Keywords: gene drive natural

Measuring the Impact of Genetic Heterogeneity and Chromosomal Inversions on the Efficacy of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Drives in Different Strains of Anopheles gambiae

Pescod, Poppy Bevivino, Giulia Anthousi, Amalia Shelton, Ruth Shepherd, Josephine Lombardo, Fabrizio Nolan, Tony,  The CRISPR Journal,  2023.
The human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae is becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides, spurring the development of genetic control strategies. CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives can modify a population by creating double-stranded breaks at highly specific targets, triggering copying ...
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New perspectives on the causes and consequences of male meiotic drive

Courret, Cécile Wei, Xiaolu Larracuente, Amanda M.,  Current Opinion in Genetics & Development,  2023.
Gametogenesis is vulnerable to selfish genetic elements that bias their transmission to the next generation by cheating meiosis. These so-called meiotic drivers are widespread in plants, animals, and fungi and can impact genome evolution. Here, we summarize recent progress on the ...
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The role of conflict in shaping plant biodiversity

J. M. Coughlan,  New Phytologist,  2023.
Although intrinsic postzygotic reproductive barriers can play a fundamental role in speciation, their underlying evolutionary causes are widely debated. One hypothesis is that incompatibilities result from genomic conflicts. Here, I synthesize the evidence that conflict generates ...
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Female meiotic drive in plants: mechanisms and dynamics

F. Finseth,  Current Opinion in Genetics and Development,  82:102101. 2023.
Female meiosis is fundamentally asymmetric, creating an arena for genetic elements to compete for inclusion in the egg to maximize their transmission. Centromeres, as mediators of chromosomal segregation, are prime candidates to evolve via ‘female meiotic drive’. According to ...
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Meiotic drive does not impede success in sperm competition in the stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni

S. Bates, L. Meade and A. Pomiankowski,  Evolution,  2023.
Male X-linked meiotic drive systems, which cause the degeneration of Y-bearing sperm, are common in the Diptera. Sperm killing is typically associated with fitness costs that arise from the destruction of wildtype sperm and collateral damage to maturing drive sperm, resulting in ...
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Proliferation and dissemination of killer meiotic drive loci

E. C. Lai and A. A. Vogan,  Current Opinion in Genetics and Development,  82:102100. 2023.
Killer meiotic drive elements are selfish genetic entities that manipulate the sexual cycle to promote their own inheritance via destructive means. Two broad classes are sperm killers, typical of animals and plants, and spore killers, which are present in ascomycete fungi. Killer ...
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Paternal genome elimination: patterns and mechanisms of drive and silencing

M. Herbette and L. Ross,  Current Opinion in Genetics and Development,  81. 2023.
In thousands of arthropod species, males inherit, but subsequently eliminate the entire haploid genome of their father. However, why this peculiar reproductive strategy evolved repeatedly across diverse species and what mechanisms are involved in paternal genome elimination (PGE) ...
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X chromosome drive is constrained by sexual selection and influences ornament evolution

K. A. Paczolt, G. T. Welsh and G. S. Wilkinson,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  290:20230929. 2023.
Experimental evolution provides an integrative method for revealing complex interactions among evolutionary processes. One such interaction involves sex-linked selfish genetic elements and sexual selection. X-linked segregation distorters, a type of selfish genetic element, ...
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A natural gene drive system confers reproductive isolation in rice

C. Wang, J. Wang, J. Lu, Y. Xiong, Z. Zhao, X. Yu, X. Zheng, J. Li, Q. Lin, Y. Ren, Y. Hu, X. He, C. Li, Y. Zeng, R. Miao, M. Guo, B. Zhang, Y. Zhu, Y. Zhang, W. Tang, Y. Wang, B. Hao, Q. Wang, S. Cheng, X. He, B. Yao, J. Gao, X. Zhu, H. Yu, Y. Wang, Y. S,  Cell,  2023.
Hybrid sterility restricts the utilization of superior heterosis of indica-japonica inter-subspecific hybrids. In this study, we report the identification of RHS12, a major locus controlling male gamete sterility in indica-japonica hybrid rice. We show that RHS12 consists of two ...
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Teosinte Pollen Drive guides maize domestication and evolution by RNAi

B. Berube , E. Ernst, J. Cahn, B. Roche, C. d. S. Alves, A. Scheben, A. Siepel, J. Ross-Ibarra, J. Kermicle and R. Martienssen,  bioRxiv,  2023.07.12.548689. 2023.
Meiotic drivers subvert Mendelian expectations by manipulating reproductive development to bias their own transmission. Chromosomal drive typically functions in asymmetric female meiosis, while gene drive is normally postmeiotic and typically found in males. Using single molecule ...
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The evolutionary history of Drosophila simulans Y chromosomes reveals molecular signatures of resistance to sex ratio meiotic drive

C. Courret, D. Ogereau, C. Gilbert, A. M. Larracuente and C. Montchamp-Moreau,  Mol Biol Evol,  2023.
The recent evolutionary history of the Y chromosome in Drosophila simulans, a worldwide species of Afrotropical origin, is closely linked to that of X-linked meiotic drivers (Paris system). The spread of the Paris drivers in natural populations has elicited the selection of drive ...
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Meiotic drive of noncentromeric loci in mammalian meiosis II eggs

D. M. Silva and T. Akera,  Curr Opin Genet Dev,  81:102082. 2023.
The germline produces haploid gametes through a specialized cell division called meiosis. In general, homologous chromosomes from each parent segregate randomly to the daughter cells during meiosis, providing parental alleles with an equal chance of transmission. Meiotic drivers ...
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Impacts of sex ratio meiotic drive on genome structure and function in a stalk-eyed fly

J. A. Reinhardt, R. H. Baker, A. V. Zimin, C. Ladias, K. A. Paczolt, J. H. Werren, C. Y. Hayashi and G. S. Wilkinson,  Genome Biology Evolution,  2023.
Stalk-eyed flies in the genus Teleopsis carry selfish genetic elements that induce sex ratio meiotic drive (SR) and impact the fitness of male and female carriers. Here, we assemble and describe a chromosome-level genome assembly of the stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni, to ...
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Do sex-linked male meiotic drivers contribute to intrinsic hybrid incompatibilities? Recent empirical studies from flies and rodents

J. Kitano and K. Yoshida,  Current Opinion in Genetics and Development,  81:102068. 2023.
Intrinsic hybrid incompatibility is one of the important isolating barriers between species. In organisms with sex chromosomes, intrinsic hybrid incompatibility often follows two rules: Haldane’s rule and large-X effects. One explanation for these two rules is that sex ...
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Regulatory logic of endogenous RNAi in silencing de novo genomic conflicts

J. Vedanayagam, C. J. Lin, R. Papareddy, M. Nodine, A. S. Flynt, J. Wen and E. C. Lai,  PLOS Genetics,  19:e1010787. 2023.
Although the biological utilities of endogenous RNAi (endo-RNAi) have been largely elusive, recent studies reveal its critical role in the non-model fruitfly Drosophila simulans to suppress selfish genes, whose unchecked activities can severely impair spermatogenesis. In ...
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Essential and recurrent roles for hairpin RNAs in silencing de novo sex chromosome conflict in Drosophila simulans

J. Vedanayagam, M. Herbette, H. Mudgett, C. J. Lin, C. M. Lai, C. McDonough-Goldstein, S. Dorus, B. Loppin, C. Meiklejohn, R. Dubruille and E. C. Lai,  PLoS Biol,  21:e3002136. 2023.
Meiotic drive loci distort the normally equal segregation of alleles, which benefits their own transmission even in the face of severe fitness costs to their host organism. However, relatively little is known about the molecular identity of meiotic drivers, their strategies of ...
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Cell biology: Selfish B chromosomes unleashed by a dysfunctional chromosome segregation system

P. Ferree,  Current Biology,  33:R431-R434. 2023.
A study in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster shows that a defective chromosome segregation system allows non-essential B chromosomes to transmit at higher-than-Mendelian frequencies. Higher eukaryotes harbor a range of different selfish genetic elements (SGEs). One type of ...
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B chromosomes reveal a female meiotic drive suppression system in Drosophila melanogaster

S. L. Hanlon and R. S. Hawley,  Current Biology,  2023.
Selfish genetic elements use a myriad of mechanisms to drive their inheritance and ensure their survival into the next generation, often at a fitness cost to its host.(1)(,)(2) Although the catalog of selfish genetic elements is rapidly growing, our understanding of host drive ...
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Probing “Selfish” Centromeres Unveils an Evolutionary Arms Race

M. Lampson,  The Scientist,  2023.
The so-called Robertsonian (Rb) fusions that led to these rapid karyotype changes are relatively common chromosomal rearrangements. But their accumulation in the populations of Madeira Island and in multiple other isolated mouse populations elsewhere is likely due to another ...
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What should we call evolution driven by genetic engineering? Genetic welding, says researcher

Cell Press,  Phys Org,  2023.
With CRISPR-Cas9 technology, humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations. Evolutionary geneticist Asher Cutter proposes that we call this evolutionary meddling “genetic ...
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Expansion and loss of sperm nuclear basic protein genes in Drosophila correspond with genetic conflicts between sex chromosomes

C.-H. Chang, I. Mejia Natividad and H. S. Malik,  eLife,  12:e85249. 2023.
Many animal species employ sperm nuclear basic proteins (SNBPs) or protamines to package sperm genomes tightly. SNBPs vary across animal lineages and evolve rapidly in mammals. We used a phylogenomic approach to investigate SNBP diversification in Drosophila species. We found ...
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Expansion and loss of sperm nuclear basic protein genes in Drosophila correspond with genetic conflicts between sex chromosomes

C.-H. Chang, I. Mejia Natividad and H. S. Malik,  eLife,  12:e85249. 2023.
Many animal species employ sperm nuclear basic proteins (SNBPs) or protamines to package sperm genomes tightly. SNBPs vary across animal lineages and evolve rapidly in mammals. We used a phylogenomic approach to investigate SNBP diversification in Drosophila species. We found ...
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A selfish genetic element and its suppressor causes gross damage to testes in a fly

S. Lyth, A. Manser, G. Hurst, T. Price and R. Verspoor,  bioRxiv,  2023.02.06.527273. 2023.
Selfish genetic elements (SGEs), specifically X-chromosome meiotic drive (XCMD), create huge conflicts within a hosts genome and can have profound effects on fertility. Suppressors are a common evolutionary response to XCMD to negate its costs. However, whether suppressors ...
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Bypassing Mendel’s First Law: Transmission Ratio Distortion in Mammals

G. Friocourt, A. Perrin, P. A. Saunders, E. Nikalayevich, C. Voisset, C. Coutton, G. Martinez and F. Morel,  International Journal Molecular Sciences,  24. 2023.
Mendel's law of segregation states that the two alleles at a diploid locus should be transmitted equally to the progeny. A genetic segregation distortion, also referred to as transmission ratio distortion (TRD), is a statistically significant deviation from this rule. TRD has ...
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Heterogeneous distribution of sex ratio distorters in natural populations of the isopod Armadillidium vulgare

S. Durand, B. Lheraud, I. Giraud, N. Bech, F. Grandjean, T. Rigaud, J. Peccoud and R. Cordaux,  Biology Letters,  19:20220457. 2023.
In the isopod Armadillidium vulgare, many females produce progenies with female-biased sex ratios, owing to two feminizing sex ratio distorters (SRD): Wolbachia endosymbionts and the f element. We investigated the distribution and population dynamics of these SRD and ...
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P-element invasions in Drosophila erecta; shed light on the establishment of host control over a transposable element

D. Selvaraju, F. Wierzbicki and R. Kofler,  bioRxiv,  2022.12.22.521571. 2022.
To prevent the spread of transposable elements (TEs) hosts have developed sophisticated defence mechanisms. In mammals and invertebrates this defence mechanism operates through piRNAs. It is unclear how piRNA-based defences are established against invading TEs. According to the ...
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How Selfish Genes Succeed: Critical Insights Uncovered About Dangerous DNA

STOWERS INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH,  SciTechDaily,  2022.
New findings from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research uncover critical insights about how a dangerous selfish gene—considered to be a parasitic portion of DNA—functions and survives. Understanding this dynamic is a valuable resource for the broader community studying ...
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A Natural Fungal Gene Drive Enacts Killing via DNA Disruption

A. S. Urquhart and D. M. Gardiner,  mBio,  e0317322. 2022.
Fungal spore killers are a class of selfish genetic elements that positively bias their own inheritance by killing non-inheriting gametes following meiosis. As killing takes place specifically within the developing fungal ascus, a tissue which is experimentally difficult to ...
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Cryptic recessive lethality of a supergene controlling social organization in ants

P. Blacher, O. De Gasperin, G. Grasso, S. Sarton-Lohéac, R. Allemann and M. Chapuisat,  Molecular Ecology,  2022.
Supergenes are clusters of linked loci that control complex phenotypes, such as alternate forms of social organization in ants. Explaining the long-term maintenance of supergenes is challenging, particularly when the derived haplotype lacks homozygous lethality and causes gene ...
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How selfish genes succeed

Stowers Institute for Medical Research,  ScienceDaily,  2022.
A new study reveals how a selfish gene in yeast uses a poison-antidote strategy that enables its function and likely has facilitated its long-term evolutionary success. This strategy is an important addition for scientists studying similar systems including teams that are ...
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S. pombe wtf drivers use dual transcriptional regulation and selective protein exclusion from spores to cause meiotic drive

N. L. Nuckolls, A. Nidamangala Srinivasa, A. C. Mok, R. M. Helston, M. A. Bravo Núñez, J. J. Lange, T. J. Gallagher, C. W. Seidel and S. E. Zanders,  PLOS Genetics,  18:e1009847. 2022.
Author summary Genomes are often considered a collection of ‘good’ genes that provide beneficial functions for the organism. From this perspective, disease is thought to arise due to disfunction of ‘good’ genes. For example, infertility can be caused by the failure of a ...
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Meiotic drive adaptive testes enlargement during early development in the stalk-eyed fly

S. L. Bradshaw, L. Meade, J. Tarlton-Weatherall and A. Pomiankowski,  Biology Letters,  18:20220352. 2022.
The sex ratio (SR) X-linked meiotic drive system in stalk-eyed flies destroys Y-bearing sperm. Unlike other SR systems, drive males do not suffer fertility loss. They have greatly enlarged testes which compensate for gamete killing. We predicted that enlarged testes arise from ...
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Driving lessons: a brief (personal) history of centromere drive

H. S. Malik,  Genetics,  2022.
Meiosis is an important specialized cell division in many eukaryotic species, including fungi, plants, and animals. Meiosis results in the production of haploid gametes starting from a diploid cell via 1 round of replication and 2 rounds of cell division. In an influential ...
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Centromere drive: chromatin conflict in meiosis

P. Talbert and S. Henikoff,  Current Opinion in Genetics and Development,  77:102005. 2022.
Centromeres are essential loci in eukaryotes that are necessary for the faithful segregation of chromosomes in mitosis and meiosis. Centromeres organize the kinetochore, the protein machine that attaches sister chromatids or homologous chromosomes to spindle microtubules and ...
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Centromere drive: chromatin conflict in meiosis

P. Talbert and S. Henikoff,  Current Opinion in Genetics and Development,  77:102005. 2022.
Centromeres are essential loci in eukaryotes that are necessary for the faithful segregation of chromosomes in mitosis and meiosis. Centromeres organize the kinetochore, the protein machine that attaches sister chromatids or homologous chromosomes to spindle microtubules and ...
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Asymmetric Inheritance: The Diversity and Evolution of Non-Mendelian Reproductive Strategies

L. Ross, A. J. Mongue, C. N. Hodson and T. Schwander,  Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics,  53:1-23. 2022.
The ability to reproduce is the key trait that distinguishes living organisms from inorganic matter, and the strategies used to achieve successful reproduction are almost as diverse as the organisms themselves. In animals, the most widespread form of reproduction involves ...
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Gene drive by Fusarium SKC1 is dependent on its competing allele

J. M. Lohmar, N. A. Rhoades, T. M. Hammond and D. W. Brown,  Fungal Genetics and Biology,  163:103749. 2022.
The Fusarium verticillioides SKC1 gene driver is transmitted to offspring in a biased manner through spore killing. The mechanism that allows SKC1 to kill non-SKC1 offspring while sparing others is poorly understood. Here we report that gene drive by SKC1 is dependent on SKC1's ...
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119-Million-Year-Old “Selfish” Genes Uncovered in Yeast

Stowers Institute for Medical Research,  Technology Networks,  2022.
Meiotic drivers, a type of selfish gene, are indeed selfish. Present in the genomes of nearly all species, including humans, they unfairly transfer their genetic material to more than half of their offspring, sometimes leading to infertility, and decreased organism health. ...
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The wtf meiotic driver gene family has unexpectedly persisted for over 100 million years

M. De Carvalho, G. S. Jia, A. Nidamangala Srinivasa, R. B. Billmyre, Y. H. Xu, J. J. Lange, I. M. Sabbarini, L. L. Du and S. E. Zanders,  eLife,  11. 2022.
Meiotic drivers are selfish elements that bias their own transmission into more than half of the viable progeny produced by a driver+/driver- heterozygote. Meiotic drivers are thought to exist for relatively short evolutionary timespans because a driver gene or gene family is ...
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Distribution of sex ratio distorters in natural populations of the isopod Armadillidium vulgare

,  2022.

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Meiotic drive is associated with sexual incompatibility in Neurospora

A. Vogan, J. Svedberg, M. Grudzinska-Sterno and H. Johannesson,  Evolution,  2022.
Evolution of Bateson-Dobzhansky-Muller (BDM) incompatibilities is thought to represent a key step in the formation of separate species. They are incompatible alleles that have evolved in separate populations and are exposed in hybrid offspring as hybrid sterility or lethality. In ...
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Meiotic drive does not impede success in sperm competition in the stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni

S. Bates, L. Meade and A. Pomiankowski,  bioRxiv,  2022.
Meiotic drive genes are selfish genetic elements that distort Mendelian patterns of inheritance to bias transmission in their favour. We use the stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni, to investigate the fitness effects associated with a meiotic drive gene called Sex Ratio (SR), ...
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Enforcement of Postzygotic Species Boundaries in the Fungal Kingdom

J. Y. Chou, P. C. Hsu and J. Y. Leu,  Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews,  2022.
Understanding the molecular basis of speciation is a primary goal in evolutionary biology. The formation of the postzygotic reproductive isolation that causes hybrid dysfunction, thereby reducing gene flow between diverging populations, is crucial for speciation. Using various ...
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Transposable elements

A. Hayward and C. Gilbert,  Current Biology,  32:R904-r909. 2022.
Transposable elements are known by many names, including 'transposons', 'interspersed repeats', 'selfish genetic elements', 'jumping genes', and 'parasitic DNA', but here we will refer to them simply as transposable elements. Many biologists will have heard of transposable ...
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Selfish evolution of placental hormones

G. Keegan and M. M. Patten,  Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health,  10:391-397. 2022.
We hypothesize that some placental hormones—specifically those that arise by tandem duplication of genes for maternal hormones—may behave as gestational drivers, selfish genetic elements that encourage the spontaneous abortion of offspring that fail to inherit them. Such ...
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B Chromosomes in Psalidodon scabripinnis (Characiformes, Characidae) Species Complex

D. Silva, J. P. Castro, C. A. G. Goes, R. Utsunomia, M. R. Vidal, C. N. Nascimento, L. F. Lasmar, F. G. Paim, L. B. Soares, C. Oliveira, F. Porto-Foresti, R. F. Artoni and F. Foresti,  Animals (Basel),  12. 2022.
B chromosomes are extra-genomic components of cells found in individuals and in populations of some eukaryotic organisms. They have been described since the first observations of chromosomes, but several aspects of their biology remain enigmatic. Despite being present in hundreds ...
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Hoisted with his own petard: How sex-ratio meiotic drive in Drosophila affinis creates resistance alleles that limit its spread

W. J. Ma, E. M. Knoles, K. B. Patch, M. M. Shoaib and R. L. Unckless,  J Evol Biol,  2022.
Meiotic drivers are selfish genetic elements that tinker with gametogenesis to bias their own transmission into the next generation of offspring. Such tinkering can have significant consequences on gametogenesis and end up hampering the spread of the driver. In Drosophila ...
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Isolation of rfk-2 (UV) , a mutation that blocks spore killing by Neurospora Spore killer-3

A. Velazquez, E. Webber, D. O'Neil, T. Hammond and N. Rhoades,  MicroPublication Biology,  2022.
Neurospora Spore killer-3 ( Sk-3 ) is a selfish genetic element that kills spores to achieve gene drive.  Here, to help identify Sk-3’s killer, we performed a genetic screen for required for killing (rfk) mutations (see methods). The genetic screen uses Sk‑3 rskΔ × SkS ...
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A Toxin-Antidote Selfish Element Increases Fitness of its Host

L. Long, W. Xu, A. B. Paaby and P. T. McGrath,  bioRxiv,  2022.07.15.500229. 2022.
Selfish genetic elements can promote their transmission at the expense of individual survival, creating conflict between the element and the rest of the genome. Recently, a large number of toxin-antidote (TA) post-segregation distorters have been identified in non-obligate ...
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Adaptive meiotic drive in selfing populations with heterozygote advantage

E. Brud,  Theoretical Population Biology,  146:61-70. 2022.
The egalitarian allotment of gametes to each allele at a locus (Mendel's law of segregation) is a near-universal phenomenon characterizing inheritance in sexual populations. As exceptions to Mendel's law are known to occur, one can investigate why non-Mendelian segregation is not ...
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Selfish centromeres and the wastefulness of human reproduction

L. D. Hurst,  PLOS Biology,  20:e3001671. 2022.
Many human embryos die in utero owing to an excess or deficit of chromosomes, a phenomenon known as aneuploidy; this is largely a consequence of nondisjunction during maternal meiosis I. Asymmetries of this division render it vulnerable to selfish centromeres that promote their ...
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Rye B chromosomes differently influence the expression of A chromosome-encoded genes depending on the host species

A. Boudichevskaia, A. Fiebig, K. Kumke, A. Himmelbach and A. Houben,  Chromosome Research,  2022.
The B chromosome (B) is a dispensable component of the genome in many species. To evaluate the impact of Bs on the transcriptome of the standard A chromosomes (A), comparative RNA-seq analyses of rye and wheat anthers with and without additional rye Bs were conducted. In both ...
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Mendel’s laws of heredity on his 200th birthday: What have we learned by considering exceptions?

J. B. Wolf, A. C. Ferguson-Smith and A. Lorenz,  Heredity,  129:1-3. 2022.
Violations of Mendel’s laws can generically be referred to as ‘non-Mendelian inheritance’. However, from that broad perspective, nearly all inheritance systems would show non-Mendelian inheritance (at least to some degree). To hold exactly, Mendel’s laws impose strict ...
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Hoisted with his own petard: how sex-ratio meiotic drive in <em>Drosophila affinis</em> creates resistance alleles that limit its spread

W.-J. Ma, E. M. Knoles, K. B. Patch, M. M. Shoaib and R. L. Unckless,  bioRxiv,  2022.02.14.480432. 2022.
Meiotic drivers are selfish genetic elements that tinker with gametogenesis to bias their own transmission into the next generation of offspring. Such tinkering can have significant consequences on gametogenesis and end up hampering the spread of the driver. In Drosophila ...
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Natural and Engineered Sex Ratio Distortion in Insects

A. Compton and Z. Tu,  Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution,  10. 2022.
Insects have evolved highly diverse genetic sex-determination mechanisms and a relatively balanced male to female sex ratio is generally expected. However, selection may shift the optimal sex ratio while meiotic drive and endosymbiont manipulation can result in sex ratio ...
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Iterative evolution of supergene-based social polymorphism in ants

T. Kay, Q. Helleu and L. Keller,  Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci,  377:20210196. 2022.
Species commonly exhibit alternative morphs, with individual fate being determined during development by either genetic factors, environmental cues or a combination thereof. Ants offer an interesting case study because many species are polymorphic in their social structure. Some ...
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Supergene potential of a selfish centromere

F. Finseth, K. Brown, A. Demaree and L. Fishman,  Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci,  377:20210208. 2022.
Selfishly evolving centromeres bias their transmission by exploiting the asymmetry of female meiosis and preferentially segregating to the egg. Such female meiotic drive systems have the potential to be supergenes, with multiple linked loci contributing to drive costs or ...
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Mendel’s First Law: partisan interests and the parliament of genes

C. Veller,  Heredity,  2022.
Mendel’s First Law requires explanation because of the possibility of ‘meiotic drivers’, genes that distort fair segregation for selfish gain. The suppression of drive, and the restoration of fair segregation, is often attributed to genes at loci unlinked to the drive ...
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Mitotic exchange in female germline stem cells is the major source of Sex Ratio chromosome recombination in Drosophila pseudoobscura

S. Koury,  bioRxiv,  2022.06.07.495109. 2022.
Sex Ratio chromosomes in Drosophila pseudoobscura are selfish X chromosome variants associated with three non-overlapping inversions. In the male germline, Sex Ratio chromosomes distort segregation of X and Y chromosomes (99:1), thereby skewing progeny sex ratio. In the female ...
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Non-Mendelian segregation and transmission drive of B chromosomes

J. P. M. Camacho,  Chromosome Research,  2022.
Selfish genetic elements (SGE) get a transmission advantage (drive) thanks to their non-Mendelian inheritance. Here I identify eight steps during the reproductive cycle that can be subverted by SGEs to thrive in natural populations. Even though only three steps occur during ...
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The maize abnormal chromosome 10 meiotic drive haplotype: a review

R. K. Dawe,  Chromosome Research,  2022.
The maize abnormal chromosome 10 (Ab10) haplotype encodes a meiotic drive system that converts heterochromatic knobs into centromere-like bodies that are preferentially segregated through female meiosis. Ab10 was first described in the 1940s and has been intensively studied. Here ...
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Leveraging a natural murine meiotic drive to suppress invasive populations

L. Gierus, A. Birand, M. D. Bunting, G. I. Godahewa, S. G. Piltz, K. P. Oh, A. J. Piaggio, D. W. Threadgill, J. Godwin, O. Edwards, P. Cassey, J. V. Ross, T. A. A. Prowse and P. Q. Thomas,  bioRxiv,  2022.05.31.494104. 2022.
Invasive rodents, including house mice, are a major cause of environmental damage and biodiversity loss, particularly in island ecosystems. Eradication can be achieved through the distribution of rodenticide, but this approach is expensive to apply at scale, can have negative ...
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The fate of a suppressed X-linked meiotic driver: experimental evolution in Drosophila simulans

H. Bastide, D. Ogereau, C. Montchamp-Moreau and P. R. Gérard,  Chromosome Research,  2022.
Sex-ratio (SR) meiotic drivers are X-linked selfish genetic elements that promote their own transmission by preventing the production of Y-bearing sperm, which usually lowers male fertility. The spread of SR drivers in populations is expected to trigger the evolution of unlinked ...
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Epistatic selection on a selfish Segregation Distorter supergene: drive, recombination, and genetic load

B. Navarro-Dominguez, C.-H. Chang, C. L. Brand, C. A. Muirhead, D. C. Presgraves and A. M. Larracuente,  eLife,  11:e78981. 2022.
In this work, we investigate the evolution and genomic consequences of an autosomal, multilocus, male meiotic drive system, Segregation Distorter (SD) in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. In African populations, the predominant SD chromosome variant, SD-Mal, is ...
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The evolutionary significance of meiotic drive

J. B. Searle and F. P.-M. de Villena,  Heredity,  2022.
In this essay, we will focus on‘true meiotic drive’ where the distorted transmission does arise within meiosis itself (Zanders and Unckless2019),specifically in females. Here, the non-transmission of one of the products of meiotic division is inherent in the gametogenic ...
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The non-Mendelian behavior of plant B chromosomes

J. Chen, J. A. Birchler and A. Houben,  Chromosome Res,  2022.
B chromosomes, also known as supernumerary chromosomes, are dispensable elements in the genome of many plants, animals, and fungi. Many B chromosomes have evolved one or more drive mechanisms to transmit themselves at a higher frequency than predicted by Mendelian genetics, and ...
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B-A Chromosome Translocations Possessing an A Centromere Partly Overcome the Root-Restricted Process of Chromosome Elimination in Aegilops speltoides

D. Li, A. Ruban, J. Fuchs, H. Kang and A. Houben,  Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology,  10. 2022.
Some eukaryotes exhibit dramatic genome size differences between cells of different organs, resulting from the programmed elimination of chromosomes. Aegilops speltoides is an annual diploid species from the Poaceae family, with a maximum number of eight B chromosomes (Bs) in ...
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Studying the active role of the maize B chromosome in the modulation of gene expression

University of Missouri,  Phys Org,  2022.
A team of University of Missouri biologists has made a new discovery that provides novel insights into the function and properties of the maize B chromosome. The study was led by Dr. Xiaowen Shi and Dr. Hua Yang, postdoctoral fellows in the Birchler lab, and reported in the ...
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Genetic Drive Systems in Nature

David O'Brochta and Hector Quemada,  GeneConvene Global Collaborative,  2022.
Intra genomic genetic conflicts are ubiquitous in nature and have shaped and continue to shape the evolution of plants, animals, and microbes. These conflicts can result in preferential transmission - drive - of genes, various genetic elements, and even whole chromosomes. ...
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Selfish migrants: How a meiotic driver is selected to increase dispersal

J. N. Runge, H. Kokko and A. K. Lindholm,  J Evol Biol,  2022.
Meiotic drivers are selfish genetic elements that manipulate meiosis to increase their transmission to the next generation to the detriment of the rest of the genome. One example is the t haplotype in house mice, which is a naturally occurring meiotic driver with deleterious ...
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A-to-I mRNA editing controls spore death induced by a fungal meiotic drive gene in homologous and heterologous expression systems

J. M. Lohmar, N. A. Rhoades, T. N. Patel, R. H. Proctor, T. M. Hammond and D. W. Brown,  Genetics,  2022.
Spore killers are meiotic drive elements that can block development of sexual spores in fungi. In the maize ear rot and mycotoxin-producing fungus Fusarium verticillioides, a spore killer called SkK has been mapped to a 102-kb interval of chromosome V. Here, we show that a gene ...
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Hoisted with his own petard: how sex-ratio meiotic drive in Drosophila affnis creates resistance alleles that limit its spread

W.-J. Ma, K. B. Patch, E. M. Knoles, M. M. Shoaib and R. L. Unckless,  bioRxiv,  2022.02.14.480432. 2022.
Meiotic drivers are selfish genetic elements that tinker with gameto-genesis to bias their own transmission into the next generation of off-spring. Such tinkering can have significant consequences on gameto-genesis and end up hampering the spread of the driver. In Drosophila ...
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The spore killers, fungal meiotic driver elements

A. A. Vogan, I. Martinossi-Allibert, S. L. Ament-Velásquez, J. Svedberg and H. Johannesson,  Mycologia,  2022.
During meiosis, both alleles of any given gene should have equal chances of being inherited by the progeny. There are a number of reasons why, however, this is not the case, with one of the most intriguing instances presenting itself as the phenomenon of meiotic drive. Genes that ...
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A natural fungal gene drive enacts killing through targeting DNA

A. S. Urquhart and D. M. Gardiner,  bioRxiv,  2022.01.19.477016. 2022.
Fungal spore-killers are a class of selfish genetic elements that positively bias their own inheritance by killing non-inheriting gametes following meiosis. As killing takes place specifically within the developing fungal ascus, a tissue which is experimentally difficult to ...
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Characterization of the first Wolbachia from the genus Scaptodrosophila, a male-killer from the rainforest species S. claytoni

K. M. Richardson, M. Schiffer, P. A. Ross, J. A. Thia and A. A. Hoffmann,  Insect Science,  2022.
Abstract The Scaptodrosophila genus represents a large group of drosophilids with a worldwide distribution and a predominance of species in Australia, but there is little information on the presence and impacts of Wolbachia endosymbionts in this group. Here we describe the first ...
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Effect of aneuploidy of a nonessential chromosome on gene expression in maize

X. Shi, H. Yang, C. Chen, J. Hou, T. Ji, J. Cheng and J. A. Birchler,  Plant Journal,  2022.
The nonessential supernumerary maize B chromosome (B) has recently been shown to contain active genes and be capable of impacting gene expression of the A chromosomes. However, the effect of the B chromosome on gene expression is still unclear. In addition, it is unknown whether ...
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From Wolbachia genomics to phenotype: molecular models of cytoplasmic incompatibility must account for the multiplicity of compatibility types

A. Namias, M. Sicard, M. Weill and S. Charlat,  Current Opinion in Insect Science,  2021.
Wolbachia endosymbionts commonly induce cytoplasmic incompatibility, making infected males’ sperm lethal to the embryos unless these are rescued by the same bacterium, inherited from their mother. Causal genes were recently identified but two families of mechanistic models are ...
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chinmo-mutant spermatogonial stem cells cause mitotic drive by evicting non-mutant neighbors from the niche

C. Y. Tseng, M. Burel, M. Cammer, S. Harsh, M. S. Flaherty, S. Baumgartner and E. A. Bach,  Developmental Cell,  2021.
Niches maintain a finite pool of stem cells via restricted space and short-range signals. Stem cells compete for limited niche resources, but the mechanisms regulating competition are poorly understood. Using the Drosophila testis model, we show that germline stem cells (GSCs) ...
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Diverse mating phenotypes impact the spread of wtf meiotic drivers in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

J. F. L. Hernandez, R. M. Helston, J. J. Lange, R. B. Billmyre, S. H. Schaffner, M. T. Eickbush, S. McCroskey and S. E. Zanders,  Elife,  10:30. 2021.
Meiotic drivers are genetic elements that break Mendel's law of segregation to be transmitted into more than half of the offspring produced by a heterozygote. The success of a driver relies on outcrossing (mating between individuals from distinct lineages) because drivers gain ...
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Nuclear transport genes recurrently duplicate by means of RNA intermediates in Drosophila but not in other insects

A. Mirsalehi, D. N. Markova, M. Eslamieh and E. Betrán,  BMC Genomics,  22:876. 2021.
We find that most of the nuclear transport duplications in Drosophila are of a few classes of nuclear transport genes, RNA mediated and fast evolving. We also retrieve many pseudogenes for the Ran gene. Some of the duplicates are relatively young and likely contributing to the ...
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A flurry of sex-ratio distorters

A. A. Vogan,  Nature Ecology and Evolution,  2021.
Two analyses of long-read sequencing show that the Winters sex-ratio distorter of Drosophila has been a part of a recent gene family expansion, coupled to the appearance of suppressors, in a genomic arms race driven by satellite DNA.
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Rapid evolutionary dynamics of an expanding family of meiotic drive factors and their hpRNA suppressors

J. Vedanayagam, C. J. Lin and E. C. Lai,  Nature Ecology and Evolution,  2021.
Meiotic drivers are a class of selfish genetic elements whose existence is frequently hidden due to concomitant suppressor systems. Accordingly, we know little of their evolutionary breadth and molecular mechanisms. Here, we trace the evolution of the Dox meiotic drive system in ...
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Tubulin post-translational modifications in meiosis

T. Akera,  Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology,  2021.
Haploid gametes are produced from diploid parents through meiosis, a process inherent to all sexually reproducing eukaryotes. Faithful chromosome segregation in meiosis is essential for reproductive success, although it is less clear how the meiotic spindle achieves this compared ...
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Transmission distortion and genetic incompatibilities between alleles in a multigenerational mouse advanced intercross line

D. Arends, S. Kärst, S. Heise, P. Korkuc, D. Hesse and G. A. Brockmann,  Genetics,  2021.
While direct additive and dominance effects on complex traits have been mapped repeatedly, additional genetic factors contributing to the heterogeneity of complex traits have been scarcely investigated. To assess genetic background effects, we investigated transmission ratio ...
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Molecular Mechanisms and Evolutionary Consequences of Spore Killers in Ascomycetes

S. Zanders and H. Johannesson,  Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews,  2021.
In this review, we examine the fungal spore killers. These are meiotic drive elements that cheat during sexual reproduction to increase their transmission into the next generation. Spore killing has been detected in a number of ascomycete genera, including Podospora, Neurospora, ...
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The supernumerary B chromosome of maize: drive and genomic conflict

J. A. Birchler and H. Yang,  Open Biol,  11:210197. 2021.
The supernumerary B chromosome of maize is dispensable, containing no vital genes, and thus is variable in number and presence in lines of maize. In order to be maintained in populations, it has a drive mechanism consisting of nondisjunction at the pollen mitosis that produces ...
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Centromere function in asymmetric cell division in Drosophila female and male germline stem cells

A. M. Kochendoerfer, F. Modafferi and E. M. Dunleavy,  Open Biology,  11:210107. 2021.
The centromere is the constricted chromosomal region required for the correct separation of the genetic material at cell division. The kinetochore protein complex assembles at the centromere and captures microtubules emanating from the centrosome to orchestrate chromosome ...
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A Maternal-Effect Toxin Affects Epithelial Differentiation and Tissue Mechanics in Caenorhabditis elegans

C. Lehmann and C. Pohl,  Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology,  9. 2021.
Selfish genetic elements that act as post-segregation distorters cause lethality in non-carrier individuals after fertilization. Two post-segregation distorters have been previously identified in Caenorhabditis elegans, the peel-1/zeel-1 and the sup-35/pha-1 elements. These ...
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Meiotic self-pairing of the Psalidodon (Characiformes, Characidae) iso-B chromosome: A successful perpetuation mechanism

D. Silva, C. Araya-Jaime, M. Yamashita, M. R. Vidal, C. Oliveira, F. Porto-Foresti, R. F. Artoni and F. Foresti,  Genetics and Molecular Biology,  44:e20210084. 2021.
B chromosomes are non-essential additional genomic elements present in several animal and plant species. In fishes, species of the genus Psalidodon (Characiformes, Characidae) harbor great karyotype diversity, and multiple populations carry different types of non-essential B ...
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Sexual selection can partly explain low frequencies of Segregation Distorter alleles

T. A. Keaney, T. M. Jones and L. Holman,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  288:20211190. 2021.
The Segregation Distorter (SD) allele found in Drosophila melanogaster distorts Mendelian inheritance in heterozygous males by causing developmental failure of non-SD spermatids, such that greater than 90% of the surviving sperm carry SD. This within-individual advantage should ...
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Microsporidia MB is found predominantly associated with Anopheles gambiae s.s and Anopheles coluzzii in Ghana

J. Akorli, E. A. Akorli, S. N. A. Tetteh, G. K. Amlalo, M. Opoku, R. Pwalia, M. Adimazoya, D. Atibilla, S. Pi-Bansa, J. Chabi and S. K. Dadzie,  Scientific Reports,  11:5. 2021.
A vertically transmitted microsporidian, Microsporidia MB, with the ability to disrupt Plasmodium development was reported in Anopheles arabiensis from Kenya, East Africa. To demonstrate its range of incidence, archived DNA samples from 7575 Anopheles mosquitoes collected from ...
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A supernumerary “B-sex” chromosome drives male sex determination in the Pachón cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus

B. Imarazene, K. Du, S. Beille, E. Jouanno, R. Feron, Q. Pan, J. Torres-Paz, C. Lopez-Roques, A. Castinel, L. Gil, C. Kuchly, C. Donnadieu, H. Parrinello, L. Journot, C. Cabau, M. Zahm, C. Klopp, T. Pavlica, A. Al-Rikabi, T. Liehr, S. A. Simanovsky, J. Bo,  Current Biology,  2021.
Sex chromosomes are generally derived from a pair of classical type-A chromosomes, and relatively few alternative models have been proposed up to now.(1)(,)(2) B chromosomes (Bs) are supernumerary and dispensable chromosomes with non-Mendelian inheritance found in many plant and ...
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Satellite DNA-mediated diversification of a sex-ratio meiotic drive gene family in Drosophila

C. A. Muirhead and D. C. Presgraves,  Nature Ecology & Evolution,  2021.
Sex chromosomes are susceptible to the evolution of selfish meiotic drive elements that bias transmission and distort progeny sex ratios. Conflict between such sex-ratio drivers and the rest of the genome can trigger evolutionary arms races resulting in genetically suppressed ...
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Unravelling the mystery of female meiotic drive: where we are

F. E. Clark and T. Akera,  Open Biol,  11:210074. 2021.
Female meiotic drive is the phenomenon where a selfish genetic element alters chromosome segregation during female meiosis to segregate to the egg and transmit to the next generation more frequently than Mendelian expectation. While several examples of female meiotic drive have ...
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Flavors of Non-Random Meiotic Segregation of Autosomes and Sex Chromosomes

F. Pajpach, T. Wu, L. Shearwin-Whyatt, K. Jones and F. Grützner,  Genes,  12. 2021.
Segregation of chromosomes is a multistep process occurring both at mitosis and meiosis to ensure that daughter cells receive a complete set of genetic information. Critical components in the chromosome segregation include centromeres, kinetochores, components of sister chromatid ...
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Parallel pathways for recruiting effector proteins determine centromere drive and suppression

T. Kumon, J. Ma, R. B. Akins, D. Stefanik, C. E. Nordgren, J. Kim, M. T. Levine and M. A. Lampson,  Cell,  2021.
Selfish centromere DNA sequences bias their transmission to the egg in female meiosis. Evolutionary theory suggests that centromere proteins evolve to suppress costs of this "centromere drive." In hybrid mouse models with genetically different maternal and paternal centromeres, ...
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Patterns and mechanisms of sex ratio distortion in the Collaborative Cross mouse mapping population

B. A. Haines, F. Barradale and B. L. Dumont,  Genetics,  219:iyab136. 2021.
In species with single-locus, chromosome-based mechanisms of sex determination, the laws of segregation predict an equal ratio of females to males at birth. Here, we show that departures from this Mendelian expectation are commonplace in the 8-way recombinant inbred Collaborative ...
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Analysis of the Segregation Distortion of FcRAN1 Genotypes Based on Whole-Genome Resequencing of Fig (Ficus carica L.) Breeding Parents

H. Ikegami, K. Shirasawa, H. Yakushiji, S. Yabe, M. Sato, T. Hayashi, K. Tashiro and H. Nogata,  Frontiers in Plant Science,  12:8. 2021.
The common fig (Ficus carica L.) has a gynodioecious breeding system, and its sex phenotype is an important trait for breeding because only female plant fruits are edible. During breeding to select for female plants, we analyzed the FcRAN1 genotype, which is strongly associated ...
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Red queen’s race: rapid evolutionary dynamics of an expanding family of meiotic drive factors and their hpRNA suppressors

J. Vedanayagam, C.-J. Lin and E. C. Lai,  bioRxiv,  2021.08.05.454923. 2021.
Meiotic drivers are a class of selfish genetic elements that are widespread across eukaryotes. Their activities are often detrimental to organismal fitness and thus trigger drive suppression to ensure fair segregation during meiosis. Accordingly, their existence is frequently ...
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Distinct spermiogenic phenotypes underlie sperm elimination in the Segregation Distorter meiotic drive system

M. Herbette, X. L. Wei, C. H. Chang, A. M. Larracuente, B. Loppin and R. Dubruille,  PLOS Genetics,  17:26. 2021.
Here we show that SD/SD+ males of different genotypes but with similarly strong degrees of distortion have distinct spermiogenic phenotypes. In some genotypes, SD+ spermatids fail to fully incorporate protamines after the removal of histones, and degenerate during the ...
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Patterns and Mechanisms of Sex Ratio Distortion in the Collaborative Cross Mouse Mapping Population

B. A. Haines, F. Barradale and B. L. Dumont,  bioRxiv,  2021.
In species with single-locus chromosome-based mechanisms of sex determination, the laws of segregation predict an equal ratio of females to males at birth. Here, we show that departures from this Mendelian expectation are commonplace in the 8-way recombinant inbred Collaborative ...
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Haldane’s duel: intragenomic conflict, selfish Y chromosomes and speciation

S. W. Roy,  Trends in Genetics,  2021.
Haldane?s rule, which states that the heterogametic sex (XY or ZW females) fares more poorly in interspecific hybrids, is generally attributed to absence of one of the two species' X/Z chromosomes. However, Haldane?s rule is also observed in mouse placentas despite paternal X ...
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Nondisjunction and unequal spindle organization accompany the drive of Aegilops speltoides B chromosomes

D. Wu, A. Ruban, J. Fuchs, J. Macas, P. Novák, M. Vaio, Y. Zhou and A. Houben,  New Phytologist,  223:1340-1352. 2021.
B chromosomes (Bs) are supernumerary chromosomes, which are often preferentially inherited. When transmission rates of chromosomes are higher than 0.5, not obeying the Mendelian law of equal segregation, the resulting transmission advantage is collectively referred to as ...
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Researchers report reference genome for maize B chromosome

Chinese Academy of Sciences,  Phys Org,  2021.
Three groups recently reported a reference sequence for the supernumerary B chromosome in maize in a study published online in PNAS. Dr. James Birchler's group from University of Missouri, Dr. Jan Barto's group from Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of ...
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First evidence of deviation from Mendelian proportions in a conservation programme

C. E. Grueber, K. A. Farquharson, B. R. Wright, G. P. Wallis, C. J. Hogg and K. Belov,  Molecular Ecology,  13. 2021.
Classic Mendelian inheritance is the bedrock of population genetics and underpins pedigree-based management of animal populations. However, assumptions of Mendelian inheritance might not be upheld in conservation breeding programmes if early viability selection occurs, even when ...
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Mechanistically comparing reproductive manipulations caused by selfish chromosomes and bacterial symbionts

E. Dalla Benetta, O. S. Akbari and P. M. Ferree,  Heredity,  126:707-716. 2021.
Insects naturally harbor a broad range of selfish agents that can manipulate their reproduction and development, often leading to host sex ratio distortion. Such effects directly benefit the spread of the selfish agents. These agents include two broad groups: bacterial symbionts ...
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Selfish chromosomal drive shapes recent centromeric histone evolution in monkeyflowers

F. R. Finseth, T. C. Nelson and L. Fishman,  PLOS Genetics,  17:e1009418. 2021.
Centromeres must mediate faithful chromosomal transmission during cell division and sexual reproduction, but both the DNA and protein components of centromeres diverge rapidly across species. The selfish centromere model argues that this paradoxical diversity results from a ...
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An introgressed gene causes meiotic drive in Neurospora sitophila

J. Svedberg, A. A. Vogan, N. A. Rhoades, D. Sarmarajeewa, D. J. Jacobson, M. Lascoux, T. M. Hammond and H. Johannesson,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  118:9. 2021.
Meiotic drive elements cause their own preferential transmission following meiosis. In fungi, this phenomenon takes the shape of spore killing, and in the filamentous ascomycete Neurospora sitophila, the Sk-1 spore killer element is found in many natural populations. In this ...
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Invasion and maintenance of meiotic drivers in populations of ascomycete fungi

I. Martinossi-Allibert, C. Veller, S. L. Ament-Velasquez, A. A. Vogan, C. Rueffler and H. Johannesson,  Evolution,  20. 2021.
Meiotic drivers (MDs) are selfish genetic elements that are able to become overrepresented among the products of meiosis. This transmission advantage makes it possible for them to spread in a population even when they impose fitness costs on their host organisms. Whether an MD ...
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Meiotic drive does not cause condition-dependent reduction of the sexual ornament in stalk-eyed flies

S. R. Finnegan, M. Mondani, K. Fowler and A. Pomiankowski,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  11. 2021.
Meiotic drive systems are associated with low-frequency chromosomal inversions. These are expected to accumulate deleterious mutations due to reduced recombination and low effective population size. We test this prediction using the 'sex-ratio' (SR) meiotic drive system of the ...
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Holocentric Chromosomes Probably Do Not Prevent Centromere Drive in Cyperaceae

M. Kratka, J. Smerda, K. Lojdova, P. Bures and F. Zedek,  Frontiers in Plant Science,  12:9. 2021.
In response to these selfish centromeres, the histone protein CenH3, which recruits kinetochore components, adaptively evolves to restore chromosomal parity and counter the detrimental effects of centromere drive. Holocentric chromosomes, whose kinetochores are assembled along ...
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Into the Wild: GMOs head for the forest

L. Sharratt,  Sentinel,  2021.
Genetic engineering is set to leave the farm for the forest. After over twenty years of growing genetically engineered (GE or genetically modified) crop plants in North America, researchers are now proposing to plant GE trees in the forests of eastern US and Canada. This is a ...
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Widespread haploid-biased gene expression enables sperm-level natural selection

K. Bhutani, K. Stansifer, S. Ticau, L. Bojic, A.-C. Villani, J. Slisz, C. M. Cremers, C. Roy, J. Donovan, B. Fiske and R. C. Friedman,  Science,  eabb1723. 2021.
Here, we show that a large class of mammalian genes are not completely shared across these bridges. We term these genes “genoinformative markers” (GIMs) and show that a subset can act as selfish genetic elements that spread alleles unevenly through murine, bovine, and human ...
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Ubiquitous Selfish Toxin-Antidote Elements in Caenorhabditis Species

E. Ben-David, P. Pliota, S. A. Widen, A. Koreshova, T. Lemus-Vergara, P. Verpukhovskiy, S. Mandali, C. Braendle, A. Burga and L. Kruglyak,  Current Biology,  2021.
Here, we report the discovery of maternal-effect TAs in both C. tropicalis and C. briggsae, two distant relatives of C. elegans. In C. tropicalis, multiple TAs combine to cause a striking degree of intraspecific incompatibility: five elements reduce the fitness of >70% of the ...
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Whole-genome resequencing reveals loci with allelic transmission ratio distortion in F1 chicken population

P. Ren, F. Deng, S. Chen, J. Ran, J. Li, L. Yin, Y. Wang, H. Yin, Q. Zhu and Y. Liu,  Molecular Genetics and Genomics,  2021.
In this study, whole-genome resequencing technology was applied to reveal TRD loci in chicken by constructing a full-sib F1 hybrid population. Through the whole-genome resequencing data of two parents (30 ×) and 38 offspring (5 ×), we detected a total of 2850 TRD SNPs ...
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RNA editing controls meiotic drive by a Neurospora Spore killer

N. A. Rhoades and T. M. Hammond,  bioRxiv,  2020.12.30.424869. 2021.
Neurospora Sk-2 is a complex meiotic drive element that is transmitted to offspring through sexual reproduction in a biased manner. Sk-2’s biased transmission mechanism involves spore killing, and recent evidence has demonstrated that spore killing is triggered by a gene called ...
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Polyandry blocks gene drive in a wild house mouse population

A. Manser, B. Konig and A. K. Lindholm,  Nature Communications,  11:8. 2020.
Here, we study the impact of polyandry on a well-known gene drive, called t haplotype, in an intensively monitored population of wild house mice. First, we show that house mice are highly polyandrous: 47% of 682 litters were sired by more than one male. Second, we find that ...
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X-linked meiotic drive can boost population size and persistence

C. Mackintosh, A. Pomiankowski and M. F. Scott,  Genetics,  217:11. 2020.
Here, we find general conditions for the spread and fixation of X-linked alleles. Our conditions show that the spread of X-linked alleles depends on sex-specific selection and transmission rather than the time spent in each sex. Applying this logic to meiotic drive, we show that ...
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Sequence analysis in Bos taurus reveals pervasiveness of X–Y arms races in mammalian lineages

J. F. Hughes, H. Skaletsky, T. Pyntikova, N. Koutseva, T. Raudsepp, L. G. Brown, D. W. Bellott, T.-J. Cho, S. Dugan-Rocha, Z. Khan, C. Kremitzki, C. Fronick, T. A. Graves-Lindsay, L. Fulton, W. C. Warren, R. K. Wilson, E. Owens, J. E. Womack, W. J. Murphy,  Genome Research,  2020.
Here, we provide evidence that suppression of X–Y crossing-over unleashed a second dynamic: selfish X–Y arms races that reshaped the sex chromosomes in mammals as different as cattle, mice, and men. Using super-resolution sequencing, we explore the Y Chromosome of Bos taurus ...
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The bull Y chromosome has evolved to bully its way into gametes

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research,  Phys Org,  2020.
In a new study, published Nov. 18 in the journal Genome Research, scientists in the lab of Whitehead Institute Member David Page present the first ever full, high-resolution sequence of the Y chromosome of a Hereford bull. The research, more than a decade in the making, suggests ...
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Brave New Planet: Reshaping Nature Through Gene Drives

E. Lander,  Brave New Planet,  2020.
A new technology, called gene drives, has the power to spread any genetic instructions you wish across an entire animal or plant species in the wild. It might let us restore ecosystems ravaged by invasive species, or help species adapt to climate change. And, it might save ...
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A test for meiotic drive in hybrids between Australian and Timor zebra finches

U. Knief, W. Forstmeier, Y. Pei, J. Wolf and B. Kempenaers,  Ecology and Evolution,  2020.
We did not find evidence for meiotic driver loci on specific chromosomes. However, we observed a weak overall transmission bias toward Timor alleles at centromeres in females (transmission probability of Australian alleles of 47%, nominal p = 6 ? 10?5). While this is in line ...
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Selfish genetic elements and male fertility

R. L. Verspoor, T. A. R. Price and N. Wedell,  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  375:7. 2020.
Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) are diverse and near ubiquitous in Eukaryotes and can be potent drivers of evolution. Here, we discuss SGEs that specifically act on sperm to gain a transmission advantage to the next generation. The diverse SGEs that affect sperm often impose ...
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Stable Introduction of Plant-Virus-Inhibiting Wolbachia into Planthoppers for Rice Protection

J. T. Gong, Y. Li, T. P. Li, Y. Liang, L. Hu, D. Zhang, C. Y. Zhou, C. Yang, X. Zhang, S. S. Zha, X. Z. Duan, L. A. Baton, X. Y. Hong, A. A. Hoffmann and Z. Xi,  Current Biology,  30:4837-4845.e5. 2020.
Progress has been made in developing the maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia as a tool for protecting humans from mosquito-borne diseases. In contrast, Wolbachia-based approaches have not yet been developed for the protection of plants from insect pests and ...
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Resistance to natural and synthetic gene drive systems

T. A. R. Price, N. Windbichler, R. L. Unckless, A. Sutter, J.-N. Runge, P. A. Ross, A. Pomiankowski, N. L. Nuckolls, C. Montchamp-Moreau, N. Mideo, O. Y. Martin, A. Manser, M. Legros, A. M. Larracuente, L. Holman, J. Godwin, N. Gemmell, C. Courret, A. Buc,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  2020.
This review summarizes our current knowledge of drive resistance in both natural and synthetic gene drives. We explore how insights from naturally occurring and synthetic drive systems can be integrated to improve the design of gene drives, better predict the outcome of releases ...
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Maternal Transmission Ratio Distortion in Two Iberian Pig Varieties

M. Vazquez-Gomez, M. M. de Hijas-Villalba, L. Varona, N. Ibanez-Escriche, J. P. Rosas, S. Negro, J. L. Noguera and J. Casellas,  Genes,  11:16. 2020.
Although TRD can be a confounding factor in genetic mapping studies, this phenomenon remains mostly unknown in pigs, particularly in traditional breeds (i.e., the Iberian pig). We aimed to describe the maternal TRD prevalence and its genomic distribution in two Iberian varieties. ...
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Survival of the fit-ish

Stowers Institute for Medical Research,  Science Daily,  2020.
In a paper published online August 13, 2020, in eLife, members of the Zanders lab explain how it could be possible that meiotic drivers persist in the population, even as they kill off many would-be hosts. It turns out that S. pombe can employ variants of other genes to help ...
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Atypical meiosis can be adaptive in outcrossed Schizosaccharomyces pombe due to wtf meiotic drivers

M. A. Bravo Núñez, I. M. Sabbarini, L. E. Eide, R. L. Unckless and S. E. Zanders,  eLife,  9:e57936. 2020.
Here, we demonstrate that in scenarios analogous to outcrossing, wtf drivers generate a fitness landscape in which atypical spores, such as aneuploids and diploids, are advantageous. In this context, wtf drivers can decrease the fitness costs of mutations that disrupt meiotic ...
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Ubiquitous selfish toxin-antidote elements in Caenorhabditis species

E. Ben-David, P. Pliota, S. A. Widen, A. Koreshova, T. Lemus-Vergara, P. Verpukhovskiy, S. Mandali, C. Braendle, A. Burga and L. Kruglyak,  bioRxiv,  2020.08.06.240564. 2020.
We discovered five maternal-effect Toxin/Antidotes (TAs) in the nematode Caenorhabditis tropicalis and one in C. briggsae. Unlike previously reported TAs, five of these novel toxins do not kill embryos but instead cause larval arrest or developmental delay. Our results show ...
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Selfing is the safest sex for Caenorhabditis tropicalis

L. M. Noble, J. Yuen, L. Stevens, N. Moya, R. Persaud, M. Moscatelli, J. Jackson, C. Braendle, E. C. Andersen, H. S. Seidel and M. V. Rockman,  bioRxiv,  2020.08.07.242032. 2020.
Frequent selfing in Caenorhabditis. tropicalis may be a strategy to avoid gene drive-mediated outbreeding depression. Mating systems have profound effects on genetic diversity and compatibility. Caenorhabditis tropicalis is the least genetically diverse among 3 species of ...
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Extensive Recombination Suppression and Epistatic Selection Causes Chromosome-Wide Differentiation of a Selfish Sex Chromosome in Drosophila pseudoobscura

Z. L. Fuller, S. A. Koury, C. J. Leonard, R. E. Young, K. Ikegami, J. Westlake, S. Richards, S. W. Schaeffer and N. Phadnis,  Genetics,  216:205. 2020.
Here, we conduct a multifaceted study of the multiply inverted Drosophila pseudoobscura SR chromosome to understand the evolutionary history, genetic architecture, and present-day dynamics that shape this enigmatic selfish chromosome.
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Maternal effect killing by a supergene controlling ant social organization

A. Avril, J. Purcell, S. Béniguel and M. Chapuisat,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,  2020.
Supergenes are clusters of linked loci producing complex alternative phenotypes. In a series of experiments, we demonstrate that a supergene controlling ant social organization distorts Mendel’s laws to enhance its transmission to adult offspring. One supergene haplotype is ...
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Invasion and maintenance of spore killers in populations of ascomycete fungi

I. Martinossi-Allibert, C. Veller, S. L. Ament-Velásquez, A. A. Vogan, C. Rueffler and H. Johannesson,  bioRxiv,  2020.04.06.026989. 2020.
We show how ploidy level, rate of selfing, and efficiency of spore killing affect the invasion probability of a driving allele and the conditions for its stable coexistence with the non-driving allele. Our model can be adapted to different fungal life-cycles, and is applied here ...
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Can natural gene drives be part of future fungal pathogen control strategies in plants?

D. M. Gardiner, A. Rusu, L. Barrett, G. C. Hunter and K. Kazan,  New Phtologist,  2020.
Globally, fungal pathogens cause enormous crop losses and current control practices are not always effective, economical or environmentally sustainable. Tools enabling genetic management of wild pathogen populations could potentially solve many problems associated with plant ...
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Analysis of a Strong Suppressor of Segregation Distorter inDrosophila melanogaster

R. G. Temin,  Genetics,  215:1085-1105. 2020.
These studies highlight the polygenic nature of distortion and its dependence on a constellation of positive and negative modifiers, provide insight into the stability of Mendelian transmission in natural populations even when a drive system arises, and pave the way for molecular ...
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Meiotic drive

A. N. Srinivasa and S. E. Zanders,  Current Biology,  30:R627-R629. 2020.
What is meiotic drive? Diploid organisms, like you, have two copies of each autosomal chromosome, one from each parent. Sometimes organisms are heterozygous at a given region, meaning they carry different copies (or alleles) of the DNA sequence on the two homologous chromosomes. ...
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A Protamine Knockdown Mimics the Function of Sd in Drosophila melanogaster

L. F. Gingell and J. R. McLean,  G3-Genes Genomes Genetics,  10:2111-2115. 2020.
Segregation Distorter (SD) is an autosomal meiotic drive system found worldwide in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster. This gene complex induces the preferential and nearly exclusive transmission of the SD chromosome in SD/SD+ males. This selfish propagation occurs ...
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The Y Chromosome as a Battleground for Intragenomic Conflict

D. Bachtrog,  Trends in Genetics,  2020.
Recurrent sex chromosome drive can have profound ecological, evolutionary, and cellular impacts and account for unique features of sex chromosomes.
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Recessive Z-linked lethals and the retention of haplotype diversity in a captive butterfly population

I. J. Saccheri, S. Whiteford, C. J. Yung and A. E. van't Hof,  Heredity,  2020.
Sex chromosomes are predicted to harbour elevated levels of sexually antagonistic variation due to asymmetries in the heritability of recessive traits in the homogametic versus heterogametic sex.
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The Enterprise: A massive transposon carrying Spokt meiotic drive genes

A. A. Vogan, S. L. Ament-Velásquez, E. Bastiaans, O. Wallerman, S. J. Saupe, A. Suh and H. Johannesson,  bioRxiv,  2020.03.25.007153. 2020.
Previously, we described a large genomic feature called the Spok block which is notable due to the presence of meiotic drive genes of the Spok gene family. The Spok block ranges from 110 kb to 247 kb and can be present in at least four different genomic locations within P. ...
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The yeast mating-type switching endonuclease HO is a domesticated member of an unorthodox homing genetic element family

A. Y. Coughlan, L. Lombardi, S. Braun-Galleani, A. A. R. Martos, V. Galeote, F. Bigey, S. Dequin, K. P. Byrne and K. H. Wolfe,  eLife,  9:e55336. 2020.
The mating-type switching endonuclease HO plays a central role in the natural life cycle of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but its evolutionary origin is unknown. HO is a recent addition to yeast genomes, present in only a few genera close to Saccharomyces. Here we show that HO is ...
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Controversial ‘gene drive’ could disarm deadly wheat pathogen

Elizabeth Pennisi,  Science,  2020.
The Fusarium fungus is the bane of every wheat farmer’s existence. Causing wheat scab—also known as head blight—it decimates harvests and contaminates grains with a toxin harmful to people and animals. Now, Australian researchers have come up with a new strategy to combat ...
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Natural gene drives offer potential pathogen control strategies in plants

D. M. Gardiner, A. Rusu, L. Barrett, G. C. Hunter and K. Kazan,  bioRxiv,  2020.
Globally, fungal pathogens cause enormous crop losses and current control practices are not always effective, economical or environmentally sustainable. Tools enabling genetic management of wild pathogen populations could potentially solve many problems associated with plant ...
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Underdominance

GeneConvene Global Collaborative,  GeneConvene Global Collaborative,  2020.
This video graphically explains the genetic concept of underdominance and illustrates how it can result in one allele replacing another allele in a population.  While 'gene drive', underdominance is a genetic phenomenon that can be recreated using genetic technologies and might ...
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Strategies for Achieving Gene Drive – Gonotaxis

GeneConvene Global Collaborative,  GeneConvene Global Collaborative,  2020.
This video explains how there are three strategies for achieving gene drive and focuses on one, gonotaxis.  Gonotaxis is explained and illustrated.  While well-described in various plants and animals, gene drive researchers and technology developers have not recreated gonotaxis ...
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Strategies for Achieving Gene Drive – Interference

GeneConvene Global Collaborative,  GeneConvene Global Collaborative,  2020.
This short video explains how there are essentially three genetic strategies for achieve 'drive' or 'gene drive'.  This video focuses on the strategy of interference in which a genetic element achieves a transmission advantage or drives by disrupting the development of cells ...
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Strategies for Achieving Gene Drive – Over-Replication

GeneConvene Global Collaborative,  GeneConvene Global Collaborative,  2020.
This short video explains how there are essentially three genetic strategies for achieve 'drive' or 'gene drive'.  This video focuses on Over-Replication, a very common strategy associated wtih different types of genetic elements found in nature that 'drive'.  This strategy is ...
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Experimental manipulation of selfish genetic elements links genes to microbial community function

S. D. Quistad, G. Doulcier and P. B. Rainey,  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  375:12. 2020.
Microbial communities underpin the Earth's biological and geochemical processes, but their complexity hampers understanding. Motivated by the challenge of diversity and the need to forge ways of capturing dynamical behaviour connecting genes to function, biologically independent ...
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Modeling the impacts of a simple meiotic gene drive on small, homeostatic populations

K. R. Pilkiewicz and M. L. Mayo,  Physical Review E,  101:11. 2020.
Gene drives offer unprecedented control over the fate of natural ecosystems by leveraging non-Mendelian inheritance mechanisms to proliferate synthetic genes across wild populations. However, these benefits are offset by a need to avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of ...
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Dramatically diverse Schizosaccharomyces pombe wtf meiotic drivers all display high gamete-killing efficiency

M. A. Bravo Núñez, I. M. Sabbarini, M. T. Eickbush, Y. Liang, J. J. Lange, A. M. Kent and S. E. Zanders,  PLOS Genetics,  16:e1008350. 2020.
During gametogenesis, the two gene copies at a given locus, known as alleles, are each transmitted to 50% of the gametes (e.g. sperm). However, some alleles cheat so that they are found in more than the expected 50% of gametes, often at the expense of fertility. This selfish ...
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An introgressed gene causes meiotic drive in Neurospora sitophila

J. Svedberg, A. A. Vogan, N. A. Rhoades, D. Sarmarajeewa, D. J. Jacobson, M. Lascoux, T. M. Hammond and H. Johannesson,  bioRxiv,  2020.01.29.923946. 2020.
In this study, we identify the gene responsible for spore killing in Sk-1 by generating both long and short-read genomic data and by using these data to perform a genome wide association test. By phylogenetic analysis, we demonstrate that the gene is likely to have been ...
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A selfish genetic element linked to increased lifespan impacts metabolism in female house mice

P. C. Lopes and A. K. Lindholm,  Journal of Experimental Biology,  22:4. 2020.
Gene drive systems can lead to the evolution of traits that further enhance the transmission of the driving element. In gene drive, one allele is transmitted to offspring at a higher frequency than the homologous allele. This has a range of consequences, which generally include a ...
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Fitness consequences of a non-recombining sex-ratio drive chromosome can explain its prevalence in the wild

Dyer, K. A. and D. W. Hall,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  286:20192529. 2019.
Understanding the pleiotropic consequences of gene drive systems on host fitness is essential to predict their spread through a host population. Here, we study sex-ratio (SR) X-chromosome drive in the fly Drosophila recens, where SR causes the death of Y-bearing sperm in male ...
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Gene drive: progress and prospects

Wedell, N., T. A. R. Price and A. K. Lindholm,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  286:20192709. 2019.
Gene drive is a naturally occurring phenomenon in which selfish genetic elements manipulate gametogenesis and reproduction to increase their own transmission to the next generation. Currently, there is great excitement about the potential of harnessing such systems to control ...
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Ancient gene drives: an evolutionary paradox

Price, T. A. R., R. Verspoor and N. Wedell,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  286:20192267. 2019.
Selfish genetic elements such as selfish chromosomes increase their transmission rate relative to the rest of the genome and can generate substantial cost to the organisms that carry them. Such segregation distorters are predicted to either reach fixation (potentially causing ...
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A selfish genetic element linked to increased lifespan impacts metabolism in female house mice

Lopes, P. C. and A. K. Lindholm,  The Journal of Experimental Biology,  2019:212704. 2019.
Gene drive systems can lead to the evolution of traits that further enhance the transmission of the driving element. In gene drive, one allele is transmitted to offspring at a higher frequency than the homologous allele. This has a range of consequences, which generally include a ...
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Maintenance of fertility in the face of meiotic drive

Meade, L., S. Finnegan, R. Kad, K. Fowler and A. Pomiankowsk,  The American Naturalist,  2019:2019. 2019.
Selfish genetic elements that gain a transmission advantage through the destruction of sperm have grave implications for drive male fertility. In the X-linked SR meiotic drive system of a stalk-eyed fly, we found that drive males have greatly enlarged testes and maintain high ...
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The toxin–antidote model of cytoplasmic incompatibility: Genetics and evolutionary implications

Beckmann, J. F., M. Bonneau, H. Chen, M. Hochstrasser, D. Poinsot, H. Merçot, M. Weill, M. Sicard and S. Charlat,  Trends in Genetics,  35:175-185. 2019.
Wolbachia bacteria inhabit the cells of about half of all arthropod species, an unparalleled success stemming in large part from selfish invasive strategies. Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), whereby the symbiont makes itself essential to embryo viability, is the most common of ...
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An assessment of the immune costs associated with meiotic drive elements in Drosophila

Lea, J. K. and R. L. Unckless,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  286:20191534. 2019.
Most organisms are constantly adapting to pathogens and parasites that exploit their host for their own benefit. Less studied, but perhaps more ubiquitous, are intragenomic parasites or selfish genetic elements. These include transposable elements, selfish B chromosomes and ...
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An X-linked meiotic drive allele has strong, recessive fitness costs in female Drosophila pseudoobscura

W. Larner, T. Price, L. Holman and N. Wedell,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  286:9. 2019.
Selfish 'meiotic drive' alleles are transmitted to more than 50% of offspring, allowing them to rapidly invade populations even if they reduce the fitness of individuals carrying them. Theory predicts that drivers should either fix or go extinct, yet some drivers defy these ...
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Effects of a male meiotic driver on male and female transcriptomes in the house mouse

A. Lindholm, A. Sutter, S. Kunzel, D. Tautz and H. Rehrauer,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  286:1-8. 2019.
Not all genetic loci follow Mendel's rules, and the evolutionary consequences of this are not yet fully known. Genomic conflict involving multiple loci is a likely outcome, as restoration of Mendelian inheritance patterns will be selected for, and sexual conflict may also arise ...
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Rodent gene drives for conservation: opportunities and data needs

J. Godwin, M. Serr, K. Barnhill-Dilling, D. V. Blondel, P. R. Brown, K. Campbell, J. Delborne, A. L. Lloyd, K. P. Oh, T. A. A. Prowse, R. Saah and P. Thomas,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  286:20191606. 2019.
Invasive rodents impact biodiversity, human health and food security worldwide. The biodiversity impacts are particularly significant on islands, which are the primary sites of vertebrate extinctions and where we are reaching the limits of current control technologies. Gene ...
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The impact of local population genetic background on the spread of the selfish element Medea-1 in red flour beetles

S. A. Cash, M. A. Robert, M. D. Lorenzen and F. Gould,  Ecology and Evolution,  12:1-12. 2019.
Selfish genetic elements have been found in the genomes of many species, yet our understanding of their evolutionary dynamics is only partially understood. A number of distinct selfish Medea elements are naturally present in many populations of the red flour beetle (Tribolium ...
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The distribution and spread of naturally occurring Medea selfish genetic elements in the United States

S. A. Cash, M. D. Lorenzen and F. Gould,  Ecology and Evolution,  9:14407–14416.. 2019.
Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) are DNA sequences that are transmitted to viable offspring in greater than Mendelian frequencies. Medea SGEs occur naturally in some populations of red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) and are expected to increase in frequency within populations ...
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Meiotic drive mechanisms: lessons from Drosophila

C. Courret, C.-H. Chang, K. H.-C. Wei, C. Montchamp-Moreau and A. M. Larracuente,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  286:20191430. 2019.
Meiotic drivers are selfish genetic elements that bias their transmission into gametes, often to the detriment of the rest of the genome. The resulting intragenomic conflicts triggered by meiotic drive create evolutionary arms races and shape genome evolution. The phenomenon of ...
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Does meiotic drive alter male mate preference?

S. R. Finnegan, L. Nitsche, M. Mondani, M. F. Camus, K. Fowler and A. Pomiankowski,  Behavioral Ecology,  13:194-201. 2019.
Male mate preferences have been demonstrated across a range of species, including the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni. This species is subject to sex-ratio (SR), an X-linked male meiotic driver, which causes the dysfunction of Y-sperm and the production of all-female ...
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Fitness consequences of the selfish supergene Segregation Distorter

H. W. S. Wong and L. Holman,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  33:89-100. 2019.
Segregation distorters are selfish genetic elements that subvert Mendelian inheritance, often by destroying gametes that do not carry the distorter. Simple theoretical models predict that distorter alleles will either spread to fixation or stabilize at some high intermediate ...
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Evolutionary simulations of Z-linked suppression gene drives

L. Holman,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  286:1-9. 2019.
Synthetic gene drives may soon be used to suppress or eliminate populations of disease vectors, pathogens, invasive species, and agricultural pests. Recent proposals have focused on using Z-linked gene drives to control species with ZW sex determination, which include ...
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Threshold-Dependent Gene Drives in Wild Populations – A Podcast

G. A. Backus and J. A. Delborne,  BioScience Talks,  2019.
By altering the heritability of certain traits, gene drive technologies have the potential to spread desired genes through wild populations. In practice, this could lead to mosquito populations that, for example, bear traits making them resistant to the spread of malaria. Despite ...
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Standard deviations: The biological bases of transmission ratio distortion

L. Fishman and M. McIntosh,  Annual Review of Genetics,  53:347-372. 2019.
The rule of Mendelian inheritance is remarkably robust, but deviations from the equal transmission of alternative alleles at a locus [a.k.a. transmission ratio distortion (TRD)] are also commonly observed in genetic mapping populations. Such TRD reveals locus-specific selection ...
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A natural gene drive system influences bovine tuberculosis susceptibility in African buffalo: Possible implications for disease management

P. van Hooft, W. M. Getz, B. J. Greyling and A. D. S. Bastos,  PLoS One,  14:e0221168. 2019.
Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is endemic to the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) and Kruger National Park, South Africa. In HiP, the disease has been actively managed since 1999 through a test-and-cull procedure targeting BTB-positive buffalo. Prior ...
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Sex-ratio meiotic drive shapes the evolution of the Y chromosome in Drosophila simulans

Q. Helleu, C. Courret, D. Ogereau, K. L. Burnham, N. Chaminade, M. Chakir, S. Aulard and C. Montchamp-Moreau,  Molecular Biology and Evolution,  36:2668-2681. 2019.
The recent emergence and spread of X-linked segregation distorters-called "Paris" system-in the worldwide species Drosophila simulans has elicited the selection of drive-resistant Y chromosomes. Here, we investigate the evolutionary history of 386 Y chromosomes originating from ...
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Interpopulation spread of a parasitic B chromosome is unlikely through males in the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans

M. I. Manrique-Poyato, J. Cabrero, M. D. López-León, F. Perfectti, R. Gómez and J. P. M. Camacho,  Heredity,  124:197-206. 2019.
The near-neutral model of B chromosome evolution predicts that population invasion is quite fast. To test this prediction, in 1994, we introduced males of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans from a B-carrying population into a B-lacking population and monitored the evolution of ...
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A century of bias in genetics and evolution

L. D. Hurst,  Heredity,  123:33-44. 2019.
Mendel proposed that the heritable material is particulate and that transmission of alleles is unbiased. An assumption of unbiased transmission was necessary to show how variation can be preserved in the absence of selection, so overturning an early objection to Darwinism. In the ...
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B chromosome first—mechanisms behind the drive of B chromosomes uncovered

Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research,  Phy Org,  2019.
The specific number of chromosomes is one of the defining characteristics of a species. Whilst the common fruit fly carries 8 chromosomes, the genome of bread wheat counts 42 chromosomes. In comparison, the human genome is made out of a total of 46 chromosomes. However, about 15% ...
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Exploring Stakeholder Perspectives on the Development of a Gene Drive Mouse for Biodiversity Protection on Islands: Workshop Report

M. Farooque, S. K. Barnhill-Dilling, J. Shapiro and J. Delborne,  North Carolina State University,  2019.
The “Exploring Stakeholder Perspectives on the Development of a Gene Drive Mouse for Biodiversity Protection” workshop was held on the North Carolina State University campus in Raleigh, NC on March 7-8, 2019, aiming to convene a diverse group of stakeholders, scientists, ...
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Identification of fk-1;, a Meiotic Driver Undergoing RNA Editing in Neurospora

N. A. Rhoades, A. M. Harvey, D. A. Samarajeewa, J. Svedberg, A. Yusifov, A. Abusharekh, P. Manitchotpisit, D. W. Brown, K. J. Sharp, D. G. Rehard, J. Peters, X. Ostolaza-Maldonado, J. Stephenson, P. K. T. Shiu, H. Johannesson and T. M. Hammond,  Genetics,  212:93. 2019.
These findings indicate that unedited and edited rfk-1 transcripts exist and that these transcripts could have different roles with respect to the mechanism of meiotic drive by spore killing. Regardless of RNA editing, spore killing only succeeds if rfk-1 transcripts avoid ...
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Genetic pest management technologies to control invasive rodents

D. Kanavy and D. Threadgill,  Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge,  2019.
Many strategies exist to manage invasive pests on islands, ranging from poison to trapping, with varying degrees of success. Genetic technologies are increasingly being applied to insect pests, but so far, not to vertebrates. We are implementing a genetic strategy to eradicate ...
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Trialling gene drives to control invasive species: what, where and how?

T. Harvey-Samuel, K. J. Campbell, M. Edgington and L. Alphey,  Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge,  2019.
The control of invasive species would be enhanced through the addition of novel, more effective and sustainable pest management methods. One control option yet to be trialled in the field is to deploy transgene-based ‘Gene Drives’: technologies which force the inheritance of ...
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Towards a genetic approach to invasive rodent eradications: assessing reproductive competitiveness between wild and laboratory mice

M. Serr, N. Heard and J. Godwin,  Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge,  2019.
House mice are significant invasive pests, particularly on islands without native mammalian predators. As part of a multi-institutional project aimed at suppressing invasive mouse populations on islands, we aim to create heavily male-biased sex ratios with the goal of causing the ...
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A potential new tool for the toolbox: assessing gene drives for eradicating invasive rodent populations

K. J. Campbell, J. R. Saah, P. R. Brown, J. Godwin, F. Gould, G. R. Howald, A. Piaggio, P. Thomas, D. M. Tompkins, D. Threadgill, J. Delborne, D. Kanavy, T. Kuiken, H. Packard, M. Serr and A. Shiels,  Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge,  2019.
Invasive rodents have significant negative impacts on island biodiversity. All but the smallest of rodent eradications currently rely on island-wide rodenticide applications. Although signifi cant advances have been made in mitigating unintended impacts, rodent eradication on ...
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Meiotic drive shapes rates of karyotype evolution in mammals

Blackmon, H., J. Justison, I. Mayrose and E. E. Goldberg,  Evolution,  73:511-523. 2019.
Chromosome number is perhaps the most basic characteristic of a genome, yet generalizations that can explain the evolution of this trait across large clades have remained elusive. Using karyotype data from over 1000 mammals, we developed and applied a phylogenetic model of ...
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A natural, conditional gene drive in plants

Conner, AJJ, J.M.E.,  bioRxiv,  519884:1-10. 2019.
A new class of gene drive in plant populations with herbicide resistance is described; a conditional gene drive that operates following herbicide application. Screening progeny from controlled crosses of Brassica napus heterozygous for a dominant allele conferring chlorsulfuron ...
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Genome-wide transcriptome profiling reveals genes associated with meiotic drive system of Aedes aegypti

Shin, DB, K. Susanta; Severson, W. David,  Insects,  10:e25. 2019.
Aedes aegypti is an important mosquito vector of several arboviruses, including dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and Chikungunya, which cause significant human morbidity and mortality globally. In certain populations of this mosquito, a native meiotic drive system causes abnormal ...
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Transmission ratio distortion is frequent in Arabidopsis thaliana controlled crosses

Seymour, DKC, E.; Arioz, B. I.; Koenig, D.; Weigel, D.,  Heredity,  122:294-304. 2019.
The equal probability of transmission of alleles from either parent during sexual reproduction is a central tenet of genetics and evolutionary biology. Yet, there are many cases where this rule is violated. The preferential transmission of alleles or genotypes is termed ...
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Making a murderer: The evolutionary framing of hybrid gamete-killers

Sweigart, ALB, Yaniv; Fishman, Lila,  Trends in Genetics,  35:245-252. 2019.
Recent molecular investigations of hybrid incompatibilities have revealed fascinating patterns of genetic interactions that have been interpreted as the remnants of a history of selfish evolution. Instead of framing hybrid incompatibilities in light of genetic conflict, we ...
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The toxin–antidote model of cytoplasmic incompatibility: Genetics and evolutionary implications

Beckmann, JFB, Manon; Chen, Hongli; Hochstrasser, Mark; Poinsot, Denis; Merçot, Hervé; Weill, Mylène; Sicard, Mathieu; Charlat, Sylvain,  Trends in Genetics,  35:175-185. 2019.
Wolbachia bacteria inhabit the cells of about half of all arthropod species, an unparalleled success stemming in large part from selfish invasive strategies. Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), whereby the symbiont makes itself essential to embryo viability, is the most common of ...
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Gene drives in plants: opportunities and challenges for weed control and engineered resilience

Barrett, LGL, Mathieu; Kumaran, Nagalingam; Glassop, Donna; Raghu, S.; Gardiner, Donald M.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  286:9. 2019.
Plant species, populations and communities are under threat from climate change, invasive pathogens, weeds and habitat fragmentation. Despite considerable research effort invested in genome engineering for crop improvement, the development of genetic tools for the management of ...
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Gene conversion generates evolutionary novelty that fuels genetic conflicts

Daugherty, MDZ, Sarah E.,  Current Opinion in Genetics & Development,  58-59:49-54. 2019.
Genetic conflicts arise when the evolutionary interests of two genetic elements are not aligned. Conflicts between genomes (e.g. pathogen versus host) or within the same genome (e.g. internal parasitic DNA sequences versus the rest of the host genome) can both foster ‘molecular ...
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One prophage WO gene rescues cytoplasmic incompatibility in Drosophila melanogaster

Shropshire, J. D., J. On, E. M. Layton, H. Zhou and S. R. Bordenstein,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,  115:4987. 2018.
The World Health Organization recommended pilot deployment of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to curb viral transmission to humans. Releases of mosquitoes are underway worldwide because Wolbachia can block replication of these pathogenic viruses and deterministically spread by a ...
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Evolutionary genetics of cytoplasmic incompatibility genes cifA and cifB in prophage WO of Wolbachia

Lindsey, A. R. I., D. W. Rice, S. R. Bordenstein, A. W. Brooks, S. R. Bordenstein and I. L. G. Newton,  Genome Biology and Evolution,  10:434-451. 2018.
The bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia manipulates arthropod reproduction to facilitate its maternal spread through host populations. The most common manipulation is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI): Wolbachia-infected males produce modified sperm that cause embryonic mortality, ...
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Genetic villains: Killer meiotic drivers

Bravo Núñez, MAN, Nicole L.; Zanders, Sarah E.,  Trends in Genetics,  34:424-433. 2018.
Unbiased allele transmission into progeny is a fundamental genetic concept canonized as Mendel’s Law of Segregation. Not all alleles, however, abide by the law. Killer meiotic drivers are ultra-selfish DNA sequences that are transmitted into more than half (sometimes all) of ...
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Rapid comeback of males: evolution of male-killer suppression in a green lacewing population

Hayashi, MN, M.; Kageyama, D.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  285:6. 2018.
Evolutionary theory predicts that the spread of cytoplasmic sex ratio distorters leads to the evolution of host nuclear suppressors, although there are extremely few empirical observations of this phenomenon. Here, we demonstrate that a nuclear suppressor of a cytoplasmic male ...
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Origin, composition, and structure of the supernumerary B chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster

Hanlon, SLM, Danny E.; Eche, Salam; Hawley, R. Scott,  Genetics,  210:1197. 2018.
The number of chromosomes carried by an individual species is one of its defining characteristics. Some species, however, can also carry supernumerary chromosomes referred to as B chromosomes. B chromosomes were recently identified in a laboratory stock of Drosophila ...
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Genetics and genomics of an unusual selfish sex ratio distortion in an insect

Hamilton, PTH, C. N.; Curtis, C. I.; Perlman, S. J.,  Current Biology,  28:3864-3870. 2018.
Diverse selfish genetic elements have evolved the ability to manipulate reproduction to increase their transmission, and this can result in highly distorted sex ratios [1]. Indeed, one of the major explanations for why sex determination systems are so dynamic is because they are ...
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Satellite DNAs unveil clues about the ancestry and composition of B chromosomes in three grasshopper species

Milani, DB, Vanessa; Ferretti, Ana; Palacios-Gimenez, Octavio; Melo, Adriana; Moura, Rita; Loreto, Vilma; Song, Hojun; Cabral-de-Mello, Diogo,  Genes,  9:e523. 2018.
Supernumerary (B) chromosomes are dispensable genomic elements occurring frequently among grasshoppers. Most B chromosomes are enriched with repetitive DNAs, including satellite DNAs (satDNAs) that could be implicated in their evolution. Although studied in some species, the ...
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Selfish genetic elements

Agren, JAC, A. G.,  PLOS Genetics,  14:20. 2018.
Selfish genetic elements (historically also referred to as selfish genes, ultra-selfish genes, selfish DNA, parasitic DNA, genomic outlaws) are genetic segments that can enhance their own transmission at the expense of other genes in the genome, even if this has no or a negative ...
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Gene flow mediates the role of sex chromosome meiotic drive during complex speciation

Meiklejohn, CDL, Emily L.; Gordon, Kathleen E.; Rzatkiewicz, Thomas; Kingan, Sarah B.; Geneva, Anthony J.; Vedanayagam, Jeffrey P.; Muirhead, Christina A.; Garrigan, Daniel; Stern, David L.; Presgraves, Daven C.,  eLife,  7:e35468. 2018.
During speciation, sex chromosomes often accumulate interspecific genetic incompatibilities faster than the rest of the genome. The drive theory posits that sex chromosomes are susceptible to recurrent bouts of meiotic drive and suppression, causing the evolutionary build-up of ...
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Carrying a selfish genetic element predicts increased migration propensity in free-living wild house mice

Runge, J-NL, Anna K.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  285:20181333. 2018.
Life is built on cooperation between genes, which makes it vulnerable to parasitism. Selfish genetic elements that exploit this cooperation can achieve large fitness gains by increasing their transmission relative to the rest of the genome. This leads to counter-adaptations that ...
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Unexpected patterns of segregation distortion at a selfish supergene in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta

Ross, KGS, DeWayne,  BMC Genetics,  19:101. 2018.
The Sb supergene in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta determines the form of colony social organization, with colonies whose inhabitants bear the element containing multiple reproductive queens and colonies lacking it containing only a single queen. Several features of this ...
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Veni, vidi, vici: the success of wtf meiotic drivers in fission yeast

López Hernández, JFZ, Sarah E.,  Yeast,  35:447-453. 2018.
Meiotic drivers are selfish DNA loci that can bias their own transmission into gametes. Owing to their transmission advantages, meiotic drivers can spread in populations even if the drivers or linked variants decrease organismal fitness. Meiotic drive was first formally described ...
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B Chromosomes in populations of mammals revisited

Vujoševi?, MR, Marija; Blagojevi?, Jelena,  Genes,  9:487. 2018.
The study of B chromosomes (Bs) started more than a century ago, while their presence in mammals dates since 1965. As the past two decades have seen huge progress in application of molecular techniques, we decided to throw a glance on new data on Bs in mammals and to review them. ...
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Strong hybrid male incompatibilities impede the spread of a selfish chromosome between populations of a fly

Verspoor Rudi, LSJ, M. L.; Mannion Natasha, L. M.; Hurst Gregory, D. D.; Price Tom, A. R.,  Evolution Letters,  2:169-179. 2018.
Meiotically driving sex chromosomes manipulate gametogenesis to increase their transmission at a cost to the rest of the genome. The intragenomic conflicts they produce have major impacts on the ecology and evolution of their host species. However, their ecological dynamics ...
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Transmission and drive involving parasitic B chromosomes

Jones, RN,  Genes,  9:e388. 2018.
B chromosomes (Bs) are enigmatic additional elements in the genomes of thousands of species of plants, animals, and fungi. How do these non-essential, harmful, and parasitic chromosomes maintain their presence in their hosts, making demands on all the essential functions of their ...
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How selfish DNA hijacks its way into egg cells

Science Magazine,  Science,  2017.
This video was produced by Science magazine and explains and illustrates how gonotaxis or the asymmetrical allocation of chromosomes to developing female gametes occurs in mice. This video reflects an understanding of this process based on the publication by Akera et al (2017).
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Spindle asymmetry drives non-Mendelian chromosome segregation

T. Akera, L. Chmátal, E. Trimm, K. Yang, C. Aonbangkhen, D. M. Chenoweth, C. Janke, R. M. Schultz and M. A. Lampson,  Science,  358:668. 2017.
Genetic elements compete for transmission through meiosis, when haploid gametes are created from a diploid parent. Selfish elements can enhance their transmission through a process known as meiotic drive. In female meiosis, selfish elements drive by preferentially attaching to ...
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A maternal-effect selfish genetic element in Caenorhabditis elegans

E. Ben-David, A. Burga and L. Kruglyak,  Science,  356:1051. 2017.
We discovered a selfish element causing embryonic lethality in crosses between wild strains of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
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Poisons, antidotes, and selfish genes

N. Phadnis,  Science,  356:1013. 2017.
On page1051 of this issue, BenDavid et al . (3) chase down a serendipitous observation of an anomaly in genetic crosses to unmask a toxin-antidote type of selfish system in worms.
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A Wolbachia deubiquitylating enzyme induces cytoplasmic incompatibility

Beckmann, J. F., J. A. Ronau and M. Hochstrasser,  Nature Microbiology,  2:17007. 2017.
Wolbachia are obligate intracellular bacteria1 that infect arthropods, including approximately two-thirds of insect species2. Wolbachia manipulate insect reproduction by enhancing their inheritance through the female germline. The most common alteration is cytoplasmic ...
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wtf genes are prolific dual poison-antidote meiotic drivers

Nuckolls, NLN, M. A. B.; Eickbush, M. T.; Young, J. M.; Lange, J. J.; Yu, J. S.; Smith, G. R.; Jaspersen, S. L.; Malik, H. S.; Zanders, S. E.,  eLife,  6:e26033. 2017.
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, ...
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Genetic conflicts: the usual suspects and beyond

McLaughlin, RNM, H. S.,  Journal of Experimental Biology,  220:6-17. 2017.
Selfishness is pervasive and manifests at all scales of biology, from societies, to individuals, to genetic elements within a genome. The relentless struggle to seek evolutionary advantages drives perpetual cycles of adaptation and counter-adaptation, commonly referred to as Red ...
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B chromosome in Plantago lagopus Linnaeus, 1753 shows preferential transmission and accumulation through unusual processes

Dhar, MKK, G.; Kaul, S.,  Comparative Cytogenetics,  11:375-391. 2017.
Plantago lagopus is a diploid (2n = 2x = 12) weed belonging to family Plantaginaceae. We reported a novel B chromosome in this species composed of 5S and 45S ribosomal DNA and other repetitive elements. In the present work, presence of B chromosome(s) was confirmed through FISH ...
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A pooled sequencing approach identifies a candidate meiotic driver in Drosophila

Wei, KHCR, H. M.; Rathnam, C.; Lee, J.; Lin, D. A. N.; Ji, S. Q.; Mason, J. M.; Clark, A. G.; Barbash, D. A.,  Genetics,  206:451-465. 2017.
Meiotic drive occurs when a selfish element increases its transmission frequency above the Mendelian ratio by hijacking the asymmetric divisions of female meiosis. Meiotic drive causes genomic conflict and potentially has a major impact on genome evolution, but only a few drive ...
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X chromosome drive in a widespread Palearctic woodland fly, Drosophila testacea

Keais, GLH, M. A.; Gowen, B. E.; Perlman, S. J.,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  30:1185-1194. 2017.
Selfish genes that bias their own transmission during meiosis can spread rapidly in populations, even if they contribute negatively to the fitness of their host. Driving X chromosomes provide a clear example of this type of selfish propagation. These chromosomes have important ...
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Sry gene drive for rodent control: Reply to Gemmell and Tompkins

Kanavy, DS, M.,  Trends in Ecology & Evolution,  32:315-316. 2017.
We would like to thank Gemmell and Tompkins for their interest and comments onthe articlebyPiaggioet al. [1].Theissues raised by Gemmell and Tompkins [2] are very pertinent, and they correctly identified that the format of the article did not lend itself to a comprehensive ...
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A large gene family in fission yeast encodes spore killers that subvert Mendel’s law

Hu, WJ, Z. D.; Suo, F.; Zheng, J. X.; He, W. Z.; Du, L. L.,  eLife,  6:e28567. 2017.
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 ...
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B Chromosomes – A matter of chromosome drive

Houben, A,  Frontiers in Plant Science,  8:210. 2017.
B chromosomes are supernumerary chromosomes which are often preferentially inherited, deviating from usual Mendelian segregation. The balance between the so-called chromosome drive and the negative effects that the presence of Bs applies on the fitness of their host determines ...
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No evidence for female discrimination against male house mice carrying a selfish genetic element

Sutter, AL, A. K.,  Current Zoology,  62:675-685. 2016.
Meiotic drivers distort transmission to the next generation in their favor, with detrimental effects on the fitness of their homologues and the rest of the genome. Male carriers of meiotic drivers commonly inflict costs on their mates through genetic incompatibility, reduced ...
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Marcus Rhoades on preferential segregation in maize

Birchler, JA,  Genetics,  203:1489-1490. 2016.
Rhoades was studying a variant form of chromosome 10 with a conspicuous abnormality; it carried extensive heterochromatin at the tip of the long arm. This variant had been found by Albert Longley in indigenous maize varieties from the southwestern United States and provided to ...
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Random and non-random mating populations: Evolutionary dynamics in meiotic drive

Sarkar, B,  Mathematical Biosciences,  271:29-41. 2016.
Game theoretic tools are utilized to analyze a one-locus continuous selection model of sex-specific meiotic drive by considering nonequivalence of the viabilities of reciprocal heterozygotes that might be noticed at an imprinted locus. The model draws attention to the role of ...
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Sexual antagonism and meiotic drive cause stable linkage disequilibrium and favour reduced recombination on the X chromosome

Rydzewski, WTC, S. A.; Lievano, G.; Lynch, V. D.; Patten, M. M.,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  29:1247-1256. 2016.
Sexual antagonism and meiotic drive are sex-specific evolutionary forces with the potential to shape genomic architecture. Previous theory has found that pairing two sexually antagonistic loci or combining sexual antagonism with meiotic drive at linked autosomal loci augments ...
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Intragenomic conflict produces sex ratio dynamics that favor maternal sex ratio distorters

Rood, ESF, S.,  Ecology and Evolution,  6:8085-8093. 2016.
Maternal sex ratio distorters (MSDs) are selfish elements that enhance their transmission by biasing their host's sex allocation in favor of females. While previous models have predicted that the female-biased populations resulting from sex ratio distortion can benefit from ...
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A meiotic drive element in the maize pathogen Fusarium verticillioides is located within a 102 kb region of chromosome V

Pyle, JP, T.; Merrill, B.; Nsokoshi, C.; McCall, M.; Proctor, R. H.; Brown, D. W.; Hammond, T. M.,  G3-Genes Genomes Genetics,  6:2543-2552. 2016.
Fusarium verticillioides is an agriculturally important fungus because of its association with maize and its propensity to contaminate grain with toxic compounds. Some isolates of the fungus harbor a meiotic drive element known as Spore killer (Sk(K)) that causes nearly all ...
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Selfish genetic elements and the gene’s-eye view of evolution

Ågren, JA,  Current Zoology,  62:659-665. 2016.
During the last few decades, we have seen an explosion in the influx of details about the biology of selfish genetic elements. Ever since the early days of the field, the gene’s-eye view of Richard Dawkins, George Williams, and others, has been instrumental to make sense of new ...
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Occasional recombination of a selfish X-chromosome may permit its persistence at high frequencies in the wild

Pieper, KED, K. A.,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  29:2229-2241. 2016.
The sex-ratio X-chromosome (SR) is a selfish chromosome that promotes its own transmission to the next generation by destroying Y-bearing sperm in the testes of carrier males. In some natural populations of the fly Drosophila neotestacea, up to 30% of the X-chromosomes are SR ...
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The evolutionary consequences of selfish genetic elements

Lindholm, AKP, T. A. R.,  Current Zoology,  62:655-658. 2016.
The traditional view of the genome was once that it is broadly cooperative, with all genes working together amicably to improve the success of the individual as a whole. Benefits to the individual, after all, benefit all the component genes, as fair Mendelian inheritance ensures ...
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The Ecology and Evolutionary Dynamics of Meiotic Drive

Lindholm, AKD, K. A.; Firman, R. C.; Fishman, L.; Forstmeier, W.; Holman, L.; Johannesson, H.; Knief, U.; Kokko, H.; Larracuente, A. M.; Manser, A.; Montchamp-Moreau, C.; Petrosyan, V. G.; Pomiankowski, A.; Presgraves, D. C.; Safronova, L. D.; Sutter, A.; Unckless, R. L.; Verspoor, R. L.; Wedell, N.; Wilkinson, G. S.; Price, T. A. R.,  Trends in Ecology & Evolution,  31:315-326. 2016.
Meiotic drivers are genetic variants that selfishly manipulate the production of gametes to increase their own rate of transmission, often to the detriment of the rest of the genome and the individual that carries them. This genomic conflict potentially occurs whenever a diploid ...
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Pollen killer gene S35 function requires interaction with an activator that maps close to S24, another pollen killer gene in rice

Kubo, TY, A.; Kurata, N.,  G3-Genes Genomes Genetics,  6:1459-1468. 2016.
Pollen killer genes disable noncarrier pollens, and are responsible for male sterility and segregation distortion in hybrid populations of distantly related plant species. The genetic networks and the molecular mechanisms underlying the pollen killer system remain largely ...
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The ability to gain matings, not sperm competition, reduces the success of males carrying a selfish genetic element in a fly

Verspoor, RLH, G. D. D.; Price, T. A. R.,  Animal Behaviour,  115:207-215. 2016.
Females are expected to avoid low-quality males fathering their offspring. X chromosome meiotic drive (XCMD) makes males very low-quality mates. XCMDs are X chromosomes that, in males, cause the failure of all Y chromosome sperm, so all functional sperm carry the driving X and ...
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Meiotic drive changes sperm precedence patterns in house mice: potential for male alternative mating tactics?

Sutter, AL, A. K.,  BMC Evolutionary Biology,  16:15. 2016.
Background: With female multiple mating (polyandry), male-male competition extends to after copulation (sperm competition). Males respond to this selective pressure through physiological, morphological and behavioural adaptations. Sperm competitiveness is commonly decreased in ...
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R2d2 drives selfish sweeps in the house mouse

Didion, JPM, A. P.; Yadgary, L.; Bell, T. A.; McMullan, R. C.; de Solorzano, L. O.; Britton-Davidian, J.; Bult, C. J.; Campbell, K. J.; Castiglia, R.; Ching, Y. H.; Chunco, A. J.; Crowley, J. J.; Chesler, E. J.; Forster, D. W.; French, J. E.; Gabriel, S. I.; Gatti, D. M.; Garland, T.; Giagia-Athanasopoulou, E. B.; Gimenez, M. D.; Grize, S. A.; Gunduz, I.; Holmes, A.; Hauffe, H. C.; Herman, J. S.; Holt, J. M.; Hua, K. J.; Jolley, W. J.; Lindholm, A. K.; Lopez-Fuster, M. J.; Mitsainas, G.; Mathias, M. D.; McMillan, L.; Ramalhinho, M. D. M.; Rehermann, B.; Rosshart, S. P.; Searle, J. B.; Shiao, M. S.; Solano, E.; Svenson, K. L.; Thomas-Laemont, P.; Threadgill, D. W.; Ventura, J.; Weinstock, G. M.; Pomp, D.; Churchill, G. A.; de Villena, F. P. M.,  Molecular Biology and Evolution,  33:1381-1395. 2016.
A selective sweep is the result of strong positive selection driving newly occurring or standing genetic variants to fixation, and can dramatically alter the pattern and distribution of allelic diversity in a population. Population-level sequencing data have enabled discoveries ...
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A prezygotic transmission distorter acting equally in female and male zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata

Knief, US, H.; Ellegren, H.; Kempenaers, B.; Forstmeier, W.,  Molecular Ecology,  24:3846-3859. 2015.
The two parental alleles at a specific locus are usually inherited with equal probability to the offspring. However, at least three processes can lead to an apparent departure from fair segregation: early viability selection, biased gene conversion and various kinds of ...
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Double trouble: combined action of meiotic drive and Wolbachia feminization in Eurema butterflies

Kern, PC, J. M.; Kageyama, D.; Riegler, M.,  Biology Letters,  11:20150095. 2015.
Arthropod sex ratios can be manipulated by a diverse range of selfish genetic elements, including maternally inherited Wolbachia bacteria. Feminization by Wolbachia is rare but has been described for Eurema mandarina butterflies. In this species, some phenotypic and functional ...
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Coevolutionary dynamics of polyandry and sex-linked meiotic drive

Holman, LP, T. A. R.; Wedell, N.; Kokko, H.,  Evolution,  69:709-720. 2015.
Segregation distorters located on sex chromosomes are predicted to sweep to fixation and cause extinction via a shortage of one sex, but in nature they are often found at low, stable frequencies. One potential resolution to this longstanding puzzle involves female multiple mating ...
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Sex chromosome drive

Helleu, QG, P. R.; Montchamp-Moreau, C.,  Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology,  7:a017616. 2015.
Sex chromosome drivers are selfish elements that subvert Mendel's first law of segregation and therefore are over represented among the products of meiosis. The sex-biased progeny produced then fuels an extended genetic conflict between the driver and the rest of the genome. Many ...
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Mating type and spore killing characterization of Fusarium verticillioides strains

Guo, LB, A. Z.; Geiser, D. M.; Jimenez-Gasco, M. D.; Kuldau, G. A.,  Mycological Progress,  14:1045. 2015.
Fusarium verticillioides is a heterothallic ascomycete causing maize ear rot, and produces fumonisin mycotoxins harmful to livestock and human health. A meiotic drive phenomenon called spore killing has been reported in several filamentous fungi including F. verticillioides. F. ...
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Centromere-associated meiotic drive and female fitness variation in Mimulus

Fishman, LK, J. K.,  Evolution,  69:1208-1218. 2015.
Female meiotic drive, in which chromosomal variants preferentially segregate to the egg pole during asymmetric female meiosis, is a theoretically pervasive but still mysterious form of selfish evolution. Like other selfish genetic elements, driving chromosomes may be maintained ...
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Duplication and adaptive evolution of a key centromeric protein in Mimulus, a genus with female meiotic drive

Finseth, FRD, Y. Z.; Saunders, A.; Fishman, L.,  Molecular Biology and Evolution,  32:2694-2706. 2015.
The fundamental asymmetry of female meiosis creates an arena for genetic elements to compete for inclusion in the egg, promoting the selfish evolution of centromere variants that maximize their transmission to the future egg. Such "female meiotic drive" has been hypothesized to ...
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R2d2 and hyperdrive mechanisms (in Mouse meiosis)

Zanders, SEM, H. S.,  PLOS Genetics,  11:1-4. 2015.
Mendelian transmission is established during meiosis, the cell division that generates haploidgametes (e.g., sperm and eggs) from diploid germ cells. Meiosis does not, however, have to befair. Selfish genetic elements, or meiotic drivers, have evolved to cheat this process in ...
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Origin, evolution, and population genetics of the selfish Segregation Distorter gene duplication in European and African populations of Drosophila melanogaster

Brand, CLL, A. M.; Presgraves, D. C.,  Evolution,  69:1271-1283. 2015.
Meiotic drive elements are a special class of evolutionarily selfish genes that subvert Mendelian segregation to gain preferential transmission at the expense of homologous loci. Many drive elements appear to be maintained in populations as stable polymorphisms, their equilibrium ...
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Sex-ratio meiotic drive and Y-linked resistance in Drosophila affinis

Unckless, RLL, A. M.; Clark, A. G.,  Genetics,  199:831-840. 2015.
Genetic elements that cheat Mendelian segregation by biasing transmission in their favor gain a significant fitness benefit. Several examples of sex-ratio meiotic drive, where one sex chromosome biases its own transmission at the cost of the opposite sex chromosome, exist in ...
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On the origin of sex chromosomes from meiotic drive

Ubeda, FP, M. M.; Wild, G.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  282:20141932. 2015.
Most animals and many plants make use of specialized chromosomes (sex chromosomes) to determine an individual's sex. Best known are the XY and ZW sex-determination systems. Despite having evolved numerous times, sex chromosomes present something of an evolutionary puzzle. At ...
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Detrimental effects of an autosomal selfish genetic element on sperm competitiveness in house mice

Sutter, AL, A. K.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  282:1-8. 2015.
Female multiple mating (polyandry) is widespread across many animal taxa and indirect genetic benefits are a major evolutionary force favouring polyandry. An incentive for polyandry arises when multiple mating leads to sperm competition that disadvantages sperm from genetically ...
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Presence of segregation distortion in sheep

Raed, MA,  Research Journal of Biotechnology,  10:87-98. 2015.
The main objective of this project was the investigation of presence of segregation distortion (SD) and description of other relevant parameters of multilocus genetics in Australian Merino sheep. The SD cases investigated three flocks of 98, 79 and 92 offspring and their ...
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Centromere strength provides the cell biological basis for meiotic drive and karyotype evolution in mice

Chmatal, L., S. I. Gabriel, G. P. Mitsainas, J. Martinez-Vargas, J. Ventura, J. B. Searle, R. M. Schultz and M. A. Lampson,  Current Biology,  24:2295-2300. 2014.
Mammalian karyotypes (number and structure of chromosomes) can vary dramatically over short evolutionary time frames [1-3]. There are examples of massive karyotype conversion, from mostly telocentric (centromere terminal) to mostly metacentric (centromere internal), in 102-10 s ...
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A critical component of meiotic drive in Neurospora is located near a chromosome rearrangement

Harvey, AMR, D. G.; Groskreutz, K. M.; Kuntz, D. R.; Sharp, K. J.; Shiu, P. K. T.; Hammond, T. M.,  Genetics,  197:1165-1179. 2014.
Neurospora fungi harbor a group of meiotic drive elements known as Spore killers (Sk). Spore killer-2 (Sk-2) and Spore killer-3 (Sk-3) are two Sk elements that map to a region of suppressed recombination. Although this recombination block is limited to crosses between Sk and ...
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Genes that bias Mendelian segregation

Grognet, PL, H.; Malagnac, F.; Silar, P.,  PLOS Genetics,  10:e1004387. 2014.
Mendel laws of inheritance can be cheated by Meiotic Drive Elements (MDs), complex nuclear genetic loci found in various eukaryotic genomes and distorting segregation in their favor. Here, we identify and characterize in the model fungus Podospora anserina Spok1 and Spok2, two ...
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Genome rearrangements and pervasive meiotic drive cause hybrid infertility in fission yeast

Zanders, SEE, M. T.; Yu, J. S.; Kang, J. W.; Fowler, K. R.; Smith, G. R.; Malik, H. S.,  eLife,  3:e02630. 2014.
Hybrid sterility is one of the earliest postzygotic isolating mechanisms to evolve between two recently diverged species. Here we identify causes underlying hybrid infertility of two recently diverged fission yeast species Schizosaccharomyces pombe and S. kambucha, which mate to ...
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Segregation distortion affected by transgenes in early generations of rice crop-weed hybrid progeny: Implications for assessing potential evolutionary impacts from transgene flow into wild relatives

Yang, CW, Z.; Yang, X.; Lu, B. R.,  Journal of Systematics and Evolution,  52:466-476. 2014.
The significant role of segregation distortion as a driving force of evolution has increasingly gained recognition worldwide. Segregation distortion of parental alleles is commonly reported in hybrid progeny between crops and wild relative species, which possibly influences the ...
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Biased transmission of sex chromosomes in the aphid Myzus persicae is not associated with reproductive mode

Wilson, ACCD, R. N.; Vorburger, C.,  PLOS One,  9:1-12. 2014.
Commonly, a single aphid species exhibits a wide range of reproductive strategies including cyclical parthenogenesis and obligate parthenogenesis. Sex determination in aphids is chromosomal; females have two X chromosomes, while males have one. X chromosome elimination at male ...
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Sex-ratio meiotic drive and interspecific competition

Unckless, RLC, A. G.,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  27:1513-1521. 2014.
It has long been known that processes occurring within a species may impact the interactions between species. For example, as competitive ability is sensitive to parameters including reproductive rate, carrying capacity and competition efficiency, the outcome of interspecific ...
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Male eyespan size is associated with meiotic drive in wild stalk-eyed flies (Teleopsis dalmanni)

Cotton, AJF, M.; Cotton, S.; Pomiankowski, A.,  Heredity,  112:363-369. 2014.
This study provides the first direct evidence from wild populations of stalk-eyed flies to support the hypothesis that male eyespan is a signal of meiotic drive. Several stalk-eyed fly species are known to exhibit X-linked meiotic drive. A recent quantitative trait locus analysis ...
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A selfish gene chastened: Tribolium castaneum Medea M (4) is silenced by a complementary gene

Thomson, MS,  Genetica,  142:161-167. 2014.
Maternal-effect dominant embryonic arrest (Medea) of Tribolium castaneum are autosomal factors that act maternally to cause the death of any progeny that do not inherit them. This selfish behavior is thought to result from a maternally expressed poison and zygotically expressed ...
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Centromere strength provides the cell biological basis for meiotic drive and karyotype evolution in mice

Chmatal, LG, S. I.; Mitsainas, G. P.; Martinez-Vargas, J.; Ventura, J.; Searle, J. B.; Schultz, R. M.; Lampson, M. A.,  Current Biology,  24:2295-2300. 2014.
Mammalian karyotypes (number and structure of chromosomes) can vary dramatically over short evolutionary time frames [1-3]. There are examples of massive karyotype conversion, from mostly telocentric (centromere terminal) to mostly metacentric (centromere internal), in 102-10 s ...
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An X-linked sex ratio distorter in Drosophila simulans that kills or incapacitates both noncarrier sperm and sons

Rice, WR,  G3-Genes Genomes Genetics,  4:1837-1848. 2014.
Genomic conflict occurs when a genomic component gains a reproductive advantage at the expense of the organism as a whole. X-linked segregation distorters kill or incapacitate Y-bearing sperm, thereby gaining a transmission advantage but also reducing male fertility and ...
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Meiotic drive impacts expression and evolution of X-linked genes in stalk-eyed flies

Reinhardt, JAB, C. L.; Paczolt, K. A.; Johns, P. M.; Baker, R. H.; Wilkinson, G. S.,  PLOS Genetics,  10:e1004362. 2014.
Although sex chromosome meiotic drive has been observed in a variety of species for over 50 years, the genes causing drive are only known in a few cases, and none of these cases cause distorted sex-ratios in nature. In stalk-eyed flies (Teleopsis dalmanni), driving X chromosomes ...
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Analysis of segregation distortion and its relationship to hybrid barriers in rice

Reflinur, K, B.; Jang, S. M.; Chu, S. H.; Bordiya, Y.; Akter, M. B.; Lee, J.; Chin, J. H.; Koh, H. J.,  Rice,  7:3. 2014.
Segregation distortion (SD) is a frequently observed occurrence in mapping populations generated from crosses involving divergent genotypes. In the present study, ten genetic linkage maps constructed from reciprocal F-2 and BC1F1 mapping populations derived from the parents ...
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Multiple sex chromosomes in the light of female meiotic drive in amniote vertebrates

Pokorna, MA, M.; Kratochvil, L.,  Chromosome Research,  22:35-44. 2014.
It is notable that the occurrence of multiple sex chromosomes differs significantly between major lineages of amniote vertebrates. In this respect, birds are especially conspicuous, as multiple sex chromosomes have not been observed in this lineage so far. On the other hand, in ...
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Meiotic drive influences the outcome of sexually antagonistic selection at a linked locus

Patten, MM,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  27:2360-2370. 2014.
Most meiotic drivers, such as the t-haplotype in Mus and the segregation distorter (SD) in Drosophila, act in a sex-specific manner, gaining a transmission advantage through one sex although suffering only the fitness costs associated with the driver in the other. Their ...
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Evidence for meiotic drive as an explanation for karyotype changes in fishes

Molina, WFM, P. A.; Bertollo, L. A. C.; Bidau, C. J.,  Marine Genomics,  15:29-34. 2014.
The process of preferential chromosome segregation during meiosis has been suggested to be responsible for the predominance of certain chromosome types in the karyotypes of mammals, birds and insects. We developed an extensive analysis of the fixation of mono- or bibrachial ...
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Preferential accumulation of sex and Bs chromosomes in biarmed karyotypes by meiotic drive and rates of chromosomal changes in fishes

Molina, WFM, P. A.; Bertollo, L. A. C.; Bidau, C. J.,  Anais Da Academia Brasileira De Ciencias,  86:1801-1812. 2014.
Mechanisms of accumulation based on typical centromeric drive or of chromosomes carrying pericentric inversions are adjusted to the general karyotype differentiation in the principal Actinopterygii orders. Here, we show that meiotic drive in fish is also supported by preferential ...
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The organization and evolution of the Responder satellite in species of the Drosophila melanogaster group: dynamic evolution of a target of meiotic drive

Larracuente, AM,  BMC Evolutionary Biology,  14:233. 2014.
: Satellite DNA can make up a substantial fraction of eukaryotic genomes and has roles in genome structure and chromosome segregation. The rapid evolution of satellite DNA can contribute to genomic instability and genetic incompatibilities between species. Despite its ubiquity ...
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Evolution and biology of supernumerary B chromosomes

Houben, AB-M, A. M.; Klemme, S.; Timmis, J. N.,  Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences,  71:467-478. 2014.
B chromosomes (Bs) are dispensable components of the genome exhibiting non-Mendelian inheritance and have been widely reported on over several thousand eukaryotes, but still remain an evolutionary mystery ever since their first discovery over a century ago [1]. Recent advances in ...
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The Trojan female technique: a novel, effective and humane approach for pest population control

N. J. Gemmell, A. Jalilzadeh, R. K. Didham, T. Soboleva and D. M. Tompkins,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  280:20132549. 2013.
We use mathematical models to test a new twist on the SMT, using maternally inherited mitochondrial (mtDNA) mutations that affect male, but not female reproductive fitness. ‘Trojan females’ carrying suchmutations, and their female descendants, produce ...
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Elimination of Y chromosome-bearing spermatids during spermiogenesis in an autosomal sex-ratio mutant of Drosophila simulans

Yasuno, YI, Y. H.; Yamamoto, M. T.,  Genes & Genetic Systems,  88:113-126. 2013.
Sex ratio distortion, which is commonly abbreviated as sex-ratio, has been studied in many Drosophila species, but the mechanism remains largely unknown. Here, we report on the sex-ratio mutant of D. simulans named excess of females (exf). The third chromosomal recessive mutation ...
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Sex-biased gene expression during head development in a sexually dimorphic stalk-eyed fly

Wilkinson, GSJ, P. M.; Metheny, J. D.; Baker, R. H.,  PLOS One,  8:1-10. 2013.
Stalk-eyed flies (family Diopsidae) are a model system for studying sexual selection due to the elongated and sexually dimorphic eye-stalks found in many species. These flies are of additional interest because their X chromosome is derived largely from an autosomal arm in other ...
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The dynamic relationship between polyandry and selfish genetic elements

Wedell, N,  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  368:10. 2013.
Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) are ubiquitous in eukaryotes and bacteria, and make up a large part of the genome. They frequently target sperm to increase their transmission success, but these manipulations are often associated with reduced male fertility. Low fertility of ...
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Meiotic drive in mice carrying t-complex in their genome

Safronova, LDC, V. L.,  Russian Journal of Genetics,  49:885-897. 2013.
The deviation of alleles and chromosomes from Mendelian inheritance is characteristic of the meiotic drive. This review describes the mechanism in question using the best-studied example of transmitted ratio distortion in the heterozygous male mice carrying t-haplotypes. The ...
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Association of polyandry and sex-ratio drive prevalence in natural populations of Drosophila neotestacea

Pinzone, CAD, K. A.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  280:20131397. 2013.
Selfish genetic elements bias their own transmission to the next generation, even at the expense of the fitness of their carrier. Sex-ratio (SR) meiotic drive occurs when an X-chromosome causes Y-bearing sperm to die during male spermatogenesis, so that it is passed on to all of ...
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Transmission rate variation among three B chromosome variants in the fish Prochilodus lineatus (Characiformes, Prochilodontidae)

Penitente, MV, T. A.; Senhorini, J. A.; Bortolozzi, J.; Foresti, F.; Porto-Foresti, F.,  Anais Da Academia Brasileira De Ciencias,  85:1371-1377. 2013.
Cytogenetic studies were developed in Prochilodus lineatus (Valenciennes 1836), describing an interesting system of small supernumerary chromosomes. The purpose of this work is to study the frequency and morphology of B chromosomes in individuals from the parental line and the ...
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Modelling the spatial spread of a homing endonuclease gene in a mosquito population

North, AB, A.; Godfray, H. C. J.,  Journal of Applied Ecology,  50:1216-1225. 2013.
Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) exist naturally in many single-celled organisms and can show extremely strong genetic drive allowing them to spread through populations into which they are introduced. They are being investigated as tools to manipulate the populations of important ...
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Diversity and abundance of the abnormal chromosome 10 meiotic drive complex in Zea mays

Kanizay, LBP, T.; Lowry, E. G.; Hufford, M. B.; Peterson, D. G.; Ross-Ibarra, J.; Dawe, R. K.,  Heredity,  110:570-577. 2013.
Maize Abnormal chromosome 10 (Ab10) contains a classic meiotic drive system that exploits the asymmetry of meiosis to preferentially transmit itself and other chromosomes containing specialized heterochromatic regions called knobs. The structure and diversity of the Ab10 meiotic ...
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Mutations to the piRNA Pathway Component Aubergine Enhance Meiotic Drive of Segregation Distorter in Drosophila melanogaster

Gell, SLR, R. A.,  Genetics,  193:771-784. 2013.
Diploid sexual reproduction involves segregation of allelic pairs, ensuring equal representation of genotypes in the gamete pool. Some genes, however, are able to "cheat" the system by promoting their own transmission. The Segregation distorter (Sd) locus in Drosophila ...
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Mechanism of meiotic drive in mammals

Chmatal, LF, K.; Schultz, R. M.; Lampson, M. A.,  Molecular Biology of the Cell,  24:3775. 2013.
Meiotic drive is a phenomenon responsible for an unequal representation of alleles or whole chromosomes among gametes as a result of the mechanics of meiotic division (Sandler et Novitski 1957). When it drives segregation of Robertsonian translocations (Rb), a common chromosomal ...
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Natural variation of the Y chromosome suppresses sex ratio distortion and modulates testis-specific gene expression in Drosophila simulans

Branco, ATT, Y.; Hartl, D. L.; Lemos, B.,  Heredity,  111:8-15. 2013.
X-linked sex-ratio distorters that disrupt spermatogenesis can cause a deficiency in functional Y-bearing sperm and a female-biased sex ratio. Y-linked modifiers that restore a normal sex ratio might be abundant and favored when a X-linked distorter is present. Here we ...
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Local dynamics of a fast-evolving sex-ratio system in Drosophila simulans

Bastide, HG, P. R.; Ogereau, D.; Cazemajor, M.; Montchamp-Moreau, C.,  Molecular Ecology,  22:5352-5367. 2013.
By distorting Mendelian transmission to their own advantage, X-linked meiotic drive elements can rapidly spread in natural populations, generating a sex-ratio bias. One expected consequence is the triggering of a co-evolutionary arms race between the sex chromosome that carries ...
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The contribution of female meiotic drive to the evolution of neo-sex chromosomes

Yoshida, KK, J.,  Evolution,  66:3198-3208. 2012.
Sex chromosomes undergo rapid turnover in certain taxonomic groups. One of the mechanisms of sex chromosome turnover involves fusions between sex chromosomes and autosomes. Sexual antagonism, heterozygote advantage, and genetic drift have been proposed as the drivers for the ...
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From genes to games: Cooperation and cyclic dominance in meiotic drive

Traulsen, AR, F. A.,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  299:120-125. 2012.
Evolutionary change can be described on a genotypic level or a phenotypic level. Evolutionary game theory is typically thought of as a phenotypic approach, although it is frequently argued that it can also be used to describe population genetic evolution. Interpreting the ...
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Genetic mapping a meiotic driver that causes sex ratio distortion in the mosquito Aedes aegypti

Shin, DM, A.; Severson, D. W.,  Journal of Heredity,  103:303-307. 2012.
An endogenous meiotic driver in the dengue and yellow fever vector mosquito Aedes aegypti can cause highly male-biased sex ratio distortion in crosses from suitable genetic backgrounds. We previously selected a strain that carries a strong meiotic drive gene (D) linked with the ...
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No evidence of mate discrimination against males carrying a sex ratio distorter in Drosophila pseudoobscura

Price, TARL, Z.; Smith, D. T.; Hurst, G. D. D.; Wedell, N.,  Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology,  66:561-568. 2012.
Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) that spread by manipulating spermatogenesis often have highly deleterious effects on males that carry them. Females that mate with male carriers of SGEs can also suffer significant costs: they receive fewer and poorer-quality sperm, their offspring ...
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Evaluating the evidence for transmission distortion in human pedigrees

Meyer, WKA, B.; Ober, C.; Ebner, T.; Tiemann-Boege, I.; Hudson, R. R.; Przeworski, M.,  Genetics,  191:215-232. 2012.
Children of a heterozygous parent are expected to carry either allele with equal probability. Exceptions can occur, however, due to meiotic drive, competition among gametes, or viability selection, which we collectively term "transmission distortion" (TD). Although there are ...
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The Selfish Segregation Distorter Gene Complex of Drosophila melanogaster

Larracuente, AMP, D. C.,  Genetics,  192:33-53. 2012.
Segregation Distorter (SD) is an autosomal meiotic drive gene complex found worldwide in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster. During spermatogenesis, SD induces dysfunction of SD+ spermatids so that SD/SD+ males sire almost exclusively SD-bearing progeny rather than ...
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Complex genetic nature of sex-independent transmission ratio distortion in Asian rice species: the involvement of unlinked modifiers and sex-specific mechanisms

Koide, YS, Y.; Ikenaga, M.; Sawamura, N.; Matsubara, K.; Onishi, K.; Kanazawa, A.; Sano, Y.,  Heredity,  108:242-247. 2012.
Transmission ratio distortion (TRD), in which one allele is transmitted more frequently than the opposite allele, is presumed to act as a driving force in the emergence of a reproductive barrier. TRD acting in a sex-specific manner has been frequently observed in interspecific ...
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B chromosomes in plants

Jones, N,  Plant Biosystems,  146:727-737. 2012.
B chromosomes (Bs) can be described as "selfish chromosomes", a term that has been used for the repetitive DNA which comprises the bulk of the genome in large genome species, except that Bs have a life of their own as independent chromosomes. They can accumulate in number by ...
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Local selection underlies the geographic distribution of sex-ratio drive in Drosophila neotestacea

Dyer, KA,  Evolution,  66:973-984. 2012.
Selfish genetic elements promote their own transmission to the next generation, often at a cost to the host individual. A sex-ratio (SR) driving X chromosome prevents the maturation of Y-bearing sperm, and as a result is transmitted to 100% of the offspring, all of which are ...
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Scrambling eggs: Meiotic drive and the evolution of female recombination rates

Brandvain, YC, G.,  Genetics,  190:709-723. 2012.
Theories to explain the prevalence of sex and recombination have long been a central theme of evolutionary biology. Yet despite decades of attention dedicated to the evolution of sex and recombination, the widespread pattern of sex differences in the recombination rate is not ...
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Nondisjunction in favor of a Chromosome: The mechanism of rye B chromosome drive during pollen mitosis

Banaei-Moghaddam, AMS, V.; Kumke, K.; Weiss, O.; Klemme, S.; Nagaki, K.; Macas, J.; Gonzalez-Sanchez, M.; Heredia, V.; Gomez-Revilla, D.; Gonzalez-Garcia, M.; Vega, J. M.; Puertas, M. J.; Houben, A.,  Plant Cell,  24:4124-4134. 2012.
B chromosomes (Bs) are supernumerary components of the genome and do not confer any advantages on the organisms that harbor them. The maintenance of Bs in natural populations is possible by their transmission at higher than Mendelian frequencies. Although drive is the key for ...
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Requirements for effective malaria control with homing endonuclease genes

Deredec, AG, H. C. J.; Burt, A.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  108:e874-e880. 2011.
Malaria continues to impose a substantial burden on human health. We have previously proposed that biological approaches to control the mosquito vector of disease could be developed using homing endonuclease genes (HEGs), a class of selfish or parasitic gene that exists naturally ...
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Reduced polymorphism associated with X chromosome meiotic drive in the stalk-eyed fly Teleopsis dalmanni

Christianson, SJB, C. L.; Wilkinson, G. S.,  PLOS One,  6:e27254. 2011.
Sex chromosome meiotic drive has been suggested as a cause of several evolutionary genetic phenomena, including genomic conflicts that give rise to reproductive isolation between new species. In this paper we present a population genetic analysis of X chromosome drive in the ...
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B Chromosomes and Sex in Animals

Camacho, JPMS, M.; Cabrero, J.,  Sexual Development,  5:155-166. 2011.
Supernumerary (B) chromosomes are dispensable elements found in many eukaryote genomes in addition to standard (A) chromosomes. In many respects, B chromosomes resemble sex chromosomes, so that a common ancestry for them has frequently been suggested. For instance, B chromosomes ...
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Rapid rise and fall of selfish sex-ratio X Chromosomes in Drosophila simulans: Spatiotemporal analysis of phenotypic and molecular data

Bastide, HC, M.; Ogereau, D.; Derome, N.; Hospital, F.; Montchamp-Moreau, C.,  Molecular Biology and Evolution,  28:2461-2470. 2011.
Sex-ratio drive, which has been documented in several Drosophila species, is induced by X-linked segregation distorters. Contrary to Mendel's law of independent assortment, the sex-ratio chromosome (X(SR)) is inherited by more than half the offspring of carrier males, resulting ...
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Selfish genetic elements, genetic conflict, and evolutionary innovation

Werren, JH,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  108:10863-10870. 2011.
Genomes are vulnerable to selfish genetic elements (SGEs), which enhance their own transmission relative to the rest of an individual's genome but are neutral or harmful to the individual as a whole. As a result, genetic conflict occurs between SGEs and other genetic elements in ...
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Transcript profiling of the meiotic drive phenotype in testis of Aedes aegypti using suppressive subtractive hybridization

Shin, DYJ, L. Z.; Lobo, N. F.; Severson, D. W.,  Journal of Insect Physiology,  57:1220-1226. 2011.
The meiotic drive gene in Aedes aegypti is tightly linked with the sex determination locus on chromosome 1, and causes highly male-biased sex ratios. We prepared cDNA libraries from testes from the Ae. aegypti 137 strain (driving) and RED strain (non-driving), and used ...
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A novel sperm-delivered toxin causes late-stage embryo lethality and transmission ratio distortion in C. elegans

Seidel, HSA, M.; Li, J. L.; van Oudenaarden, A.; Rockman, M. V.; Kruglyak, L.,  PLOS Biology,  9:e1001115. 2011.
The evolutionary fate of an allele ordinarily depends on its contribution to host fitness. Occasionally, however, genetic elements arise that are able to gain a transmission advantage while simultaneously imposing a fitness cost on their hosts. We previously discovered one such ...
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Selective microspore abortion correlated with aneuploidy: an indication of meiotic drive

Furness, CAR, P. J.,  Sexual Plant Reproduction,  24:1-8. 2011.
Selective megaspore abortion (monomegaspory) probably arose once in seed plants and occurs routinely in more than 70% of angiosperm species, representing one of the key characters of a heterosporous life history. In contrast, selective microspore abortion leading to pollen ...
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Polar bodies–more a lack of understanding than a lack of respect

S. Schmerler and G. M. Wessel,  Molecular Reproduction and Development,  78:3-8. 2010.
Polar bodies are as diverse as the organisms that produce them. Although in many animals these cells often die following meiotic maturation of the oocyte, in other organisms they are an essential and diverse part of embryonic development. Here we highlight some of this diversity ...
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Changes in sperm tail development associated with Y chromosome meiotic drive leading to an excess of males in the medfly Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Rendon, PAB, R. D.; Wood, R. J.,  Biological Journal of the Linnean Society,  101:351-359. 2010.
The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wied.) normally produces the sexes in equal ratio but strains carrying the Y chromosome meiotic drive MP (male-producing) factor show an excess of males. This is associated with a loss of sperm, and abnormal sperm structure in terms ...
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The role of meiotic drive in hybrid male sterility

McDermott, SRN, M. A. F.,  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  365:1265-1272. 2010.
Meiotic drive causes the distortion of allelic segregation away from Mendelian expected ratios, often also reducing fecundity and favouring the evolution of drive suppressors. If different species evolve distinct drive-suppressor systems, then hybrid progeny may be sterile as a ...
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Segregation distortion and the evolution of sex-determining mechanisms

Kozielska, MW, F. J.; Beukeboom, L. W.; Pen, I.,  Heredity,  104:100-112. 2010.
Segregation distorters are alleles that distort normal segregation in their own favour. Sex chromosomal distorters lead to biased sex ratios, and the presence of such distorters, therefore, may induce selection for a change in the mechanism of sex determination. The evolutionary ...
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Games in tetrads: Segregation, recombination, and meiotic drive

Haig, D,  American Naturalist,  176:404-413. 2010.
The two alleles at a heterozygous locus segregate during meiosis, sometimes at meiosis I and sometimes at meiosis II. The timing of segregation is determined by the pattern of crossing-over between a locus and its attached centromeres. Genes near centromeres can exploit this ...
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Segregation analysis of a sex ratio distortion locus in congenic mice

Casellas, JF, C. R.; Verdugo, R. A.; Medrano, J. F.,  Journal of Heredity,  101:351-359. 2010.
The congenic HG.CAST-(D17Mit196-D17Mit190) (HQ17(hg/hg)) mouse strain showed a significant departure on the expected 50%/50% offspring sex ratio in more than 2400 progeny (55.7% females). The entire pedigree file included data from 13 nonoverlapping purebred generations and an ...
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Segregation distortion in chicken and the evolutionary consequences of female meiotic drive in birds

Axelsson, EA, A.; Van, A. P.; Li, L.; Megens, H. J.; Vereijken, A. L. J.; Crooijmans, Rpma; Groenen, M. A. M.; Ellegren, H.; Willerslev, E.; Nielsen, R.,  Heredity,  105:290-298. 2010.
As all four meiotic products give rise to sperm in males, female meiosis result in a single egg in most eukaryotes. Any genetic element with the potential to influence chromosome segregation, so that it is preferentially included in the egg, should therefore gain a transmission ...
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Genetic control of invasive plants species using selfish genetic elements

K. A. Hodgins, L. Rieseberg and S. P. Otto,  Evolutionary Applications,  2:555-569. 2009.
Invasive plants cause substantial environmental damage and economic loss. Here, we explore the possibility that a selfish genetic element found in plants called cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) could be exploited for weed control. We developed an analytical model and a spatial ...
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Testosterone has a long-term effect on primary sex ratio of first eggs in pigeons-in search of a mechanism

Goerlich, VCD, C.; Schaafsma, S. M.; Groothuis, T. G. G.,  General and Comparative Endocrinology,  163:184-192. 2009.
Despite accumulating evidence that birds, in which females are the heterogametic sex, are able to manipulate primary offspring sex ratio, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Steroid hormones. which govern female reproduction and are also accumulated by the developing ...
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Molecular signature of epistatic selection: interrogating genetic interactions in the sex-ratio meiotic drive of Drosophila simulans

Chevin, LMB, H.; Montchamp-Moreau, C.; Hospital, F.,  Genetics Research,  91:171-182. 2009.
Fine scale analyses Of signatures of selection allow assessing quantitative aspects of a Species' evolutionary genetic history, such as the strength of selection on genes. When several selected loci lie in the same genomic region, their epistatic interactions may also be ...
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Evolution of the Schlafen genes, a gene family associated with embryonic lethality, meiotic drive, immune processes and orthopoxvirus virulence

Bustos, ON, S.; Ayers, G.; Casola, C.; Perez-Lamigueiro, M. A.; Chippindale, P. T.; Pritham, E. J.; de la Casa-Esperon, E.,  Gene,  447:11-Jan. 2009.
Genes of the Schlafen family, first discovered in mouse, are expressed in hematopoietic cells and are involved in immune processes. Previous results showed that they are candidate genes for two major phenomena: meiotic drive and embryonic lethality (DDK syndrome). However, these ...
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Assessment of transmission distortion on chromosome 6p in healthy individuals using tagSNPs

Santos, PSCH, J.; Schlattmann, P.; Konig, I. R.; Ziegler, A.; Uchanska-Ziegler, B.,  European Journal of Human Genetics,  17:1182-1189. 2009.
The best-documented example for transmission distortion (TD) to normal offspring are the t haplotypes on mouse chromosome 17. In healthy humans, TD has been described for whole chromosomes and for particular loci, but multiple comparisons have presented a statistical obstacle in ...
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Drive and sperm: The evolution and genetics of male meiotic drive

Presgraves, D,  Sperm Biology: an Evolutionary Perspective,  12:471-506. 2009.
Some selfish genetic elements in eukaryotic genomes have been harnessed to perform essential functions for their hosts, whereas others have gained transmission advantages at the expense of their hosts. Meiotic drive elements are particularly dramatic examples of the latter. ...
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Sex ratio distorter reduces sperm competitive ability in an insect

Price, TARB, A. J.; Avent, T. D.; Snook, R. R.; Hurst, G. D. D.; Wedell, N.,  Evolution,  62:1644-1652. 2008.
Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) are ubiquitous in animals and often associated with low male fertility due to reduced sperm number in male carriers. In the fruit fly Drosophila pseudoobscura, the meiotic driving X chromosome "sex ratio" kills Y-bearing sperm in carrier males (SR ...
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Transmission ratio distortion in Arabidopsis lyrata: effects of population divergence and the S-locus

Leppala, JB, J. S.; Schierup, M. H.; Savolainen, O.,  Heredity,  100:71-78. 2008.
We investigated transmission ratio distortion within an Icelandic population of Arabidopsis lyrata using 16 molecular markers unlinked to the S-locus. Transmission ratio distortion was found more often than expected by chance at the gametic level, but not at the genotypic or ...
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The evolution of sex-independent transmission ratio distortion involving multiple allelic interactions at a single locus in rice

Koide, YI, M.; Sawamura, N.; Nishimoto, D.; Matsubara, K.; Onishi, K.; Kanazawa, A.; Sano, Y.,  Genetics,  180:409-420. 2008.
Transmission ratio distortion (TRD) is frequently observed in inter-and intraspecific hybrids of plants, leading to a violation of Mendelian inheritance. Sex-independent TRD (siTRD) was detected in a hybrid between Asian cultivated rice and its wild ancestor. Here we examined how ...
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X chromosome drive

Jaenike, J,  Current Biology,  18:R508-R511. 2008.
In the past 10 years, the world record for the men's 100 meter dash has declined from 9.79 to 9.74 seconds, the detection of such small differences being made possible by sophisticated electronic timing devices. If someone were to run the 100 meters in 9.73999 seconds in the 2008 ...
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Centromere-associated female meiotic drive entails male fitness costs in Monkeyflowers

Fishman, LS, A.,  Science,  322:1559-1562. 2008.
Female meiotic drive, in which paired chromosomes compete for access to the egg, is a potentially powerful but rarely documented evolutionary force. In interspecific monkeyflower ( Mimulus) hybrids, a driving M. guttatus allele ( D) exhibits a 98: 2 transmission advantage via ...
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Selective sweeps in a 2-locus model for sex-ratio meiotic drive in Drosophila simulans

Derome, NB, E.; Ogereau, D.; Veuille, M.; Montchamp-Moreau, C.,  Molecular Biology and Evolution,  25:409-416. 2008.
A way to identify loci subject to positive selection is to detect the signature of selective sweeps in given chromosomal regions. It is revealed by the departure of DNA polymorphism patterns from the neutral equilibrium predicted by coalescent theory. We surveyed DNA sequence ...
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Rapid evolution of yeast centromeres in the absence of drive

Bensasson, DZ, M.; Burt, A.; Koufopanou, V.,  Genetics,  178:2161-2167. 2008.
To find the most rapidly evolving regions in the yeast genome we compared most of chromosome III from three closely related lineages of the wild yeast Saccharomyces paradoxits. Unexpectedly, the centromere appears to be the fastest-evolving part of the chromosome, evolving even ...
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Meiotic drive and sex determination: molecular and cytological mechanisms of sex ratio adjustment in birds

Rutkowska, JB, A. V.,  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  363:1675-1686. 2008.
Differences in relative fitness of male and female offspring across ecological and social environments should favour the evolution of sex-determining mechanisms that enable adjustment of brood sex ratio to the context of breeding. Despite the expectation that genetic sex ...
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Sexually antagonistic “Zygotic Drive” of the sex Chromosomes

Rice, WRG, S.; Friberg, U.,  PLOS Genetics,  4:e1000313. 2008.
Genomic conflict is perplexing because it causes the fitness of a species to decline rather than improve. Many diverse forms of genomic conflict have been identified, but this extant tally may be incomplete. Here, we show that the unusual characteristics of the sex chromosomes ...
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Selfish genetic elements promote polyandry in a fly

Price, TARH, D. J.; Lewis, Z.; Hurst, G. D. D.; Wedell, N.,  Science,  322:1241-1243. 2008.
It is unknown why females mate with multiple males when mating is frequently costly and a single copulation often provides enough sperm to fertilize all a female's eggs. One possibility is that remating increases the fitness of offspring, because fertilization success is biased ...
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Viability effects and not meoitic drive cause dramatic departures from Mendelian inheritance for malic enzyme in hybrids of Tigriopus californicus populations

Willett, CSB, J. N.,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  20:1196-1205. 2007.
The genetic basis of post-zygotic reproductive isolation is beginning to be untangled in closely related species, but less is known about the genetics of reproductive isolation between divergent populations. Here, two genes encoding malic enzyme (ME) are isolated from the copepod ...
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Small steps or giant leaps for male-killers? Phylogenetic constraints to male-killer host shifts

Tinsley, MCM, M. E. N.,  BMC Evolutionary Biology,  7:e1000313. 2007.
Background: Arthropods are infected by a wide diversity of maternally transmitted microbes. Some of these manipulate host reproduction to facilitate population invasion and persistence. Such parasites transmit vertically on an ecological timescale, but rare horizontal ...
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A sex-ratio meiotic drive system in Drosophila simulans. I: An autosomal suppressor

Tao, YM, J. P.; Araripe, L.; Ke, Y.; Hartl, D. L.,  PLOS Biology,  5:2560-2575. 2007.
Sex ratio distortion (sex-ratio for short) has been reported in numerous species such as Drosophila, where distortion can readily be detected in experimental crosses, but the molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here we characterize an autosomal sex-ratio suppressor from D. ...
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A sex-ratio meiotic drive system in Drosophila simulans. II: An X-linked distorter

Tao, YA, L.; Kingan, S. B.; Ke, Y.; Xiao, H.; Hartl, D. L.,  PLOS Biology,  5:2576-2588. 2007.
The evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes creates a genetic condition favoring the invasion of sex-ratio meiotic drive elements, resulting in the biased transmission of one sex chromosome over the other, in violation of Mendel's first law. The molecular mechanisms of ...
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Neurospora spore killers Sk-2 and Sk-3 suppress meiotic silencing by unpaired DNA

Raju, NBM, R. L.; Shiu, P. T.,  Genetics,  176:43-52. 2007.
In Neurosphora, crassa., pairing of homologous DNA segments is monitored during meiotic prophase I. Any genes not paired with a homolog, as well as any paired homologs of that gene, are silenced during the sexual phase by a mechanism known as meiotic silencing by unpaired DNA ...
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Meiotic drive by the Y-linked D gene in Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera : Culicidae) is associated with disruption of spermiogenesis, leading to premature senescence of spermatozoa

Owusu-Daaku, KOB, R. D.; Wood, R. J.,  Arthropod Structure & Development,  36:233-243. 2007.
Y chromosome meiotic drive in the mosquito Aedes aegypti, due to the gene D (Distorter) in coupling with M (male determination) [the MD haplotype], is associated with spermiogenic disruption, leading to senescence, at a rate Proportionate to male excess. Spermiogenesis was ...
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Identification and characterization of segregation distortion loci along chromosome 5B in tetraploid wheat

Kumar, SG, B. S.; Faris, J. D.,  Molecular Genetics and Genomics,  278:187-196. 2007.
Segregation distortion genes are widespread in plants and animals and function by their effect on competition among gametes for preferential fertilization. In this study, we evaluated the segregation distortion of molecular markers in multiple reciprocal backcross populations ...
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Chromosome-wide linkage disequilibrium as a consequence of meiotic drive

Dyer, KAC, B.; Jaenike, J.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  104:1587-1592. 2007.
Adaptation by natural selection proceeds most efficiently when alleles compete solely on the basis of their effects on the survival and reproduction of their carriers. A major condition for this is equal Mendelian segregation, but meiotic drive can short-circuit this process. The ...
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Cage trials using an endogenous meiotic drive gene in the mosquito Aedes aegypti to promote population replacement

Cha, SJM, A.; Chadee, D. D.; Severson, D. W.,  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  74:62-68. 2006.
Control of arthropod-borne diseases based on population replacement with genetically modified noncompetent vectors has been proposed as a promising alternative to conventional control strategies. Due to likely fitness costs associated with vectors manipulated to carry ...
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Isolation and characterization of the RanGAP gene in the mosquito Aedes aegypti

Cha, SJL, N.; Debruyn, B.; Severson, D. W.,  DNA Sequence,  17:223-230. 2006.
A duplicated 3'-truncated version of RanGAP was previously identified as Segregation distorter (Sd), the meiotic drive gene in Drosophila melanogaster. Here we report the cloning and characterization of the complete gene sequence for the RanGAP homolog from the mosquito Aedes ...
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Population dynamics of an endogenous meiotic drive system in Aedes aegypti in Trinidad

Cha, SJC, D. D.; Severson, D. W.,  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  75:70-77. 2006.
An endogenous meiotic drive system was previously reported to be segregating in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae) population in Trinidad. The meiotic driver (M-D) is tightly linked to the male determining locus and selectively targets sensitive ...
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Fitness effects of X chromosome drive in the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni

Wilkinson, GSJ, P. M.; Kelleher, E. S.; Muscedere, M. L.; Lorsong, A.,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  19:1851-1860. 2006.
Sex-ratio (SR) males produce predominantly female progeny because most Y chromosome sperm are rendered nonfunctional. The resulting transmission advantage of X-SR chromosomes should eventually cause population extinction unless segregation distortion is masked by suppressors or ...
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Segregation distortion in Arabidopsis C24/Col-0 and Col-0/C24 recombinant inbred line populations is due to reduced fertility caused by epistatic interaction of two loci

Torjek, OW-W, H.; Meyer, R. C.; von Korff, M.; Kusterer, B.; Rautengarten, C.; Altmann, T.,  Theoretical and Applied Genetics,  113:1551-1561. 2006.
A new large set of reciprocal recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was created between the Arabidopsis accessions Col-0 and C24 for quantitative trait mapping approaches, consisting of 209 Col-0 x C24 and 214 C24 x Col-0 F-7 RI lines. Genotyping was performed using 110 evenly ...
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Gene drive systems for insect disease vectors

Sinkins, SPG, F.,  Nature Reviews Genetics,  7:427-435. 2006.
The elegant mechanisms by which naturally occurring selfish genetic elements, such as transposable elements, meiotic drive genes, homing endonuclease genes and Wolbachia, spread at the expense of their hosts provide some of the most fascinating and remarkable subjects in ...
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Male biased sex ratio in the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata, an example of Y-chromosome meiotic drive

Shahjahan, RMR, P. A.; Cook, L. M.; Wood, R. J.,  Heredity,  96:464-470. 2006.
A case of Y-chromosome meiotic drive is reported in the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata. It arose in an irradiated male and results in excess of males. Male excess is inherited strictly from father to son. A Y-linked factor MP (male producer) is proposed. Higher drive ...
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The maize Ab 10 meiotic drive system maps to supernumerary sequences in a large complex haplotype

Mroczek, RJM, J. R.; Luce, A. C.; Hiatt, E. N.; Dawe, R. K.,  Genetics,  174:145-154. 2006.
The meiotic drive system on maize abnormal chromosome 10 (Ab10) is contained within a terminal domain of chromatin that extends the long arm of Ab10 to similar to 1.3 times the size of normal chromosome 10L. Ab10 type I (Ab10-I) does not recombine with normal chromosome 10 (N10) ...
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Organization of the sex-ratio meiotic drive region in Drosophila simulans

Montchamp-Moreau, CO, D.; Chaminade, N.; Colard, A.; Aulard, S.,  Genetics,  174:1365-1371. 2006.
Sex-ratio meiotic drive is the preferential transmission of the X chromosome by XY males, which occurs in several Drosophila species and results in female-biased progeny. Although the trait has long been known to exist, its molecular basis remains completely unknown. Here we ...
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Sex-ratio meiotic drive in Drosophila simulans: cellular mechanism, candidate genes and evolution

Montchamp-Moreau, C,  Biochemical Society Transactions,  34:562-565. 2006.
The sex-ratio trait, reported in a dozen Drosophila species, is a type of naturally occurring meiotic drive in which the driving elements are located on the X chromosome. Typically, as the result of a shortage of Y bearing spermatozoa, males carrying a sex-ratio X chromosome ...
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Transmission ratio distortion in the human body louse, Pediculus humanus (Insecta : Phthiraptera)

McMeniman, CJB, S. C.,  Heredity,  96:63-68. 2006.
We studied inheritance at three microsatellite loci in eight F-1 and two F-2 families of the body (clothes) louse of humans, Pediculus humanus. The alleles of heterozygous female-parents were always inherited in a Mendelian fashion in these families. Alleles from heterozygous ...
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Maternal transmission ratio distortion at the mouse Om locus results from meiotic drive at the second meiotic division

Wu, GMH, L. P.; Han, Z. M.; Gao, S. R.; Latham, K. E.; de Villena, F. P. M.; Sapienza, C.,  Genetics,  170:327-334. 2005.
We have observed maternal transmission ratio distortion (TRD) in favor of DDK alleles at the Ovum mutant (Om) locus on mouse chromosome I I among the offspring of (C57BL/6 X DDK) F, females and C57BL/6 males. Although significant lethality occurs in this backcross (similar to ...
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Population dynamics of transposable elements: Copy number regulation and species invasion requirements

Struchiner, CJK, M. G.; Ribeiro, J. M. C.,  Journal of Biological Systems,  13:455-475. 2005.
A deterministic population dynamics model of the spread of transposable elements (TE) in sexually reproducing populations is presented. The population is modeled by a three-parameter equation describing host reproductive capacity, population size and the strength of the density ...
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Evidence of susceptibility and resistance to cryptic X-linked meiotic drive in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster

Reed, FAR, R. G.; Aquadro, C. F.,  Evolution,  59:1280-1291. 2005.
There is mounting evidence consistent with a general role of positive selection acting on the Drosophila melanogaster X-chromosome. However, this positive selection need not necessarily arise from forces that are adaptive to the organism. Nonadaptive meiotic drive may exist on ...
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Segregation distortion in hybrids between the Bogota and USA subspecies of Drosophila pseudoobscura

Orr, HAI, S.,  Genetics,  169:671-682. 2005.
We show that, contrary to claims in the literature, "sterile" males resulting from the cross of the Bogota and USA subspecies of Drosophila pseudoobscura are weakly fertile. Surprisingly, these hybrid males produce almost all daughters when crossed to females of any genotype ...
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Degeneration and domestication of a selfish gene in yeast: Molecular evolution versus site-directed mutagenesis

Koufopanou, VB, A.,  Molecular Biology and Evolution,  22:1535-1538. 2005.
VDE is a homing endonuclease gene in yeasts with an unusual evolutionary history including horizontal transmission, degeneration, and domestication into the mating-type switching locus HO. We investigate here the effects of these features on its molecular evolution. In addition, ...
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Meiotic drive at the Om locus in wild-derived inbred mouse strains

Kim, KT, S.; Howard, I. B.; Bell, T. A.; Doherty, H. E.; Ideraabdullah, F.; Detwiler, D. A.; De Villena, F. P. M.,  Biological Journal of the Linnean Society,  84:487-492. 2005.
Meiotic drive is an evolutionary force in which natural selection is uncoupled from organismal fitness. Recently, it has been proposed that meiotic drive and genetic drift represent major forces in the evolution of the mammalian karyotype. Meiotic drive involves two types of ...
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Genetic linkage between a sexually selected trait and X chromosome meiotic drive

Johns, PMW, L. L.; Wilkinson, G. S.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  272:2097-2103. 2005.
Previous studies on the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni, have shown that males with long eye-stalks win contests and are preferred by females, and artificial selection on male relative eye span alters brood sex-ratios. Subsequent theory proposes that X-linked meiotic drive ...
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A novel meiotic drive locus almost completely distorts segregation in Mimulus (monkeyflower) hybrids

Fishman, LW, J. H.,  Genetics,  169:347-353. 2005.
We report the discovery, mapping, and characterization of a meiotic drive locus (D) exhibiting nearly 100% nonrandom transmission in hybrids between two species of yellow monkeyflowers, outcrossing Mimulus guttatus and selfing M. nasutus. Only 1% of F-2 hybrids were M. nasutus ...
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Sex chromosome meiotic drive in hybrid males of the common shrew (Sorex araneus)

Fedyk, SB, U.; Chetnicki, W.,  Folia Biologica-Krakow,  53:133-141. 2005.
Patterns of sex chromosome segregation in six homozygous males of the common Shrew (Sorex araneus LINNAEUS, 1758) belonging to two chromosomal races, as well as in 16 interracial hybrids were studied. I ascd on their karyotypes the hybrids can be subdivided into two groups: (a) ...
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Evolution of autosomal suppression of the sex-ratio trait in Drosophila

Vaz, SCC, A. B.,  Genetics,  166:265-277. 2004.
The sex-ratio trait is the production of female-biased progenies due to X-linked meiotic drive in males of several Drosophila species. The driving X chromosome (called SR) is not fixed due to at least two stabilizing factors: natural selection (favoring ST, the nondriving ...
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B chromosomes and genome size in flowering plants

Trivers, RB, A.; Palestis, B. G.,  Genome,  47:1-8. 2004.
B chromosomes are extra chromosomes found in some, but not all, individuals within a species, often maintained by giving themselves an advantage in transmission, i.e. they drive. Here we show that the presence of B chromosomes correlates to and varies strongly and positively with ...
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Evolution of divergent DNA recognition specificities in VDE homing endonucleases from two yeast species

Posey, KLK, V.; Burt, A.; Gimble, F. S.,  Nucleic Acids Research,  32:3947-3956. 2004.
Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) are mobile DNA elements that are thought to confer no benefit to their host. They encode site-specific DNA endonucleases that perpetuate the element within a species population by homing and disseminate it between species by horizontal transfer. ...
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Rapid suppression of drive for a parasitic B chromosome

Perfectti, FC, J. M.; Mesa, J. A.; Cabrero, J.; Bakkali, M.; Lopez-Leon, M. D.; Camacho, J. P. M.,  Cytogenetic and Genome Research,  106:338-343. 2004.
The persistence of parasitic B chromosomes in natural populations depends on both B ability to drive and host response to counteracting it. In the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans, the B-24 chromosome is the most widespread B chromosome variant in the Torrox area ( Malaga, ...
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The distribution of B chromosomes across species

Palestis, BGT, R.; Burt, A.; Jones, R. N.,  Cytogenetic and Genome Research,  106:151-158. 2004.
In this review we look at the broad picture of how B chromosomes are distributed across a wide range of species. We review recent studies of the factors associated with the presence of Bs across species, and provide new analyses with updated data and additional variables. The ...
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B chromosomes are more frequent in mammals with acrocentric karyotypes: support for the theory of centromeric drive

Palestis, BGB, A.; Jones, R. N.; Trivers, R.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  271:S22-S24. 2004.
The chromosomes of mammals tend to be either mostly acrocentric (having one long arm) or mostly bi-armed, with few species having intermediate karyotypes. The theory of centromeric drive suggests that this observation reflects a bias during female meiosis, favouring either more ...
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Reinvestigation of an endogenous meiotic drive system in the mosquito, Aedes aegypti (Diptera : Culicidae)

Mori, AC, D. D.; Graham, D. H.; Severson, D. W.,  Journal of Medical Entomology,  41:1027-1033. 2004.
We have initiated efforts to determine the molecular basis for the M-D meiotic drive system in the mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The effect of the M-D gene is a highly male-biased sex ratio, but varies depending on the frequency and sensitivity of a susceptible responder m(s) allele. ...
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Mapping of paternal-sex-ratio deletion chromosomes localizes multiple regions involved in expression and transmission

McAllister, BFB, L. W.; Werren, J. H.,  Heredity,  92:5-13. 2004.
The paternal-sex-ratio (PSR) chromosome in the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis is a submetacentric supernumerary (B chromosome). Males transmit PSR, but after fertilization it causes the loss of the paternal autosomes. Paternal genome loss caused by PSR results in the ...
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B chromosomes in Sternorrhyncha (Hemiptera, Insecta)

Maryanska-Nadachowska, A,  Cytogenetic and Genome Research,  106:210-214. 2004.
In the hemipteroid insects of the suborder Sternorrhyncha, B chromosomes are relatively common in comparison with other suborders of Hemiptera. However, the occurrence of supernumerary chromosomes is restricted, in most cases, to several genera or closely related species. At ...
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Meiotic drive and sex chromosome cycling

Hall, DW,  Evolution,  58:925-931. 2004.
Sex-linked meiotic drive is found in a broad variety of taxa, including insects, birds, and mammals. In populations of some species, we see four types of sex chromosomes segregating: normal and driving X chromosomes and susceptible and resistant Y chromosomes. A theoretical ...
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Identification of quantitative trait loci affecting sex determination in the eastern treehole mosquito (Ochlerotatus triseriatus)

Graham, DHH, J. L.; Black, W. C.,  Journal of Heredity,  95:35-45. 2004.
Laboratory colonies of the eastern treehole mosquito (Ochlerotatus triseriatus (Say)) exhibit a consistent female-biased sex ratio. This is unusual among mosquito species, in which heritable sex ratio distortion is usually male biased and mediated by meiotic drive. Quantitative ...
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Sperm survival in female stalk-eyed flies depends on seminal fluid and meiotic drive

Fry, CLW, G. S.,  Evolution,  58:1622-1626. 2004.
Sperm competition is common in many insect species; however, the mechanisms underlying differences in sperm precedence are not well understood. In the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis whitei (Diptera, Diopsidae), sperm precedence is influenced by the presence of sex chromosome ...
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To what extent do different types of sex ratio distorters interfere?

Engelstadter, JM, H.; Hurst, G. D. D.,  Evolution,  58:2382-2386. 2004.
Within the Diptera, two different selfish genetic elements are known to cause the production of female-biased sex ratios: maternally inherited bacteria that kill male zygotes (male-killers), and X chromosomes causing the degeneration of Y-bearing sperm in males (meiotic drive). ...
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Persistence of an extreme sex-ratio bias in a natural population

Dyson, EAH, G. D. D.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  101:6520-6523. 2004.
The sex ratio is a key parameter in the evolution and ecology of a species. Selfish genetic elements that bias the sex ratio of affected individuals are well known and characterized, but their effect on populations has been considered limited, because either the element does not ...
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Homing endonuclease genes: the rise and fall and rise again of a selfish element

Burt, AK, V.,  Current Opinion in Genetics & Development,  14:609-615. 2004.
Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) are selfish genetic elements that spread by first cleaving chromosomes that do not contain them and then getting copied across to the broken chromosome as a byproduct of the repair process. The success of this strategy will depend on the ...
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Inverted meiosis and meiotic drive in mealybugs

Bongiorni, SF, P.; Pippoletti, D.; Prantera, G.,  Chromosoma,  112:331-341. 2004.
In the males of lecanoid coccids, or mealybugs, an entire, paternally derived, haploid chromosome set becomes heterochromatic after the seventh embryonic mitotic cycle. In females, both haploid sets are euchromatic throughout the life cycle. In mealybugs, as in all homopteran ...
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The B chromosome polymorphism of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans in North Africa. IV. Transmission of rare B chromosome variants

Bakkali, MC, J. P. M.,  Cytogenetic and Genome Research,  106:332-337. 2004.
In addition to the principal B chromosome (B-1) in Moroccan populations of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans, nine B chromosome variants appeared at low frequency. The transmission of five of these rare B chromosome variants through females was analysed in three natural ...
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Analysis of two additional loci in Neurospora crassa related to Spore killer-2

Turner, BC,  Fungal Genetics and Biology,  39:142-150. 2003.
Two new loci found in one strain of Neurospora crassa (P2604) collected in Malaya are related to the meiotic drive system Spore killer Sk-2. Sk-2 was found in Neurospora intermedia and introgressed into N. crassa. P2604 showed high resistance to killing when crossed to Sk-2. This ...
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Common features of segregation distortion in plants and animals

Taylor, DRI, P. K.,  Genetica,  117:27-35. 2003.
Segregation distortion is increasingly recognized as a potentially powerful evolutionary force. This runs counter to the perception that non-Mendelian genes are rare genetic curiosities, a view that seems to be supported by the near ubiquity of the Mendelian system of ...
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Genetic dissection of hybrid incompatibilities between Drosophila simulans and D-mauritiana. III. Heterogeneous accumulation of hybrid incompatibilities, degree of dominance, and implications for Haldane’s rule

Tao, YH, D. L.,  Evolution,  57:2580-2598. 2003.
The genetic basis of Haldane's rule was investigated through estimating the accumulation of hybrid incompatibilities between Drosophila simulans and D. mauritiana by means of introgression. The accumulation of hybrid male sterility (HMS) is at least 10 times greater than that of ...
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Meiotic drive – Bickering genes shape evolution – Not all genes follow the rules of inheritance; now researchers are discovering how organisms adapt to the troublemakers

Pennisi, E,  Science,  301:1837-1839. 2003.
Reproduction is supposed to be an equal opportunity event. Consider humans: In developing sperm, the sex chromosomes sort 50:50 such that half the sperm carry the male-defining Y chromosome and the rest sport an X. Only the randomness of fertilization leads to families of nine ...
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The aging effect in the segregation distorter system of Drosophila melanogaster

Oh, SCN, J. G.,  Korean Journal of Genetics,  25:237-242. 2003.
The SD/SD+ heterozygous male of Drosophila melanogaster transmits the SD second chromosome to its progeny in excess of the Mendelian frequency of 0.5. The k value is defined as the frequency of the SD chromosome recovered among progeny from such a male. This value has been shown ...
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Transmission ratio distortion in mice

Lyon, MF,  Annual Review of Genetics,  37:393-408. 2003.
The most studied example of transmission ratio distortion (TRD) in mice is that of the t-complex. This is a variant-region of Chromosome 17 which exists as a polymorphism in wild mice. Males heterozygous for a t-haplotype and a normal Chr 17 transmit-the t haplotype to >50% of ...
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Closing the (Ran)GAP on segregation distortion in Drosophila

Kusano, AS, C.; Chan, H. Y. E.; Ganetzky, B.,  Bioessays,  25:108-115. 2003.
Segregation Distorter (SD) is a meiotic drive system in Drosophila that causes preferential transmission of the SD chromosome from SD/SD+ males owing to induced dysfunction of SD+ spermatids. Since its discovery in 1956, SD and its mode of action have baffled biologists. ...
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B chromosomes in plants: escapees from the A chromosome genome?

Jones, NH, A.,  Trends in Plant Science,  8:417-423. 2003.
B chromosomes are dispensable elements that do not recombine with the A chromosomes of the regular complement and that follow their own evolutionary track. In some cases, they are known to be nuclear parasites with autonomous modes of inheritance, exploiting 'drive' to ensure ...
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Responder (Rsp) alleles in the Segregation Distorter (SD) system of meiotic drive in Drosophila may represent a complex family of satellite repeat sequences

Houtchens, KL, T. W.,  Genetica,  117:291-302. 2003.
In D. melanogaster males carrying Segregation Distorter (SD) second chromosomes, sperm receiving sensitive alleles of the Responder (Rsp) locus are subject to high rates of dysfunction. The Rsp region is located in 2R immediately adjacent to the centromere in heterochromatic band ...
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Four loci on abnormal chromosome 10 contribute to meiotic drive in maize

Hiatt, END, R. K.,  Genetics,  164:699-709. 2003.
We provide a genetic analysis of the meiotic drive system on maize abnormal chromosome 10 (Ab10) that causes preferential segregation of specific chromosomal regions to the reproductive megaspore. The data indicate that at least four chromosomal regions contribute to meiotic ...
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The meiotic drive system on maize abnormal chromosome 10 contains few essential genes

Hiatt, END, R. K.,  Genetica,  117:67-76. 2003.
In maize, a distal portion of abnormal chromosome 10 (Ab10) causes the meiotic drive of itself as well as many unlinked heterochromatic regions known as knobs. The Ab10 drive system, which encodes trans- as well as cis-acting components, occupies a large region of chromosome 10L ...
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Sexual transmission of the Het-s prion leads to meiotic drive in Poldospora anserina

Dalstra, HJPS, K.; Debets, A. J. M.; Saupe, S. J.; Hoekstra, R. F.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  100:6616-6621. 2003.
In the filamentous fungus Podospora anserina, two phenomena are associated with polymorphism at the het-s locus, vegetative incompatibility and ascospore abortion. Two het-s alleles occur naturally, het-s and het-S. The het-s encoded protein is a prion propagating as a ...
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Site-specific selfish genes as tools for the control and genetic engineering of natural populations

Burt, A,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  270:921-928. 2003.
Site-specific selfish genes exploit host functions to copy themselves into a defined target DNA sequence, and include homing endonuclease genes, group II introns and some LINE-like transposable elements. If such genes can be engineered to target new host sequences, then they can ...
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Marcus Rhoades, preferential segregation and meiotic drive

Birchler, JAD, R. K.; Doebley, J. F.,  Genetics,  164:835-841. 2003.
LONG before microarray biologists coined and promoted the term “discovery science,” maize geneticists were avid practitioners of this mode of investigation. In fact, one might say that for a number of years, the field of maize genetics basically operated as discovery science. ...
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Adaptation for horizontal transfer in a homing endonuclease

Koufopanou, VG, M. R.; Burt, A.,  Molecular Biology and Evolution,  19:239-246. 2002.
Selfish genes of no function other than self-propagation are susceptible to degeneration if they become fixed in a population. and regular transfer to new species may be the only means for their long-term persistence. To test this idea we surveyed 24 species of yeast for VDE, a ...
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Reciprocal crossover asymmetry and meiotic drive in a human recombination hot spot

Jeffreys, AJN, R.,  Nature Genetics,  31:267-271. 2002.
Human DNA diversity arises ultimately from germline mutation that creates new haplotypes that can be reshuffled by meiotic recombination. Reciprocal crossover generates recombinant haplotypes but should not influence the frequencies of alleles in a population. We demonstrate ...
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Does Stellate cause meiotic drive in Drosophila melanogaster?

Belloni, MT, P.; Bozzetti, M. P.; Palumbo, G.; Robbins, L. G.,  Genetics,  161:1551-1559. 2002.
Drosophila melanogaster males deficient for the crystal (cry) locus of the Y chromosome that carry between 15 and 60 copies of the X-linked Stellate (Ste) gene are semisterile, have elevated levels of nondisjunction, produce distorted sperm genotype ratios (meiotic drive), and ...
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Sperm competition and the dynamics of X chromosome drive: Stability and extinction

Taylor, JEJ, J.,  Genetics,  160:1721-1731. 2002.
Several empirical studies of sperm competition in populations polymorphic for a driving X chromosome have revealed that Sex-ratio males (those carrying a driving X) are at a disadvantage relative to Standard males. Because the frequency of the driving X chromosome determines the ...
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Sex-ratio drive in Drosophila simulans: Variation in segregation ratio of X chromosomes from a natural population

Montchamp-Moreau, CC, M.,  Genetics,  162:1221-1231. 2002.
The sex-ratio trait that exists in a dozen Drosophila species is a case of naturally occurring X chromosome drive that causes males to produce female-biased progeny. Autosomal and Y polymorphism for suppressors are known to cause variation in drive expression, but the X ...
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Segregation distortion induced by wild-type RanGAP in Drosophila

Kusano, AS, C.; Ganetzky, B.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  99:6866-6870. 2002.
Segregation Distorter (SD) is a meiotic drive system in Drosophila that causes preferential transmission of the SD chromosome from SD/SD+ males owing to the induced dysfunction of SD+ spermatids. The key distorter locus, Sid, is a dominant neomorphic allele encoding a truncated, ...
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Sperm development, age and sex chromosome meiotic drive in the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis whitei

Wilkinson, GSS, M. I.,  Heredity,  87:17-24. 2001.
The cytological basis of X chromosome meiotic drive or sex ratio (SR) has been reported for several species of Drosophila but not for other species. Here we describe how sperm development in the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis whitei, influences progeny sex proportion, in order to ...
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Meiotic drive alters sperm competitive ability in stalk-eyed flies

Wilkinson, GSF, C. L.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  268:2559-2564. 2001.
Meiotic drive results when sperm carrying a driving chromosome preferentially survive development. Meiotic drive should therefore influence sperm competition because drive males produce fewer sperm than non-drive males. Whether meiotic drive also influences the competitive ...
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Selection and segregation distortion in a sex-differentiated population

Weissing, FJvB, M.,  Theoretical Population Biology,  60:327-341. 2001.
We extend the classical model for selection at an autosomal locus in a sex-differentiated population to include segregation distortion. The equations remain the same, but the fitness parameters are interpreted differently and refer to alleles instead of genotypes. We derive ...
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Sex-ratio segregation distortion associated with reproductive isolation in Drosophila

Tao, YH, D. L.; Laurie, C. C.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  98:13183-13188. 2001.
Sex-ratio distortion is the most common form of non-Mendelian segregation observed in natural populations. It may occur even more frequently than direct observations suggest, because the dysgenic population consequences of a biased sex ratio are expected to result in the rapid ...
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Sex chromosome meiotic drive

Jaenike, J,  Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics,  32:25-49. 2001.
Sex chromosome drive refers to the unequal transmission of X and Y chromosomes from individuals of the heterogametic sex, resulting in biased sex ratios among progeny and within populations, The presence of driving sex chromosomes can reduce mean fitness within a population, ...
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The role of selfish genetic elements in eukaryotic evolution

Hurst, GDDW, J. H.,  Nature Reviews Genetics,  2:597-606. 2001.
'Selfish genetic elements', such as transposons, homing endonucleases, meiotic drive chromosomes and heritable microorganisms, are common features of eukaryotes. However, their importance in the evolution of eukaryotic genomes is still controversial. In this review, we discuss ...
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An unusual sex-determination system in South American field mice (genus Akodon): The role of mutation, selection, and meiotic drive in maintaining XY females

Hoekstra, HEH, J. M.,  Evolution,  55:190-197. 2001.
The mechanism of sex determination in mammals appears highly conserved: the presence of a Y chromosome triggers the male developmental pathway, whereas the absence of a Y chromosome results in a default female phenotype. However, if the Y chromosome fails to initiate the male ...
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Outcrossed sex allows a selfish gene to invade yeast populations

Goddard, MRG, D.; Burt, A.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  268:2537-2542. 2001.
Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) in eukaryotes are optional genes that have no obvious effect on host phenotype except for causing chromosomes not containing a cop), of the gene to be cut, thus causing them to be inherited at a greater than Mendelian rate via gene conversion. ...
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Nonrandom segregation during meiosis: the unfairness of females

de Villena, FPMS, C.,  Mammalian Genome,  12:331-339. 2001.
Most geneticists assume that chromosome segregation during meiosis is Mendelian (i.e., each allele at each locus is represented equally in the gametes). The great majority of reports that discuss non-Mendelian transmission have focused on systems of gametic selection, such as the ...
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Transmission ratio distortion due to the bl gene in table beet

Austin, DG, I. L.,  Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science,  126:340-343. 2001.
The bl gene conditions a blotchy phenotype (irregular sectors of red and white root color) in table beet (Beta vulgaris ssp, vulgaris). Segregation of the bl gene was found to be consistent with a single recessive gene, however, some evidence for a departure from a single gene ...
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Co-existence of hosts and sex ratio distorters in structured populations

Hatcher, MJD, A. M.; Tofts, C.,  Evolutionary Ecology Research,  2:185-205. 2000.
Vertically transmitted parasites occur in several invertebrate species, and alter host reproduction by a variety of mechanisms, including sex ratio distortion via feminization. Efficient feminizers are predicted to drive homogenous host populations extinct due to the absence of ...
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Persistence of selfish genetic elements: population structure and conflict

Hatcher, MJ,  Trends in Ecology & Evolution,  15:271-277. 2000.
Selfish genetic elements are vertically transmitted factors that spread by obtaining a transmission advantage relative to the rest of the genome of their host organism, often with a cost to overall host fitness. In many cases, conventional population genetics theory predicts them ...
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A genetic test to determine the origin of maternal transmission ratio distortion: Meiotic drive at the mouse Om locus

de Villena, FPMdlC-E, E.; Briscoe, T. L.; Sapienza, C.,  Genetics,  154:333-342. 2000.
We have shown previously that the progeny of crosses between heterozygous females and C57BL/G males show transmission ratio distortion at the Om locus on mouse chromosome 11. This result has been replicated in several independent experiments. Here we show that the distortion maps ...
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Heritability of the maternal meiotic drive system linked to Om and high-resolution mapping of the Responder locus in mouse

de Villena, FPMdlC-E, E.; Williams, J. W.; Malette, J. M.; Rosa, M.; Sapienza, C.,  Genetics,  155:283-289. 2000.
Matings between (C57BL/6 X DDK)F-1 females and C57BL/6 males result in a significant excess of offspring inheriting maternal DDK alleles in the central region of mouse chromosome 11 due to meiotic drive at the second meiotic division. We have shown previously that the locus ...
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Sex-ratio meiotic drive in Drosophila simulans is related to equational nondisjunction of the Y chromosome

Cazemajor, MJ, D.; Montchamp-Moreau, C.,  Genetics,  154:229-236. 2000.
The sex-ratio trait, an example of naturally occurring X-linked meiotic drive, has been reported in a dozen Drosophila species. Males carrying a sex-ratio X chromosome produce an excess of female offspring caused by a deficiency of Y-bearing sperm. In Drosophila simulans, such ...
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Spore-killing meiotic drive factors in a natural population of the fungus Podospora anserina

van der Gaag, MD, A. J. M.; Oosterhof, J.; Slakhorst, M.; Thijssen, Jagm; Hoekstra, R. F.,  Genetics,  156:593-605. 2000.
In fungi, meiotic drive is observed as spore killing. In the secondarily homothallic ascomycete Podospora anserina it is characterized by the abortion of two of the four spores in the ascus. We have identified seven different types of meiotic drive elements (Spore killers). Among ...
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Chromosomally-induced meiotic drive in Drosophila males: Checkpoint or fallout?

Tomkiel, JE,  Genetica,  109:95-103. 2000.
In male Drosophila melanogaster, anomalies in sex chromosome pairing at meiosis often lead to complete or partial sperm dysfunction. This observation has led to the suggestion that defects in either the efficiency or configuration of chromosome pairing at metaphase trigger a ...
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Segregation distortion of mouse t-haplotypes: The molecular basis emerges

Schimenti, J,  Trends in Genetics,  16:240-243. 2000.
The t haplotype is an ancestral version of proximal mouse chromosome 17 that has evolved mechanisms to persist as an intact genomic variant in mouse populations. t haplotypes contain mutations that affect embryonic development, male fertility and male transmission ratio ...
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Physical mapping of male fertility and meiotic drive quantitative trait loci in the mouse t complex using chromosome deficiencies

Planchart, AY, Y.; Schimenti, J. C.,  Genetics,  155:803-812. 2000.
The t complex spans 20 cM of the proximal region of mouse chromosome 17. A variant form, the t haplotype (t), exists at significant frequencies in wild mouse populations and is characterized by the presence of inversions that suppress recombination with Mild-type (+) chromosomes. ...
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Nonrandom segregation of the mouse univalent X chromosome: Evidence of spindle-mediated meiotic drive

LeMaire-Adkins, RH, P. A.,  Genetics,  156:775-783. 2000.
A fundamental principle of Mendelian inheritance is random segregation of alleles to progeny; however, examples of distorted transmission either of specific alleles or of whole chromosomes have been described in a variety of species. In humans and mice, a distortion in chromosome ...
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A male-biased primary sex ratio and larval mortality in Eucheira socialis (Lepidoptera : Pieridae)

Underwood, DLAS, A. M.,  Evolutionary Ecology Research,  1:703-717. 1999.
We investigated the sex ratio and sex-biased mortality in the Mexican pierid butterfly, Eucheira socialis westwoodi. We studied two populations between 1990 and 1997 along Mexico Highway 40, which runs from Mazatlan, Sinaloa to Durango, Durango, Populations occurring between km ...
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Genetic and molecular characterization of sting, a gene involved in crystal formation and meiotic drive in the male germ line of Drosophila melanogaster

Schmidt, AP, G.; Bozzetti, M. P.; Tritto, P.; Pimpinelli, S.; Schafer, U.,  Genetics,  151:749-760. 1999.
The sting mutation, caused by a P element inserted into polytene region 32D, was isolated by a screen for male sterile insertions in Drosophila melanogaster. This sterility is correlated with the presence of crystals in spermatocytes and spermatids that are structurally ...
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Meiotic drive and evolution of female choice

Reinhold, KE, L.; Misof, B.; Kurtz, J.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  266:1341-1345. 1999.
As a special version of the good-genes hypothesis, it was recently proposed that females could benefit from choosing drive-resistant males in a meiotic drive system. Here, we examine with a three-locus, six-allele population genetic model whether female choice for drive ...
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Transmission ratio distortion in females on chromosome 10p11-p15

Paterson, ADP, A.,  American Journal of Medical Genetics,  88:657-661. 1999.
A number of recent reports of linkage of markers on chromosome 10p to schizophrenia, and evidence for linkage in one study to bipolar affective disorder, provide encouragement for psychiatric genetics, after nonreplication of linkage findings at other chromosomal regions, The ...
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Truncated RanGAP encoded by the Segregation Distorter locus of Drosophila

Merrill, CB, L.; Kusano, A.; Ganetzky, B.,  Science,  283:1742-1745. 1999.
Segregation Distorter (SD) in Drosophila melanogaster is a naturally occurring meiotic drive system in which the SD chromosome is transmitted from SD/SD+ males in vast: excess over its homolog owing to the induced dysfunction of SD+-bearing spermatids. The Sd Locus is the key ...
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Models of sex-ratio meiotic drive and sexual selection in stalk-eyed flies

Lande, RW, G. S.,  Genetics Research,  74:245-253. 1999.
Hypertrophied sexually dimorphic eye stalks have evolved independently in several families of Diptera, with the eyespan of males exceeding their total body length in some species. These structures function in intermale contests for territories and in mate attraction, the ...
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How common are meiotically driving sex chromosomes in insects?

Jiggins, FMH, G. D. D.; Majerus, M. E. N.,  American Naturalist,  154:481-483. 1999.
In summary, we argue that the hypothesis that sex chromosome; meiotic drive is common within the insects is in; fact not proved. We feel that, although it is unlikely that; it will be found exclusively in the Diptera, there is a case; to be made that the Diptera are a hot spot ...
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Suppression of sex-ratio meiotic drive and the maintenance of Y-chromosome polymorphism in Drosophila

Jaenike, J,  Evolution,  53:164-174. 1999.
Like several other species of Drosophila, D. quinaria is polymorphic for X-chromosome meiotic drive; matings involving males that carry a "sex-ratio" X chromosome (X(SR)) result in the production of strongly female-biased offspring sex ratios (Jaenike 1996). A survey of isofemale ...
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Invasion of one insect species, Adalia bipunctata, by two different male-killing bacteria

Hurst, GDDvdS, J. H. G.; Majerus, T. M. O.; Bertrand, D.; Zakharov, I. A.; Baungaard, J.; Volkl, W.; Stouthamer, R.; Majerus, M. E. N.,  Insect Molecular Biology,  8:133-139. 1999.
Male-killing bacteria, which are inherited through the female line and kill male progeny only, are known from five different orders of insect. Our knowledge of the incidence of these elements has stemmed from discovery of their phenotype in different species, Our estimate of the ...
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Population dynamics under parasitic sex ratio distortion

Hatcher, MJT, D. E.; Dunn, A. M.; Tofts, C.,  Theoretical Population Biology,  56:11-28. 1999.
We analyse the population dynamic effects of sex ratio distortion by vertically transmitted, feminizing parasites, We show that, for diploid hosts, sex ratio distortion may lead to extinction as males become too rare to maintain the host population through reproduction. ...
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Recurrent invasion and extinction of a selfish gene

Goddard, MRB, A.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  96:13880-13885. 1999.
Homing endonuclease genes show super-Mendelian inheritance, which allows them to spread in populations even when they are of no benefit to the host organism. To test the idea that regular horizontal transmission is necessary for the long-term persistence of these genes, we ...
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Transmission ratio distortion at the INS-IGF2 VNTR

Eaves, IAB, S. T.; Forster, P.; Ferber, K. M.; Ehrmann, D.; Wilson, A. J.; Bhattacharyya, S.; Ziegler, A. G.; Brinkmann, B.; Todd, J. A.,  Nature Genetics,  22:324-325. 1999.
Transmission ratio distortion (TRD) is defined as a statistically significant departure from mendelian transmission. So far, evidence of this in humans has been limited or controversial1,2,3,4, and the few established examples involve chromosome rearrangements in lower ...
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Are Drosophila SR drive chromosomes always balanced?

Carvalho, ABV, S. C.,  Heredity,  83:221-228. 1999.
SR chromosomes are the best-known case of sex chromosome meiotic drive. These X chromosomes cause the production of female-biased progenies in several Drosophila species; Due to their meiotic drive advantage, they are expected to spread and become fixed, resulting in population ...
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Meiotic drive of chromosomal knobs reshaped the maize genome

Buckler, ESP-D, T. L.; Buckler, C. S. K.; Dawe, R. K.; Doebley, J. F.; Holtsford, T. P.,  Genetics,  153:415-426. 1999.
Meiotic drive is the subversion of meiosis so that particular genes are preferentially transmitted to the progeny. Meiotic drive generally causes the preferential segregation of small regions of the genome; however, in maize we propose that meiotic drive is responsible for the ...
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Segregation distortion in a deme structured population: opposing demands of gene, individual and group selection

van Boven, MW, F. J.,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  12:80-93. 1999.
The evolution of segregation distortion is governed by the interplay of selection at different levels. Despite their systematic advantage at the gamete level, none of the well-known segregation distorters spreads to fixation since they induce severe negative fitness effects at ...
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Meiotic drive favors Robertsonian metacentric chromosomes in the common shrew (Sorex araneus, Insectivora, Mammalia)

Wyttenbach, AB, P.; Hausser, J.,  Cytogenetics and Cell Genetics,  83:199-206. 1998.
Meiotic drive has attracted much interest because it concerns the robustness of Mendelian segregation and its genetic and evolutionary stability. We studied chromosomal meiotic drive in the common shrew (Sorex araneus, Insectivora, Mammalia), which exhibits one of the most ...
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Male eye span in stalk-eyed flies indicates genetic quality by meiotic drive suppression

Wilkinson, GSP, D. C.; Crymes, L.,  Nature,  391:276-279. 1998.
In some species, females choose mates possessing ornaments that predict offspring survival(1-5). However, sexual selection by female preference for male genetic quality(6-8) remains controversial because conventional genetic mechanisms maintain insufficient variation in male ...
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Sex determination, sex ratios, and genetic conflict

Werren, JHB, L. W.,  Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics,  29:233-261. 1998.
Genetic mechanisms of sex determination are unexpectedly diverse and change rapidly during evolution. We review the role of genetic conflict as the driving force behind this diversity and turnover. Genetic conflict occurs when different components of a genetic system are subject ...
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Evolution of segregation distortion: Potential for a high degree of polymorphism

van Boven, MW, F. J.,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  192:131-142. 1998.
By means of a population genetical model, we study the evolution of segregation distortion. Most models of segregation distortion focus on a single distorter allele. In contrast, we consider the competition between a large number of distorters. Motivated by systems as the t ...
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The dynamics of maternal-effect selfish genetic elements

Smith, NGC,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  191:173-180. 1998.
Maternal-effect selfish genes such as Medea or Seat act to kill progeny that do not bear a copy of the selfish gene present in the mother. Previous models of this system allowed for two types of allele, the selfish (killer) type and the sensitive (susceptible) wild-type. These ...
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Sex ratio distortion in Acraea encedon (Lepidoptera : Nymphalidae) is caused by a male-killing bacterium

Jiggins, FMH, G. D. D.; Majerus, M. E. N.,  Heredity,  81:87-91. 1998.
Females of the butterfly Acraea encedon produce either entirely female offspring or males and females in an almost 1:1 sex ratio. The sex ratio produced is maternally inherited and was previously attributed to sex chromosome meiotic drive. We report that all-female lineages are ...
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Selfish genes and meiotic drive

Hurst, LD,  Nature,  391:223-223. 1998.
Work by Gerald Wilkinson and colleagues3 on stalk-eyed flies (Diopsidae), described on page 276, provides the strongest evidence to date about the nature of some of the genes females prefer. As their name suggests, stalk-eyed flies have their eyes perched on the end of ...
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Selfish genetic elements and speciation

Hurst, GDDS, M.,  Heredity,  80:2-8. 1998.
This review concerns the importance of selfish genetic elements (SGEs) in speciation. We assess the importance of medea genes, meiotic drive elements, transposable elements and the bacterium Wolbachia in the creation of postzygotic isolation. Although all of these elements can ...
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Identification of the t complex-encoded cytoplasmic dynein light chain Tctex1 in inner arm I1 supports the involvement of flagellar dyneins in meiotic drive

Harrison, AO-C, P.; King, S. M.,  Journal of Cell Biology,  140:1137-1147. 1998.
The cytoplasmic dynein light chain Tctex1 is a candidate for one of the distorter products involved in the non-Mendelian transmission of mouse t haplotypes. It has been unclear, however, how the t-specific mutations in this protein, which is found associated with cytoplasmic ...
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Localization of the genes controlling B chromosome transmission rate in maize (Zea mays ssp. mays, Poaceae)

Chiavarino, AMR, M.; Rosi, P.; Poggio, L.; Naranjo, C. A.,  American Journal of Botany,  85:1581-1585. 1998.
In previous papers we found that the frequency of B chromosomes in native races of maize varies considerably in different populations. Moreover, we found genotypes that control high and low transmission rates (TR) of B chromosomes in the Pisingallo race. In the present work ...
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Selfish DNA and breeding system in flowering plants

Burt, AT, R.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  265:141-146. 1998.
In many species, some individuals carry one or more B chromosomes: extra, or supernumerary chromosomes not part of the normal complement. In most well-studied cases, B's lower the fitness of their carrier and persist in populations only because of accumulation mechanisms ...
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Putting the brake on drive: meiotic drive of t haplotypes in natural populations of mice

Ardlie, KG,  Trends in Genetics,  14:189-193. 1998.
Mouse t haplotypes are a 'selfish' form of chromosome 17 that show non-mendelian transmission from heterozygous +/t males. The considerable transmission bias in favour of t haplotypes should result in very high frequencies of these chromosomes in natural populations, but they ...
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Polymorphism for Y-linked suppressors of sex-ratio in two natural populations of Drosophila mediopunctata

Carvalho, ABV, S. C.; Klaczko, L. B.,  Genetics,  146:891-902. 1997.
In several Drosophila species there is a trait known as ''sex-ratio'': males carrying certain X chromosomes (called ''SR'') produce female biased progenies due to X-Y meiotic drive. In Drosophila mediopunctata this trait has a variable expression due to Y-linked suppressors of ...
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Identification of a male meiosis-specific gene, Tcte2, which is differentially spliced in species that form sterile hybrids with laboratory mice and deleted in t chromosomes showing meiotic drive

Braidotti, GB, D. P.,  Developmental Biology,  186:85-99. 1997.
Tcte2 (t complex testes expressed 2) is a male meiosis-specific gene that maps to band 3.3 of mouse chromosome 17. Two distinct male fertility defects, hybrid sterility and transmission ratio distortion, have previously been mapped to this region. Hybrid sterility arises in ...
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The sex-ratio trait in Drosophila simulans: Geographical distribution of distortion and resistance

Atlan, AM, H.; Landre, C.; Montchamp-Moreau, C.,  Evolution,  51:1886-1895. 1997.
The sex-ratio trait we describe here in Drosophila simulans results from X-linked meiotic drive. Males bearing a driving X chromosome can produce a large excess of females (about 90%) in their progeny. This is, however, rarely the case in the wild, where resistance factors, ...
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Non-Mendelian transmission at the Machado-Joseph disease locus in normal females: Preferential transmission of alleles with smaller CAG repeats

Rubinsztein, DCL, J.,  Journal of Medical Genetics,  34:234-236. 1997.
Machado-Joseph disease (MJD), also known as spinocerebellar ataxia type 3, is a neurodegenerative disorder which is associated with a CAG repeat expansion in the MJD1 gene on chromosome 14q32.1. A recent study reported an excess of transmission of disease chromosomes relative to ...
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Sex chromosome meiotic drive in stalk-eyed flies

Presgraves, DCS, E.; Wilkinson, G. S.,  Genetics,  147:1169-1180. 1997.
Meiotically driven sex chromosomes can quickly spread to fixation and cause population extinction unless balanced by selection or suppressed by genetic modifiers. We report results of genetic analyses that demonstrate that extreme female-biased sex ratios in two sister species of ...
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Variation in Y chromosome meiotic drive in Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae): a potential genetic approach to mosquito control

OwusuDaaku, KOW, R. J.; Butler, R. D.,  Bulletin of Entomological Research,  87:617-623. 1997.
Reciprocal crosses between strains of Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) from different geographical areas have revealed an unexpectedly complex pattern of holandrically inherited male biased sex ratios in F2. The variation has been interpreted in terms of a web of X-Y interactions in F1, ...
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Selected lines of Aedes aegypti with persistently distorted sex ratios

OwusuDaaku, KOW, R. J.; Butler, R. D.,  Heredity,  79:388-393. 1997.
A breeding scheme to isolate X chromosomes sensitive to drive by the T8 (Trinidad) Y chromosome of Aedes aegypti (the MD haplotype) is reported. Crosses with an Australian strain Th.I (Thursday Island) revealed not only sensitive and resistant X chromosomes but also some with the ...
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Abnormal spermiogenesis is associated with the X-linked sex-ratio trait in Drosophila simulans

MontchampMoreau, CJ, D.,  Heredity,  79:24-30. 1997.
The sex-ratio trait, known in several Drosophila species, results from X-linked meiotic drive that affects Y-bearing sperm and causes males to produce female-biased progeny. We describe spermiogenesis in three types of D, simulans males: wild-type, sex-ratio, and males that bear ...
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Meiotic drive at the myotonic dystrophy and the cone-rod dystrophy loci on chromosome 19q13.3

Inglehearn, CFG, C. Y.,  American Journal of Human Genetics,  60:1562-1563. 1997.
The apparently conflicting observations of a high new mutation rate at the myotonic dystrophy (DM) locus on chromosome 19q13.3 and of a founder effect for DM chromosomes led researchers to invoke the influence of meiotic drive at this locus. Two studies (Carey et al. 1994; ...
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Segregation distortion in unstructured and structured populations: Competition between ‘sterile’ t haplotypes

VanBoven, MW, F. J.,  Netherlands Journal of Zoology,  46:216-226. 1996.
By means of two simple models we investigate the competition between sex-specific segregation distorters in unstructured and structured populations. The models are motivated by the t complex of the house mouse. Some variants at this gene complex, the t haplotypes, distort ...
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Competition between segregation distorters: Coexistence of ”superior” and ”inferior” haplotypes at the t complex

vanBoven, MW, F. J.; Heg, D.; Huisman, J.,  Evolution,  50:2488-2498. 1996.
By means of population genetical models, we investigate the competition between sex-specific segregation distorters. Although the models are quite general, they are motivated by a specific example, the t complex of the house mouse. Some variants at this gene complex, the t ...
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Genetic control of B chromosome transmission rate in Zea mays ssp mays (Poaceae)

Rosato, MC, A. M.; Naranjo, C. A.; Puertas, M. J.; Poggio, L.,  American Journal of Botany,  83:1107-1112. 1996.
We selected genotypes of high and low B chromosome transmission rate (TR) in a native race of maize (Pisingallo) from northwest Argentina. We made 20 female 0B x male 1B and 20 f.1B x m.0B crosses. The former (G0m) showed a large variation of B TR, with a mean of TR +/- SE = 0.52 ...
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Measuring meiotic drive

Robbins, LGP, G.; Bonaccorsi, S.; Pimpinelli, S.,  Genetics,  142:645-647. 1996.
LAURENCE HURST’S (1996) letter re-examines our data on the effect of Stellate copy number on the meiotic parameters of Mystal- (= su(ste)-) males (PALUMBO et al. 1994). In our analysis, we found a tight correlation of fertility and disjunction with Stellate copy number, with ...
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Meiotic drive in fungi: Chromosomal elements that cause fratricide and distort genetic ratios

Raju, NB,  Journal of Genetics,  75:287-296. 1996.
Fungal Spore killers (Sk), studied most extensively in Neurospora and to a lesser extent in Podospora, Gibberella and Cochliobolus, cause the death of ascospores (= meiospores) that do not contain the killer (Sk(K)) element. When a Spore killer is heterozygous (Sk(K) x Sk(S)) in ...
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Epistatic control of non-mendelian inheritance in mouse interspecific crosses

Montagutelli, XT, R.; Nadeau, J. H.,  Genetics,  143:1739-1752. 1996.
Strong deviation of allele frequencies from Mendelian inheritance favoring Mus spretus-derived alleles has been described previously for X-linked loci in four mouse interspecific crosses. We reanalyzed data for three of these crosses focusing on the location of the gene(s) ...
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The effect of B chromosomes on mating success of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans

Martin, SA, P.; HenriquesGil, N.,  Genetica,  97:197-203. 1996.
The mating ability of E. plorans was tested in laboratory conditions in six experimental units composed of ten males and fifteen females during 31 days. When significant differences were found (three from the six cages, and in totals) they involved a decrease of matings involving ...
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Analysis of meiotic segregation, using single-sperm typing: Meiotic drive at the myotonic dystrophy locus

Leeflang, EPM, M. S.; Arnheim, N.,  American Journal of Human Genetics,  59:896-904. 1996.
Meiotic drive at the myotonic dystrophy (DM) locus has recently been suggested as being responsible for maintaining the frequency, in the human population, of DM chromosomes capable of expansion to the disease state. In order to test this hypothesis, we have studied samples of ...
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The mouse t-complex-encoded protein Tctex-1 is a light chain of brain cytoplasmic dynein

King, SMD, J. F.; Benashski, S. E.; Lye, R. J.; PatelKing, R. S.; Pfister, K. K.,  Journal of Biological Chemistry,  271:32281-32287. 1996.
Mammalian brain cytoplasmic dynein contains three light chains of M(r) = 8,000, 14,000, add 22,000 (King, S. M., Barbarese, E., Dillman, J. F., III, Patel-King, R. S., Carson, J. H., and Pfister, K. Kr (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 19358-19366). Peptide sequence data (16/16 residues ...
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Further evidence consistent with Stellate’s involvement in meiotic drive

Hurst, LD,  Genetics,  142:641-643. 1996.
STELLATE is an X-linked multicopy gene found in Drosophila melanogaster and is one of the most bizarre gene arrays yet described (for details see HARDY et al. 1984; LIVAK 1984, 1990; DANILEVSKAYA et al. 1991; BAW~REVA et al. 1992; SHEVELYOV 1992; PALUMBO et al. 1994). The ...
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Evidence for B chromosome drive suppression in the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans

Herrera, JAL, M. D.; Cabrero, J.; Shaw, M. W.; Camacho, J. P. M.,  Heredity,  76:633-639. 1996.
The grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans is polymorphic for both a B chromosome and a heterochromatic segment of chromatin on the smallest autosome. Females transmit these to their offspring more frequently after copulating with a male from a population without Bs than after ...
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Segregation distortion of the CTG repeats at the myotonic dystrophy locus

Chakraborty, RS, D. N.; Deka, R.; Yu, L. M.; Shriver, M. D.; Ferrell, R. E.,  American Journal of Human Genetics,  59:109-118. 1996.
Myotonic dystrophy (DM), an autosomal dominant neuromuscular disease, is caused by a CTG-repeat expansion, with affected individuals having greater than or equal to 50 repeats of this trinucleotide, at the DMPK locus of human chromosome 19q13.3. Severely affected individuals die ...
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The inheritance of B chromosomes in Allium schoenoprasum L

Bougourd, SMP, A. B.,  Chromosome Research,  4:151-158. 1996.
The inheritance of B chromosomes has been investigated in Allium schoenoprasum from the River Wye, Powys; controlled crosses between plants of known B chromosome constitution were carried out, and the numbers of Bs present in the progenies scored. There was considerable ...
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Low frequency of mouse t haplotypes in wild populations is not explained by modifiers of meiotic drive

Ardlie, KGS, L. M.,  Genetics,  144:1787-1797. 1996.
t haplotypes are naturally occurring forms of mouse chromosome 17 that show non-Mendelian transmission from heterozygous +/t males. In laboratory studies, transmission ratios of greater than or equal to 0.90 or higher are typically observed. With transmission ratios of this ...
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Meiotic drive in female mice: An essay

Ruvinsky, A,  Mammalian Genome,  6:315-320. 1995.
Since the rediscovery of Mendel's laws, geneticists have accumulated various examples in which equal meiotic segregation in heterozygotes is violated. However, only a few natural meiotic drive systems have been characterized in detail and the majority of these are sex chromosome ...
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Sex-ratio distortion in Drosophila simulans – cooccurrence of a meiotic drive and a suppressor of drive

Mercot, HA, A.; Jacques, M.; Montchampmoreau, C.,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  8:283-300. 1995.
A sex-ratio distortion factor was found at high frequency in D. simulans strains from Seychelles and New Caledonia. This factor is poorly or not expressed within those strains which are resistant to it. Its presence was detected by crossing females from New Caledonia or the ...
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Tctex2 – a sperm tail surface protein mapping to the t-complex

Huw, LYG, A. S.; Willison, K.; Artzt, K.,  Developmental Biology,  170:183-194. 1995.
Transmission ratio distortion (TRD) in mouse t-haplotypes remains the most significant example of meiotic drive in vertebrates. While the underlying mechanism that fuels it is still mysterious, TRD is clearly a complex multigene phenomenon. The characterization of Tctex2 ...
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Ascoycete spore killers: Chromosomal elements that distort genetic ratios among the products of meiosis

Raju, NB,  Mycologia,  86:461-473. 1994.
Spore killers (Sk), studied most extensively in Neurospora, are also known in Podospora, Gibberella and Cochliobolus. Spore killers are no doubt present in natural populations of other fungi. Criteria are outlined here for recognizing their presence and distinguishing them from ...
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Characterization of 2 Segregation Distorter revertants: Evidence that the tandem duplication is necessary for SD activity in Drosophila melanogaster

Palopoli, MFD, P.; Wu, C. I.,  Genetics,  136:209-215. 1994.
Segregation Distorter (SD) is a naturally occurring system of meiotic drive in Drosophila melanogaster. Males heterozygous for an SD second chromosome and a normal homolog (SD+) transmit predominantly SD-bearing sperm. To accomplish this, the Segregation distorter (Sd) locus ...
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Functional identification of the Segregation Distorter locus of Drosophila melanogaster by germline transformation

McLean, JRM, C. J.; Powers, P. A.; Ganetzky, B.,  Genetics,  137:201-209. 1994.
Segregation Distorter (SD) is a meiotic drive system in D. melanogaster that results in the failure of SD/SD+ males to transmit SD+ homologs owing to the induced dysfunction of spermatids carrying the normal chromosome. Segregation distorter (Sd), the gene primarily responsible ...
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Selfish DNA as method of pest control

Hastings, IM,  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  344:313-324. 1994.
The inheritance of most genes is tightly controlled, governed by the rules of mendelian inheritance if nuclear or uniparental inheritance if cytoplasmic. A few notable genes and cytoplasmic genomes have escaped this regulation. Such genes may spread by increasing their own rate ...
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Meiotic drive at the myotonic dystrophy locus

Gennarelli, MD, B.; Baiget, M.; Martorell, L.; Novelli, G.,  Journal of Medical Genetics,  31:980-980. 1994.
The mutation underlying myotonic dystrophy (DM, MIM* 160900) is the expansion of a CTG trinucleotide repeat sequence at the 3' untranslated region of a protein kinase gene (MT-PK).' The kinetics of this process is influenced by the sex of the transmitting parent and size of the ...
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Y-linked suppressors of the sex-ratio trait in Drosophila mediopunctata

Decarvalho, ABK, L. B.,  Heredity,  73:573-579. 1994.
X-linked meiotic drive causing female-biased progenies is known to occur in nine Drosophila species and is called 'sex-ratio'. In D. mediopunctata this trait is associated with the X:21 chromosome inversion and has variable expression. We describe here a powerful Y-linked ...
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Bewildering Bs – An impression of the 1st B-chromosome conference

Beukeboom, LW,  Heredity,  73:328-336. 1994.
Ever since their first discovery B chromosomes have attracted attention. Why are they so appealing? The standard chromosomes of an organism are A chromosomes; B chromosomes are extra to this normal complement. In the B chromosome 'bible' (Jones & Rees, 1982) Bs are defined as ...
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The Segregation Distorter (SD) complex and the accumulation of deleterious genes in laboratory strains of Drosophila melanogaster

Dominguez, AS, E.; Albornoz, J.; Gutierrez, A.,  Theoretical and Applied Genetics,  87:479-486. 1993.
Segregation Distorter (SD) associated with the second chromosome of D. melanogaster is found in nature at equilibrium frequencies lower than 5%. We report extremely high frequencies of SD (30-50%) in two selected strains, established in 1976, and show it to be responsible for the ...
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Autosomal suppressors of sex-ratio in Drosophila mediopunctata

Decarvalho, ABK, L. B.,  Heredity,  71:546-551. 1993.
The sex-ratio trait has been described as the production of progenies with excess of females due to X-linked meiotic drive in the parental males. This trait has a variable expression in Drosophila mediopunctata. We describe here the existence and chromosomal localization of ...
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Didymium iridis reproductive systems: Additions and meiotic drive

Clark, JL, J. C.,  Mycologia,  85:764-768. 1993.
Three heterothallic Mexican isolates (Mex 1, Mex 2, and Mex 3) of Didymium iridis belong to the reproductively isolated A5 mating series of this morphospecies. This was unexpected in that the sole previous A5 isolate was from Georgia and the Mexican isolates were collected in ...
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Deletion analysis of the selfish B-chromosome, Paternal Sex-Ratio (PSR), in the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis

Beukeboom, LWW, J. H.,  Genetics,  133:637-648. 1993.
Paternal Sex Ratio (PSR) is a ''selfish'' B chromosome in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis. It is transmitted via sperm, but causes supercondensation and destruction of the paternal chromosomes in early fertilized eggs. Because this wasp has haplodiploid sex determination, ...
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Transmission and expression of the parasitic Paternal Sex-Ratio (PSR) chromosome

Beukeboom, LWW, J. H.,  Heredity,  70:437-443. 1993.
B-chromosomes are often considered genomic parasites. They are extra to the normal chromosomal complement, are unnecessary for survival of an individual, and are often inherited at higher than Mendelian rates. Paternal Sex Ratio (PSR) is an extreme example of a parasitic ...
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The peculiar journey of a selfish chromosome: Mouse t-haplotypes and meiotic drive

Silver, LM,  Trends in Genetics,  9:250-254. 1993.
Mouse t haplotypes are descendents of a variant form of chromosome 17 that evolved the ability to propagate itself at the expense of the wild-type homolog from heterozygous +/t males. Although once enigmatic, these widespread selfish chromosomes have revealed many of their ...
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Meiotic behavior of B- chromosomes in the grasshopper Omocestus burri: A case of drive in females

Santos, JLD, A. L.; Fernandez, A.; Diez, M.,  Hereditas,  118:139-143. 1993.
The meiotic behaviour of an iso-B chromosome of the grasshopper Omocestus burri has been studied in a natural population located at Villar del Cobo (Teruel, Spain) by means of cytological observations of male and female meiosis. Whereas B chromosomes do not accumulate in the male ...
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The evolution of unusual chromosomal systems in coccoids: Extraordinary sex-ratios revisited

Haig, D,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  6:69-77. 1993.
Coccoids (scale insects) exhibit a wide variety of chromosomal systems. In many species, paternal chromosomes are eliminated from the male germline such that all of a male's sperm transmit an identical set of maternal chromosomes. In such species, an offspring's sex is determined ...
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Selfish genes in mosquitos

C. F. Curtis,  Nature,  357:450. 1992.
Hurst and coUeagues1.2 state that "within any population of [the mosquito] Culex pipiens there are two sorts of individual, those that bear/harbour Wolbachia [bacteria] and those that do not". But, according to Yen and Barr3, all wild-type C. pipiens appropriately examined ...
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Evolution of the mouse t-haplotype – Recent and worldwide introgression to Mus musculus

Morita, TK, H.; Murata, K.; Nozaki, M.; Delarbre, C.; Willison, K.; Satta, Y.; Sakaizumi, M.; Takahata, N.; Gachelin, G.; Matsushiro, A.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  89:6851-6855. 1992.
Mouse t haplotypes are variants of chromosome 17, consisting of four inversions. Despite the homozygous lethality and pleiotropic effect on embryonic development, sperm production, and recombination, they have widely spread in natural populations of the house mouse (10-40% in ...
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Male and female segregation distortion for heterochromatic supernumerary segments on the s(8) chromosome of the grasshopper Chorthippus jacobsi

Lopezleon, MDC, J.; Camacho, J. P. M.,  Chromosoma,  101:511-516. 1992.
The mode of inheritance of supernumerary segments located on three different chromosome pairs was investigated in controlled crosses with specimens of the grasshopper Chorthippus jacobsi. While extra segments located on chromosomes M5 and M6 showed Mendelian inheritance, that on ...
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Population genetics of a parasitic chromosome – Experimental analysis of PSR in subdivided populaltions

Beukeboom, LWW, J. H.,  Evolution,  46:1257-1268. 1992.
Nasonia vitripennis is a parasitoid wasp that harbors several non-Mendelian sex-ratio distorters. These include MSR (Maternal Sex Ratio), a cytoplasmic element that causes nearly all-female families, and PSR (Paternal Sex Ratio), a supernumerary chromosome that causes all-male ...
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Can transposable elements be used to drive disease refractoriness genes into vector populations?

M. G. Kidwell and J. M. C. Ribeiro,  Parasitology Today,  8:325-329. 1992.
A number of biological procedures are currently being considered as alternatives to insecticide-based methods for the control of insect vectors of disease. Among these are the adaptation of various genetic mechanisms to drive genes of interest, such as refractoriness to malaria ...
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Effects of deletions on mitotic stability of the Paternal Sex-Ratio (PSR) chromosome from Nasonia

Beukeboom, LWR, K. M.; Werren, J. H.,  Chromosoma,  102:20-26. 1992.
Paternal-Sex-Ratio (PSR) is a B chromosome that causes all-male offspring in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis. It is only transmitted via sperm of carrier males and destroys the other paternal chromosomes during the first mitotic division of the fertilized egg. Because of ...
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Genetic scrambling as a defense against meiotic drive

Haig, DG, A.,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  153:531-558. 1991.
Genetic recombination has important consequences, including the familiar rules of Mendelian genetics. Here we present a new argument for the evolutionary function of recombination based on the hypothesis that meiotic drive systems continually arise to threaten the fairness of ...
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Divergence of meiotic drive-suppression systems as an explanation for sex-biased hybrid sterility and inviability

Frank, SA,  Evolution,  45:262-267. 1991.
Two empirical generalizations about speciation remain unexplained: the tendency of the heterogametic sex to be sterile or inviable in F1 hybrids (Haldane's rule), and the tendency of the X chromosome to harbor the genetic elements that cause this sex bias in hybrid fitness. I ...
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Meiotic drive in Lucilia cuprina and chromosomal evolution

Foster, GGW, M. J.,  American Naturalist,  137:403-415. 1991.
In females heterozygous for pericentric inversions that alter the relative lengths of the long and short arms of a chromosome, crossing-over within the inversion can lead to unequal segregation at anaphase II, favoring the homologue with the more centrally located centromere. It ...
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A comparative approach to the population genetics theory of segregation distortion

Feldman, MWO, Sarah P.,  American Naturalist,  137:443-456. 1991.
Mathematical models of four well-known naturally occurring systems of segregation distortion are compared. These include the sex-ratio chromosome of Drosophila pseudoobscura, the Segregation Distorter (SD) complex of D. melanogaster, the t locus in Mus musculus, and the sex-ratio ...
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X-chromosome segregation distortion in Drosophila

Curtsinger, JW,  American Naturalist,  137:344-348. 1991.
The sex-ratio trait exhibits both discrete and continuous variation in Drosophila pseudoobscura. The discrete variation is caused by X-chromosome meiotic drive. The evolutionary forces maintaining the meiotic-drive polymorphism include strong viability selection against ...
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Sex-ratio distortion caused by meiotic drive in mosquitos

Wood, RJN, M. E.,  American Naturalist,  137:379-391. 1991.
Meiotic-drive genes have been described in two species of mosquito, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus. In both species, a Y (M)-linked gene causes a change in sex ratio in favor of males. More is known about the Distorter gene (D) in A. aegypti, but the gene in C. ...
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Why is Mendelian segregation so exact

Crow, JF,  Bioessays,  13:305-312. 1991.
The precise 1:1 segregation of Mendelian heredity is ordinarily taken for granted, yet there are numerous examples of 'cheating' genes that perpetuate themselves in the population by biasing the Mendelian process in their favor. One example is the Segregation Distortion system of ...
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Male sex-ratio trait in Drosophila pseudoobscura: Frequency of autosomal aneuploid sperm

Cobbs, GJ, L.; Gordon, L.,  Genetics,  127:381-390. 1991.
Males with the SR X chromosome show the "sex-ratio" (sr) phenotype in which they produce almost entirely daughters. The few sons (about 1%) are invariably sterile X/O males and result entirely from nullo-XY sperm. The "male-sex-ratio" (msr) phenotype is a modified form of sr in ...
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The paternal-sex-ratio chromosome of Nasonia

Werren, JH,  American Naturalist,  137:392-402. 1991.
Paternal sex ratio (PSR) is a supernumerary chromosome that is transmitted through sperm to fertilized eggs and then gains a transmission advantage by causing supercondensation of the paternal chromosomes (except itself). Because of haplodiploidy, this converts diploid females ...
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Meiotic drive in Neurospora and other fungi

Turner, BCP, D. D.,  American Naturalist,  137:416-429. 1991.
When a gene complex called Spore killer is heterozygous, ascospores representing two of the four products of each meiosis are killed. Only those that receive the killer complex survive. This article reviews what is known of the mode of action of the Neurospora Spore killers, ...
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Sex ratio polymorphism in Drosophila pseudoobscura

Beckenbach, AT,  American Naturalist,  137:340-343. 1991.
I studied "sex-ratio" (SR) genotype frequencies in two populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura from southeastern Arizona: Bear Creek Canyon and Tucson. Wild-inseminated females were collected, their fecundities measured in the laboratory, and their SR genotypes inferred by ...
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Expression of meiotic drive elements Spore Killer-2 and Spore Killer-3 in asci of Neurospora tetrasperma

Raju, NBP, D. D.,  Genetics,  129:25-37. 1991.
It was shown previously that when a chromosomal Spore killer factor is heterozygous in Neurospora species with eight-spored asci, the four sensitive ascospores in each ascus die and the four survivors are all killers. Sk-2K and Sk-3K are nonrecombining haplotypes that segregate ...
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Meiotic drive of t haplotypes: chromosome segregation in mice with tertiary trisomy

Agulnik, AIA, Sergei I.; Ruvinsky, Anatoly O.,  Genetics Research,  57:51. 1991.
The properties of the / haplotypes, specific mutant states of the proximal region of chromosomes17 in the house mouse, are of continuing interest. One such property is increased transmission ofthe / haplotype by heterozygous // + males to offspring. Using ...
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On the components of Segregation Distortion in Drosophila melanogaster 5: Molecular analysis of the SD locus

Powers, PAG, B.,  Genetics,  129:133-144. 1991.
Segregation Distorter (SD) is a naturally occurring meiotic drive system comprising at least three distinct loci: Sd, Rsp and E(SD). Heterozygous SD/SD+ males transmit the SD chromosome in vast excess over the normal homolog. The distorted transmission involves the induced ...
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The Genetic Basis of Transmission-Ratio Distortion and Male Sterility Due to the t Complex

Lyon, MF,  American Naturalist,  137:349-358. 1991.
The abnormal transmission ratios observed in male mice heterozygous for a complete t haplotype have been shown by breeding studies to be due to three or more distorter genes acting on a responder gene. The action of the t form of the responder is relatively resistant to this ...
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Meiotic drive against an autosomal supernumerary segment promoted by the presence of a B-chromosome in females of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans

Lopezleon, MDC, J.; Camacho, J. P. M.,  Chromosoma,  100:282-287. 1991.
Twenty-seven out of 50 progeny analyses performed with specimens of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans were informative about the transmission of a supernumerary heterochromatic chromosome segment. The simultaneous presence of a B chromosome in some of the parents involved in ...
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B-chromosome drive

Jones, RN,  American Naturalist,  137:430-442. 1991.
The view of B-chromosome polymorphisms that is coming into favor resembles the so-called "parasitic" model, which was first advanced 45 yr ago. Since that time, repeated and ongoing efforts have been made to ascribe an adaptive role to B's (e.g., in terms of phenotypic advantage, ...
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Molecular and chromosomal studies on the origin of t-haplotypes in mice

Hammer, MF,  American Naturalist,  137:359-365. 1991.
Mouse t haplotypes are variant forms of the proximal third of chromosome 17 that enhance their representation in the gene pool by means of a male-specific transmission-ratio distortion. As with other systems of meiotic drive, they are maintained as independent genetic entities by ...
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Sex-ratio meiotic drive in Drosophila testacea

James, ACJ, J.,  Genetics,  126:651-656. 1990.
We document the occurrence of "sex ratio" meiotic drive in natural populations of Drosophila testacea. "Sex ratio" males sire greater than 95% female offspring. Genetic analysis reveals that this effect is due to a meiotically driven X chromosome, as in other species of ...
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Rapid spread of transposable P elements in experimental populations of Drosophila melanogaster.

A. G. Good, G. A. Meister, H. W. Brock, T. A. Grigliatti and D. A. Hickey,  Genetics,  1223:387-396. 1989.
The invasion of P elements in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster was modeled by establishing laboratory populations with 1 %, 5% and 10% P genomes and monitoring the populations for 20 generations. In one experiment, the ability of flies to either induce or suppress ...
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Genetics-driving genes and chromosomes

Charlesworth, B,  Nature,  332:394-395. 1988.
Thereare several genetic and chromosomal systems in which Mendel's first law - the equal probability of transmission of maternal and paternal alternative alleles or homologues - is violated. This phenomenon was named 'meiotic drive' in 1957 by Sandler and Novitski, who drew ...
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Methods for replacement of malaria vector populations

Curtis, CFG, P. M.,  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  91:43-48. 1988.
The prospects are reviewed of replacement of malaria vector populations by harmless mosquito populations by means of: (i) ecologically competitive non-vector species; (ii) natural selection due to the harmfulness of being infected; (iii) selection for insecticide resistance ...
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Thte genetic basis of resistance and sensitivity to the meiotic drive gene D in the mosquito Aedes aegypti L.

Wood, RJO, N. A.,  Genetica,  72:69-79. 1987.
A study has been made on the genetic basis of meiotic drive at the Distorter (D) locus which, in coupling with the male-determining gene (or region) M on the Y chromosome, causes production of excess male progeny. Its effect is regulated by the sensitivity/resistance of the X ...
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Abnormal salivary gland puff associated with meiotic drive in mosquitos (Diptera, Culicidae)

Sweeny, TLG, P.; Barr, A. R.,  Journal of Medical Entomology,  24:623-627. 1987.
A meiotic drive factor, distorter (d), has been described previously for Culex pipiens L. mosquitoes. Males homozygous for the gene (Md/md) produce few female offspring owing to breakage of the female-determining dyad of chromosome 1 (the sex chromosome) during the first meiotic ...
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Control of meiotic drive of B-chromosomes in the mealybug, Pseudococcus affinis (obscurus)

Nur, UB, B. L. H.,  Genetics,  115:499-510. 1987.
Isofemale lines of Pseudococcus affznis (MASKELL) differ in their ability to maintain B chromosomes (Bs) due to the presence of genotypes that affect the rate of transmission (k) of the Bs. The nature of these genotypes was analyzed by comparing ks of males carrying the same B ...
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Meiotic drive in the sex-chromosome system of the varying lemming, Dicrostonyx torquatus Pall (Rodentia, Microtinae)

Gileva, EA,  Heredity,  59:383-389. 1987.
In the varying lemming, numerous fertile XY females occur regularly due to the X-linked mutation (X*). Their frequency both in natural populations and laboratory colonies turned out to be about twice higher than that expected under random segregation of heterochromosomes in both ...
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Detection of Rsp and modifier variation in the meiotic drive system Segregation Distorter (SD) of Drosophila melanogaster

Lyttle, TWB, J. G.; Ganetzky, B.,  Genetics,  114:183-202. 1986.
Identification of allelic variability at the two major loci (Sd and Rsp) that interact to cause sperm dysfunction in Segregation distorter (SD) males of D. melanogaster has been hampered by the difficulty in separating the elements recombinationally. In addition, small ...
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Tthe genetic control of meiotic drive acting on the B-chromosome of Myrmeleotettix maculatus (Orthoptera, Aacrididae)

Shaw, MWH, G. M.,  Heredity,  54:187-194. 1985.
Crosses between populations with and without B-chromosomes were made, and backcrossed to the non B parent for two generations. No polygenic differences in male or female meiotic transmission were found, but a modifier of meiotic drive segregated in the experiment, drastically ...
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Polymorphism in the rates of meiotic drive acting on the B-chromosome of Myrmeleotettix maculatus

Shaw, MWH, G. M.; Anderson, D. A.,  Heredity,  55:61-68. 1985.
A survey of all the available data on meiotic transmission rates in M. maculatus suggests that a polymorphism in female transmission rate exists in most natural populations. Differences in the frequency of the types or in the transmission rates they manifest may exist between ...
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Genotypes suppressing meiotic drive of a B-chromosome in the mealybug, Pseudococcus obscurus

Nur, UB, B. L. H.,  Genetics,  110:73-92. 1985.
The rate of transmission (k) of a supernumerary B chromosome in male mealybugs is shown tq depend strongly on the chromosome set of materpal origin. When both parents came from an isofemale line in which the frequency of the B chromosome increased rapidly and stabilized at a mean ...
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The fate of autosomeal modifiers of the sex-ratio trait in Drosophila and other sex-linked meiotic drive systems.

Wu, CI,  Theoretical Population Biology,  24:107-120. 1983.
A model is proposed to analyze the behavior of autosomal suppressor modifiers of "Sex-Ratio" meiotic drive in drosophila. These modifiers, if neutral in fitness, are expected to increase because they tend to be associated with the rare sex (males). However, selection operating on ...
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A cage replacement experiment involving introduction of genes for refractoriness to Plasmodium-yoelii-nigeriensis into a population of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera, Culicidae)

P. M. Graves and C. F. Curtis,  Journal of Medical Entomology,  19:127-133. 1982.
A caged population of Anopheles gambiae was allowed to breed continuously and samples of the progeny were tested for susceptibility to Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis. Males of a strain partially refractory to this parasite were released into the population for an 18-wk period. The ...
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Meiotic drive at the D(MD) locus and fertility in the mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L)

Youngson, JW, H. M.; Wood, R. J.,  Genetica,  54:335-340. 1981.
The Distorter gene D in Aedes aegypti shows meiotic drive when associated with the male determining M gene, causing sex ratio distortion in favour of males. The fertility of Distorter (MD /ms) and normal (M/m-) males has been compared after mating them to a series of 20 females ...
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Combining the meiotic drive gene-D and the translocation T-1 in the mosquito, Aedes aegypti(L) .2: Recombination

Pearson, AMW, R. J.,  Genetica,  54:79-85. 1980.
Recombination on the sex-chromosome of Aedes aegypti has been studied in male genotypes incorporating the sex-linked translocation T1 and the meiotic drive gene D from three different strains (Trinidad, Bozo and Caracas).
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Combining the meiotic drive gene-D and the translocation-T1 in the mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L) .1: Sex-ratio distortion and fertility

Pearson, AMW, R. J.,  Genetica,  51:203-210. 1980.
Sex-ratio distortion has been investigated in males carrying the Y(M)-linked meiotic-drive gene D, from three different strains (Bozo, Caracas and Trinidad), paired with Chipei X-chromosomes highly sensitive to D. The effect of D was tested on its own and also associated with a ...
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Experimental population-genetics of meiotic drive systems .2: Accumulation of genetic modifiers of Segregation Distorter (SD) in laboratory populations

Lyttle, TW,  Genetics,  91:339-357. 1979.
The accumulation of modifiers of the meiotic-drive locus Segregation; Distorter (SD) in Drosophila melanogaster was monitored by measuring the; changes in the mean and variance of drive strength (in terms of “make” value); that occur in laboratory populations when SD and SD+ ...
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Sex-ratio trait in Drosophila pseudoobscura – Fertility relations of males and meiotic drive.

Beckenbach, AT,  American Naturalist,  112:97-117. 1978.
In the early analysis of the "sex-ratio" polymorphism (SR) of Drosophila pseudoobscura, complete meiotic drive was assumed, and study centered on the nature of the selective forces opposing its spread. Policansky and Ellison (1970) found that the mechanism of SR involved the ...
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Transporting marker gene re (red eye) into a laboratory cage population of Aedes aegypti (Diptera Culicidae), using meiotic drive at MD locus

Wood, RJC, L. M.; Hamilton, A.; Whitelaw, A.,  Journal of Medical Entomology,  14:461-464. 1978.
An attempt has.been made to use the meiotic drive gene MD to transport a marker re (red eye) into a laboaratory population of the mosquito Aedes aegypti. The experiment produced an increase in re frequency, but also indicated that this gene has unexpectedly high fitness in the ...
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Sex ratio distortion caused by meiotic drive in a mosquito Culex pipiens

Sweeny, TLB, A. R.,  Genetics,  88:427-446. 1978.
A genetic factor, distorter (d), has been discovered that upsets the normal sex ratio of 1 : 1 and results in a large excess of males in Culex pipiens. The effect can be explained by a sex-linked, recessive gene. Males homozygous for the gene (Md/md) produce few female offspring; ...
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Meiotic drive at the D(MD) locus and fertility in the mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L)

Hastings, RJW, R. J.,  Genetica,  49:159-163. 1978.
The Distorter gene D in Aedes aegypti shows meiotic drive when associated with the male-determining M gene, causing sex ratio distortion in favour of males. The fertility of Distorter (MD/m s) and normal (M/m-) males has been compared by mating them to a series of females at ...
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Transporting marker gene re (red eye) into a laboratory cage population of Aedes-aegypti (Diptera Culicidae), using meiotic drive at MD locus

R. J. Wood, L. M. Cook, A. Hamilton and A. Whitelaw,  Journal of Medical Entomology,  14:461-464. 1977.
An attempt has been made to use the meiotic drive gene MD to transport a marker re (redeye) into a laboratory population of the mosquito Aedes aegypti. The experiment produced an increase in re frequency, but also indicated that this gene has unexpectedly high fitness in the ...
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Resistance to meiotic drive at MD locus in an Indian wild population of Aedes aegypti

Suguna, SGW, R. J.; Curtis, C. F.; Whitelaw, A.; Kazmi, S. J.,  Genetical Research,  29:123-132. 1977.
Females from an Indian wild population of Aedes aegypti were crossed to males carrying the sex ratio distorter factor MB which shows meiotic drive. Progenies from ¥1 males were tested for sex ratio distortion, i.e. the chromosomes from the wild females were screened for their ...
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Experimental population-genetics of meiotic drive systems .1: Pseudo-Y chromosomal drive as a means of eliminating cage populations of Drosophila melanogaster

Lyttle, TW,  Genetics,  86:413-445. 1977.
The experimental population genetics of Y-chromosome drive in Drosophila; melanogasier is approximated by studying the behavior of T(Y;S),SD lines.; These exhibit “pseudo-Y” drive through the effective coupling of the Y chromosome; to the second chromosome meiotic drive ...
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Field trial of competitive displacement of Aedes-polynesiensis by Aedes-albopictus on a Pacific atoll

L. Rosen, L. E. Rozeboom, W. C. Reeves, J. Saugrain and D. J. Gubler,  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  25:906-913. 1976.
Prior laboratory studies and field observations suggested that it might be possible to reduce the size of the population of, or eliminate, Aedes polynesiensis by the introduction of Aedes albopictus. The former mosquito is the principal vector of nonperiodic filariasis caused by ...
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Between family variation in sex-ratio in Trinidad (T-30) strain of Aedes-aegypti (L) indicating differences in sensitivity to meiotic drive gene MD

Wood, RJ,  Genetica,  46:345-361. 1976.
Sex ratio in the Trinidad (T-30) strain of Aedes aegypti has remained constant at around 43%? during seventeen years of laboratory culture. The divergence from 50% is due to meiotic drive by the MD gene on the Y chromosome. The driving Y chromosome gives a much more distorted sex ...
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Population genetics of modifiers of meiotic drive.3. Equilibrium analysis of a gneral model for genetic control of segregation distortion

Thomson, GJF, M. W.,  Theoretical Population Biology,  10:8-25. 1976.
Prout, Bungaard and Bryant (1973, Theor. Popul. Biol. 4, 446–465) presented the first formal treatment of a model of meiotic drive involving a modifier locus which controls the intensity of drive. They studied the equilibrium behavior in the simplest model where it is assumed ...
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Evidence for autosomal meiotic drive in the butterfly Danaus chrysippus L.

Smith, DAS,  Heredity,  36:139-142. 1976.
Danaus chrysippus (Danaidae) in East Africa is highly polymorphic for colour, the genetic control of which resides at three loci. The B locus has two alleles, B giving a nutbrown ground colour and bb orange on both fore and hindwings. The C locus determines forewing pattern: ...
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Cytogenetic analysis of meiotic drive in mosquito, Aedes aegypti

Newton, MEW, R. J.; Southern, D. I.,  Genetica,  46:297-318. 1976.
Meiotic drive in Aedes aegypti (L.) is shown by a Giemsa C-banding technique to be associated with. preferential isochromatid breakage of the X chromosome during male meiosis. These breaks remain open at least until anaphase-I and, since the range of cells affected is ...
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Population replacement in Culex-fatigans by means of cytoplasmic incompatibility .2. Field cage experiments with overlapping generations

C. F. Curtis,  Bulletin of the World Health Organization,  53:107-119. 1976.
Three experiments were carried out in field cages to test the principle of " transport" of a desirable gene or chromosome into a wild Culex fatigans population as a result of the sterility in cross-matings associated with cytoplasmic incompatibility. Cycling populations of Delhi ...
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Modifier theory of meiotic drive: Is Mendelial segregation stable

Liberman, U,  Theoretical Population Biology,  10:127-132. 1976.
The evolutionary fate of rare modifiers, based on the modifier theory of meiotic drive, is studied in this paper. It is shown that a polymorphism based on Mendelian segregation is never stable for any recombination frequencies between 0 and 12, and that, for tight linkage between ...
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Meiotic drive for B-chromosomes in primary oocytes of Myrmeleotettix maculatus (Orthoptera-Acrididae)

Hewitt, GM,  Chromosoma,  56:381-391. 1976.
Using a modified technique which allowed observation of chromosome orientation in the primary oocyte of grasshoppers at the onset of anaphase, it has been possible to establish that the B-chromosome is distributed preferentially on the egg side of the metaphase plate rather than ...
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Population genetics of modifiers of meiotic drive 4: Evolution of sex-ratio distortion

Thomson, GJF, M. W.,  Theoretical Population Biology,  8:202-211. 1975.
A model for the evolution of the sex-ratio meiotic drive system in Drosophila is proposed and analyzed. The model incorporates drive and altered fertility genetic modification The condition change in the sex-ratio of the modifying distortion overcome any relative of meiotic in ...
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Sex-chromosome meiotic drive systems in Drosophila melanogaster .1: Abnormal spermatid development in males with a heterochromatin-deficient X-chromosome (sc4sc8)

Peacock, WJM, G. L. G.; Goodchild, D. J.,  Genetics,  79:613-634. 1975.
The meiotic drive characteristics of the In(1)sc4Lsc8R/Y system have been examined by genetic analysis and by light and electron microscopy. sc4sc8/Y males show a direct correlation between nondisjunction frequency and meiotic drive. Temperature-shift experiments reveal that the ...
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Modifier theory of meiotic drive

Hartl, DL,  Theoretical Population Biology,  7:168-174. 1975.
The evolutionary fate of rare modifiers of recessive lethal segregation distorters has been studied. Suppressors or partial suppressors will always increase in frequency. Enhancers will increase in frequency if linkage is sufficiently tight and be lost if linkage is sufficiently ...
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Sex-ration, meiotic drive, and group selectin in Drosophila pseudoobscura

Policansky, D,  American Naturalist,  108:75-90. 1974.
Sex ratio (SR) is a widespread genetic condition of the X-chromosome in Drosophila species which causes males to produce progenies consisting almost entirely of females. Results of samples from natural populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura and results of some laboratory ...
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Multiple meiotic drive systems in Drosophila melanogaster male

Miklos, GLGY, A. F.; Peacock, W. J.,  Genetics,  72:105-115. 1972.
The behaviour of two "meiotic drive" systems, Segregation-Distorter (SD) and the sex chromosome sc4sc8 has been examined in the same meiocyte. It has been found that the two systems interact in a specific way. When the distorting effects of SD and sc4sc8 are against each other, ...
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Mechanisms of meiotic drive

Zimmering, SS, L.; Nicoletti, B.,  Annual Review of Genetics,  4:409-436. 1970.
Meiotic drive has been defined by Sandler & Novitski (157) as any alteration of the normal process of meiosis with the consequence that a heterozygote for two genetic alternatives produces an effective gametic pool with an excess of one type; such a pattern of behavior ...
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Analysis of a general population genetic model of meiotic drive

Hartl, DL,  Evolution,  24:538-545. 1970.
The purpose of this article is to present the detailed solution of a model of meiotic drive which Lewontin (1968) has suggested would be helpful in understanding the evo- lutionary dynamics of the t-alleles in the house mouse. Because mice tend to breed in small endogamous family ...
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Meiotic drive and visible polarity in Drosophila spermatocytes

Yanders, AFB, J. G.; Peacock, W. J.; Goodchild, D. J.,  Genetics,  59:245-253. 1968.
The model for meiotic drive presented by PEACOCK and ERICKSON (1965) demands that an intracellular differentiation exists at the time of the first meiotic division in spermatocytes. As a result of this differentiation, one of the spindle poles at anaphase I will lead to the ...
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Eradication of Culex pipiens fatigans through cytoplasmic incompatibility.

H. Laven,  Nature,  216:383. 1967.
Culex pipiens fatigans is the chief vector of filariasis in south-east Asia. Urbanization has often caused the numbers of this mosquito-and with it the danger of filariasis infection-to increase alarmingly. The natural vigour, tolerance and fast development of resistance to ...
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Extraordinary sex ratios

W. D. Hamilton,  Science,  156:477-488. 1967.
The two sexes are usually produced in approximately equal numbers. Fisher (1) was the first to explain why, under natural selection, this should be so, irrespective of the particular mechanism of sex determination. His rather tersely expressed argument has been clarified by ...
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Genetic distortion of sex ratio in a mosquito Aedes aegypti

Hickey, WAC, G. B.,  Genetics,  53:1177-1196. 1966.
CRAIG, HICKEY and VANDEHEY (1960) reported that a hereditary factor transmitted by males was responsible for high male ratios in A. aegypti. This phenomenon was designated as male-producing or MP. Males from high maleproducing families produced a high proportion of males in their ...
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Meiotic drive in Drosophila involving chromosome breakage

Erickson, J,  Genetics,  51:555-571. 1965.
In ordinary genetic systems the members of a pair of unlike alleles, or of a pair of unlike chromosomes, are recovered in equal numbers among the off spring, barring complications affecting viability. Contrary to this expectation, in a number of studies it has been found that one ...
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Aanalysis of case of meiotic drive in Drosophila melanogaster

Hanks, GD,  Genetics,  50:123-130. 1964.
IN the past ten years there has been a renewed interest in the abnormal recovery of chromosomes after meiosis; see for example DUNN (1953); NOVITSKI and SANDLER (1957) ; SANDLER and NOVITSKI ( 1957) ; LINDSLEY and SANDLER (1958); NOVITSKI and HANKS (1961); and MAGUIRE (1963). ...
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Applications of genetic technology to mosquito rearing

G. B. Craig,  Bulletin of the World Health Organization,  29:89-97. 1963.
Since the development of insecticide-resistance and the consequent partial failure of the chemical approach to the control of disease vectors, interest in the biological approach has re-awakened. An aspect of the latter approach that is of great current interest is " autocidal ...
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On the role of lethal mutants in the control of populations

R. C. Von Borstel and A. A. Buzzati-Traverso,  Radioisotopes and Radiation in Entomology: Proceedings of a Symposium, Bombay, 5-9 December, 1960,  1962:273-278. 1962.
On the role of lethal. mutants in the control of populations. Population control by release of irradiated males requires that the sperm must be damaged by radiation. The type of damage induced by radiation imposes a restriction on which species may be controlled because if the ...
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Meiotic drive in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster .7. Conditional segregation distortion – a possible nonallelic conversion

Sandler, LH, Y.,  Genetics,  46:585-604. 1961.
Males, heterozygous for the Segregation-distorter (SD) allele (located in or near the centromeric heterochromatin of the right arm of chromosome 11) and a standard tester second chromosome, regularly produce a preponderance of functional SD-bearing sperm ( SANDLER, HIRAIZUMI and ...
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Meiotic drive in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster .8. A heritable aging effect on phenomenon of segregation distortion

Sandler, LH, Y.,  Canadian Journal of Genetics and Cytology,  3:34-46. 1961.
Second chromosomes have been found in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster that contain an abnormal centromere region which conditions a highly aberrant segregation ratio in heterozygous males (Sandler, Hiraizumi, and Sandler, 1959). In particular, when a chromosome ...
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Time of temperature sensitivity of meiotic drive in Drosophila melanogaster

Erickson, JH, G. D.,  American Naturalist,  95:247-250. 1961.
In a line of Drosophila melanogaster demonstrating meiotic drive, it was found that the high recovery rate of the X-chromosome could be nearly nullified by temperature treatment. A series of experiments were carried out to determine at what stage of the life-cycle this treatment ...
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Inherited male-producing factor in Aedes aegypti

G. B. Craig, W. A. Hickey and R. C. Vandehey,  Science,  132:1887-1889. 1960.
An inherited factor causes a predominance of males in certain strains and in progeny of single pairs of Aedes aegypti L. This factor appears to be transmitted only by males and is not due to differential mortality, at least in postgametic stages. Mass release of male-producing ...
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Meiotic drive in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster .4: Instability at the Segregation Distorter locus

Sandler, LH, Y.,  Genetics,  45:1269-1287. 1960.
In a collection of flies from a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster, several second chromosomes have been isolated that contain, in the centromere region .of chromosome 11, a locus (named segregation-distorter and symbolized SO) that conditions, in heterozygous males, a ...
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Meiotic drive in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster .5. On the nature of the SD region

Sandler, LH, Y.,  Genetics,  45:1671-1689. 1960.
Second chromosomes were collected from nature which, when heterozygous with a normal chromosome 1 in males, are present in functional sperm much more often than the expected 50 percent. This phenomenon, named segregation distortion, was found to depend on a locus named ...
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Meiotic drive in natural-populations of Drosophila melanogaster 3: Populational implications of the Segregation-Distorter locus

Hiraizumi, YS, L.; Crow, J. E.,  Evolution,  14:433-444. 1960.
If, among the successful gametes frm heterozygotes, one allele is regularly included in more than half, it may increase in frequency even if it has a harmful effect. Unequal gamete production, when attributable to the mechanics of meiosis, has been called meiotic drive (Sandler ...
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Meiotic drive in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster .1. The cytogenetic basis of segregation distortion

Sandler, LH, Y.; Sandler, I.,  Genetics,  44:233-250. 1959.
Meiotic drive has been defined as a force, potentially capable of altering gene frequencies in natural populations, which somehow depends upon the nature of the meiotic divisions; specifically, when the meiotic divisions are such that the two kinds of gametes from a heterozygote ...
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Meiotic drive in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster 2. Genetic variation at the Segregation Distorter locus

Sandler, LH, Y.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  45:1412-1422. 1959.
It has now been found that the proportion of heterozygous SD males resulting from any given cross which exhibits segregation-distortion, and the amount of distortion that any particular male shows (the k value), varies widely depending upon the precise source and history of the ...
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Inheritance in Nicotiana tabacum XXVII. Pollen Killer, An alien genetic locus inducing abortion of microspores not carrying it

D. R. Cameron and R. M. Moav,  Genetics,  42:326. 1957.
A cytogenetic study of experimental introgression from N. plumbaginifolia (pbg) into N. tabacum (tbc) has been pursued in this laboratory for several years (CLAUSEN 1952). In the hybrid derivatives it was observed that genically controlled pollen abortion was associated with the ...
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Studies of the genetic variability in populations of wild house mice .2. Analysis of eight additional alleles at locus – T

L. C. Dunn,  Genetics,  42:299-311. 1957.
1 Eight additional lethal alleles at locus T are described, each derived from a wild heterozygote in one of six different wild populations. 2. The frequency of heterozygotes appears to be high in most wild populations, possibly as high as 50 percent. 3. In two of the ...
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Mutable loci in maize.

B. McClintock,  Carnegie Inst. Washington Year Book,  47:155-169. 1948.
Previous reports have state that the number of unstable loci have recently arisen in maize culture. In a particular cell of a plant, a normal "wild-type" locus becomes altered; the normal, dominant expression of this locus changes and gives rise to a recessive expression (or, in ...
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Parasitic nature of extra fragment chromosomes

Östergren G.,  Botaniska Notiser,  2:157-163. 1945.
This paper is intended as a contribution to the discussion con­cerning the significance of the extra fragments or »accessory chromo­somes» as they are called by Håk ansso n(1945), which are not too rarely found in cross-fertilizing populations. I think reasonable support may ...
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Preferential segregation in maize

M. M. Rhoades,  Genetics,  27:395-407. 1942.
An abnormal type of chromosome 10, found by Longley in maize from the s.-w. part of the U. S., is preferentially segregated during megasporogenesis. More than 70% of the ovules receive the abnormal chromosome instead of the 50% expected with random segregation. At pachytene the ...
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A new sex-ratio abnormality in Drosophila obscura

S. Gershenson,  Genetics,  13:488. 1928.
1. The sex-ratio in the normal lines of Drosophila obscura is very near to the theoretical 1 : 1. 2. Out of 19 females caught in nature, two were heterozygous for a gene which causes strong deviations in the normal sex distribution. 3. The researches made have shown that this ...
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Sur la reproduction des souris anoures

N. Dobrovolskaia-Zavadskaia and N. Kobozieff,  Comptes rendus des séances de la Société de biologie et de ses filiales,  97:116-119. 1927.
Nous ne connaissons que deux lignees de Souris sans queue, celle de Lang (1913), et cell de Duboscq (1922). L’elevange de Lang (lignee des Souris brachyures et anoures du preparateur Alfred Nageli) a donne 199 Souris normales, pour 173 brachyures et 9 anoures. Croisses entre ...
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