ◽  
Fantin Carpentier ◽  
Tatiana Giraud ◽  
Michael E Hood
Keyword(s):  
Differential Expression ◽  
Differentially Expressed Genes ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Gc Content ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Mating Types ◽  
Sexual Antagonism ◽  
Recombination Suppression

Abstract Degenerative mutations in non-recombining regions, such as in sex chromosomes, may lead to differential expression between alleles if mutations occur stochastically in one or the other allele. Reduced allelic expression due to degeneration has indeed been suggested to occur in various sex-chromosome systems. However, whether an association occurs between specific signatures of degeneration and differential expression between alleles has not been extensively tested, and sexual antagonism can also cause differential expression on sex chromosomes. The anther-smut fungus Microbotryum lychnidis-dioicae is ideal for testing associations between specific degenerative signatures and differential expression because 1) there are multiple evolutionary strata on the mating-type chromosomes, reflecting successive recombination suppression linked to mating-type loci; 2) separate haploid cultures of opposite mating types help identify differential expression between alleles; and 3) there is no sexual antagonism as a confounding factor accounting for differential expression. We found that differentially expressed genes were enriched in the four oldest evolutionary strata compared with other genomic compartments, and that, within compartments, several signatures of sequence degeneration were greater for differentially expressed than non-differentially expressed genes. Two particular degenerative signatures were significantly associated with lower expression levels within differentially expressed allele pairs: upstream insertion of transposable elements and mutations truncating the protein length. Other degenerative mutations associated with differential expression included nonsynonymous substitutions and altered intron or GC content. The association between differential expression and allele degeneration is relevant for a broad range of taxa where mating compatibility or sex is determined by genes located in large regions where recombination is suppressed.

scholarly journals Differences in recombination frequencies during female and male meioses of the sex chromosomes of the medaka, Oryzias latipes

2001 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIKO KONDO ◽  
ERIKO NAGAO ◽  
HIROSHI MITANI ◽  
AKIHIRO SHIMA
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Map ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Oryzias Latipes ◽  
Male Recombination ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Genetic Length ◽  
Expressed Sequence ◽  
Group 1

In the medaka, Oryzias latipes, sex is determined chromosomally. The sex chromosomes differ from those of mammals in that the X and Y chromosomes are highly homologous. Using backcross panels for linkage analysis, we mapped 21 sequence tagged site (STS) markers on the sex chromosomes (linkage group 1). The genetic map of the sex chromosome was established using male and female meioses. The genetic length of the sex chromosome was shorter in male than in female meioses. The region where male recombination is suppressed is the region close to the sex-determining gene y, while female recombination was suppressed in both the telomeric regions. The restriction in recombination does not occur uniformly on the sex chromosome, as the genetic map distances of the markers are not proportional in male and female recombination. Thus, this observation seems to support the hypothesis that the heterogeneous sex chromosomes were derived from suppression of recombination between autosomal chromosomes. In two of the markers, Yc-2 and Casp6, which were expressed sequence-tagged (EST) sites, polymorphisms of both X and Y chromosomes were detected. The alleles of the X and Y chromosomes were also detected in O. curvinotus, a species related to the medaka. These markers could be used for genotyping the sex chromosomes in the medaka and other species, and could be used in other studies on sex chromosomes.

scholarly journals Evolutionary Dynamics of Sex Chromosomes of Paleognathous Birds

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2376-2390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luohao Xu ◽  
Simon Yung Wa Sin ◽  
Phil Grayson ◽  
Scott V Edwards ◽  
Timothy B Sackton
Keyword(s):  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Chromosome Evolution ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Z Chromosome ◽  
Recombination Suppression ◽  
Evolutionary Forces ◽  
Genomic Level ◽  
Standard Models ◽  
Pseudoautosomal Regions

Abstract Standard models of sex chromosome evolution propose that recombination suppression leads to the degeneration of the heterogametic chromosome, as is seen for the Y chromosome in mammals and the W chromosome in most birds. Unlike other birds, paleognaths (ratites and tinamous) possess large nondegenerate regions on their sex chromosomes (PARs or pseudoautosomal regions). It remains unclear why these large PARs are retained over >100 Myr, and how this retention impacts the evolution of sex chromosomes within this system. To address this puzzle, we analyzed Z chromosome evolution and gene expression across 12 paleognaths, several of whose genomes have recently been sequenced. We confirm at the genomic level that most paleognaths retain large PARs. As in other birds, we find that all paleognaths have incomplete dosage compensation on the regions of the Z chromosome homologous to degenerated portions of the W (differentiated regions), but we find no evidence for enrichments of male-biased genes in PARs. We find limited evidence for increased evolutionary rates (faster-Z) either across the chromosome or in differentiated regions for most paleognaths with large PARs, but do recover signals of faster-Z evolution in tinamou species with mostly degenerated W chromosomes, similar to the pattern seen in neognaths. Unexpectedly, in some species, PAR-linked genes evolve faster on average than genes on autosomes, suggested by diverse genomic features to be due to reduced efficacy of selection in paleognath PARs. Our analysis shows that paleognath Z chromosomes are atypical at the genomic level, but the evolutionary forces maintaining largely homomorphic sex chromosomes in these species remain elusive.

Polymorphism and differentiation of rainbow trout Y chromosomes

Genome ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1105-1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Felip ◽  
Atushi Fujiwara ◽  
William P Young ◽  
Paul A Wheeler ◽  
Marc Noakes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Y Chromosome ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Morphological Differentiation ◽  
Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus Mykiss ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Cytogenetic Analyses ◽  
Clonal Lines ◽  
Sex Locus

Most fish species show little morphological differentiation in the sex chromosomes. We have coupled molecular and cytogenetic analyses to characterize the male-determining region of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Y chromosome. Four genetically diverse male clonal lines of this species were used for genetic and physical mapping of regions in the vicinity of the sex locus. Five markers were genetically mapped to the Y chromosome in these male lines, indicating that the sex locus was located on the same linkage group in each of the lines. We also confirmed the presence of a Y chromosome morphological polymorphism among these lines, with the Y chromosomes from two of the lines having the more common heteromorphic Y chromosome and two of the lines having Y chromosomes morphologically similar to the X chromosome. The fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) pattern of two probes linked to sex suggested that the sex locus is physically located on the long arm of the Y chromosome. Fishes appear to be an excellent group of organisms for studying sex chromosome evolution and differentiation in vertebrates because they show considerable variability in the mechanisms and (or) patterns involved in sex determination.Key words: sex chromosomes, sex markers, cytogenetics, rainbow trout, fish.

scholarly journals Extreme heterogeneity in sex chromosome differentiation and dosage compensation in livebearers

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (38) ◽  
pp. 19031-19036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iulia Darolti ◽  
Alison E. Wright ◽  
Benjamin A. Sandkam ◽  
Jake Morris ◽  
Natasha I. Bloch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Y Chromosome ◽  
Dosage Compensation ◽  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Sequencing Data ◽  
Chromosome Differentiation ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Shared Ancestry ◽  
Suppressed Recombination

Once recombination is halted between the X and Y chromosomes, sex chromosomes begin to differentiate and transition to heteromorphism. While there is a remarkable variation across clades in the degree of sex chromosome divergence, far less is known about the variation in sex chromosome differentiation within clades. Here, we combined whole-genome and transcriptome sequencing data to characterize the structure and conservation of sex chromosome systems across Poeciliidae, the livebearing clade that includes guppies. We found that the Poecilia reticulata XY system is much older than previously thought, being shared not only with its sister species, Poecilia wingei, but also with Poecilia picta, which diverged roughly 20 million years ago. Despite the shared ancestry, we uncovered an extreme heterogeneity across these species in the proportion of the sex chromosome with suppressed recombination, and the degree of Y chromosome decay. The sex chromosomes in P. reticulata and P. wingei are largely homomorphic, with recombination in the former persisting over a substantial fraction. However, the sex chromosomes in P. picta are completely nonrecombining and strikingly heteromorphic. Remarkably, the profound degradation of the ancestral Y chromosome in P. picta is counterbalanced by the evolution of functional chromosome-wide dosage compensation in this species, which has not been previously observed in teleost fish. Our results offer important insight into the initial stages of sex chromosome evolution and dosage compensation.

LTR retrotransposons in the dioecious plant Silene latifolia

Genome ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachihiro Matsunaga ◽  
Fumi Yagisawa ◽  
Maki Yamamoto ◽  
Wakana Uchida ◽  
Shunsuke Nakao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Chromosomes ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Silene Latifolia ◽  
Ltr Retrotransposons ◽  
Dioecious Plant ◽  
Dioecious Species ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Genus Silene ◽  
Silene Species

Conserved domains of two types of LTR retrotransposons, Ty1–copia- and Ty3–gypsy-like retrotransposons, were isolated from the dioecious plant Silene latifolia, whose sex is determined by X and Y chromosomes. Southern hybridization analyses using these retrotransposons as probes resulted in identical patterns from male and female genomes. Fluorescence in situ hybridization indicated that these retrotransposons do not accumulate specifically in the sex chromosomes. These results suggest that recombination between the sex chromosomes of S. latifolia has not been severely reduced. Conserved reverse transcriptase regions of Ty1–copia-like retrotransposons were isolated from 13 different Silene species and classified into two major families. Their categorization suggests that parallel divergence of the Ty1–copia-like retrotransposons occurred during the differentiation of Silene species. Most functional retrotransposons from three dioecious species, S. latifolia, S. dioica, and S. diclinis, fell into two clusters. The evolutionary dynamics of retrotransposons implies that, in the genus Silene, dioecious species evolved recently from gynodioecious species.Key words: retrotransposon, dioecious plant, sex chromosome.

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