Meiotic drive shapes rates of karyotype evolution in mammals. (1st March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Blackmon, Heath; Justison, Joshua; Mayrose, Itay; Goldberg, Emma E.
• Is Part Of: Evolution. Volume 73:Number 3(2019)
• Page Start: 511
• Page End: 523
• Publication Date: 2019-03-01
• Subjects: Chromosome number -- meiotic drive -- meiosis -- probabilistic phylogenetic models; Evolution -- Periodicals; Heredity -- Periodicals; Évolution (Biologie) -- Périodiques; Hérédité -- Périodiques; 338.47004094
• DOI: 10.1111/evo.13682
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0014-3820

Abstract

Abstract: 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 chromosome evolution that links chromosome number changes with karyotype morphology. Using our model, we infer that rates of chromosome number evolution are significantly lower in species with karyotypes that consist of either all bibrachial or all monobrachial chromosomes than in species with a mix of both types of morphologies. We suggest that species with homogeneous karyotypes may represent cases where meiotic drive acts to stabilize the karyotype, favoring the chromosome morphologies already present in the genome. In contrast, rapid bouts of chromosome number evolution in taxa with mixed karyotypes may indicate that a switch in the polarity of female meiotic drive favors changes in chromosome number. We do not find any evidence that karyotype morphology affects rates of speciation or extinction. Furthermore, we document that switches in meiotic drive polarity are likely common and have occurred in most major clades of mammals, and that rapid remodeling of karyotypes may be more common than once thought.