{"id":501252,"date":"2021-11-11T09:08:44","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T14:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=501252"},"modified":"2021-11-11T15:05:46","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T20:05:46","slug":"evolutionary-arms-race-genes-selfish-genetic-elements-501252","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/evolutionary-arms-race-genes-selfish-genetic-elements-501252\/","title":{"rendered":"More evidence of an evolutionary \u2018arms race\u2019 between genes and selfish genetic elements"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rochester biologists further prove that genes develop weapons to combat the \u2018parasites\u2019 that litter the human genome.<\/h2>\n

The human genome is littered with selfish genetic elements, which do not seem to benefit their hosts, but instead seek only to propagate themselves.<\/p>\n

These \u201cparasites of the genome\u201d can wreak havoc at the cellular level by distorting sex ratios or causing harmful mutations, and can even lead to a species\u2019 extinction. But, as researchers at the University of Rochester report, species evolve mechanisms to fight back.<\/p>\n

In a new paper<\/a> published in Nature Ecology and Evolution<\/em>, Daven Presgraves<\/a>, a University Dean\u2019s Professor in the Department of Biology<\/a> at the University of Rochester<\/a>, and Christina Muirhead, a computational biologist and population geneticist in Presgraves\u2019s lab<\/a> and the first author on the paper, present further evidence of an evolutionary arms race within organisms\u2014and the mechanisms at play in this arms race\u2014to combat selfish genetic elements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have found that an evolutionary arms race has led to a proliferation of meiotic drive genes on the X chromosome and suppressor genes elsewhere in the genome,\u201d Muirhead says.<\/p>\n

Drosophila<\/em><\/strong> is fruitful and multiplies\u2014which is ideal for studying genetics<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The researchers studied the genomes of three closely related species of Drosophila<\/em> (fruit flies). Fruit flies share about 70 percent of the same genes that cause human diseases and are similar to humans on the molecular level. Because fruit flies have such short reproductive cycles\u2014less than two weeks\u2014scientists can create generations of the flies in a short time. These key characteristics make the insects ideal models for learning more about human genetics.<\/p>\n

The researchers discovered that each of the species of fruit flies they studied has 5 to 12 meiotic drive genes on the X chromosomes. The meiotic drive genes\u2014a type of selfish genetic element\u2014cheat by getting into more than the typical 50 percent of offspring in the next generation. This allows the genes themselves to spread rapidly through a population.<\/p>\n

The meiotic drive genes that the researchers studied are related to a meiotic drive gene called Dox\u2014\u201cdistorter on the X\u201d\u2014which is found on the X chromosome and kills Y chromosome-bearing sperm. The researchers called their newly discovered genes \u2018Dox-like,\u2019 or \u2018Dxl\u2019 for short. The Dxl genes produce a protein called a histone that disrupts normal DNA packaging in Y-bearing spermatids\u2014immature male sex cells\u2014leading to sperm death. Killing Y-bearing sperm means that subsequent generations will have mostly daughters and few sons.<\/p>\n

The Dxl genes work only to propagate themselves, however, and don\u2019t \u201crealize\u201d that this may lead them on a path that could eventually take their host species\u2014and themselves\u2014to extinction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe drive genes get an evolutionary advantage by killing Y-bearing sperm,\u201d Presgraves says. \u201cBut the individuals carrying the drive genes suffer reduced fertility, and the population becomes increasingly female-biased, risking eventual extinction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duplicate Dxl genes play defense<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dxl genes skew sex ratios to increase the rate at which they get passed on, but the researchers uncovered another surprising dynamic. The species of Drosophila<\/em> they studied have evolved a defense against the selfish genetic elements. This defense comes in the form of genes that are duplicates of the Dxl genes, but with an important modification. Much like the mythical Trojan Horse, the duplicate genes masquerade as Dxl genes, but contain a stealthy weapon. Instead of expressing Dxl proteins, the genes express small RNAs that silence the Dxl genes via RNA interference.<\/p>\n

The research is further evidence that microscopic evolutionary arms races are taking place within organisms: selfish genetic elements evolve to benefit themselves, and the rest of the genome evolves suppressors to quell them. The selfish genetic elements then evolve to overcome the suppressor, the suppressor has to evolve to keep pace, and so on.\u201cSimilar repetitive gene copies like the Dxl genes that selfishly bias sex ratios are common to the X and Y chromosomes of great apes and humans,\u201d Presgraves says. \u201cThese are just one line of evidence that evolutionary arms races have important consequences for genome evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Read more<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n

\"WerrenEvolution\u2019s new era<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Selfish genetic elements were dismissed as anomalies when they were first described nearly a century ago. Now, Rochester biologists are exploring the roles the elements play in inheritance, aging, speciation, and evolution.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"PhotoWhat makes a species different?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Rochester research points to the presence of \u201cselfish genes,\u201d whose flow among species may dictate whether two species converge or diverge.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"WoodenIs \u2018junk DNA\u2019 a key to killing cancer cells?<\/strong><\/a>
\nRochester biologists show how a selfish genetic element called retrotransposons that can cause tumors may also trigger the death of cancer cells.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christina Muirhead, a computational biologist and population geneticist in the lab of Daven Presgraves, further proves genes develop weapons to combat \u2018parasites\u2019 that litter the human genome. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":912,"featured_media":501272,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[18722,18572,16072],"class_list":["post-501252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sci-tech","tag-department-of-biology","tag-research-finding","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMore evidence of an evolutionary \u2018arms race\u2019 between genes and selfish genetic elements<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"University of Rochester biologists further prove that genes develop weapons to combat the \u2018parasites\u2019 that litter the human genome.\" \/>\n<meta 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