The role of endosymbionts in the evolution of haploid‐male genetic systems in scale insects (Coccoidea)

Ecology and Evolution

Laura Ross¹  David M. Shuker²  Benjamin B. Normark³ 

[1] Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, United Kingdom;School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9TH, United Kingdom;Department of Plant Soil and Insect Sciences and Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, 270 Stockbridge Road, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003

关键词: Endosymbiosis;    genomic conflict;    haplodipoidy;    parthenogenesis;    paternal genome elimination;    scale insects;   

DOI  :  10.1002/ece3.222

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Abstract

There is an extraordinary diversity in genetic systems across species, but this variation remains poorly understood. In part, this is because the mechanisms responsible for transitions between systems are often unknown. A recent hypothesis has suggested that conflict between hosts and endosymbiotic microorganisms over transmission could drive the transition from diplodiploidy to systems with male haploidy (haplodiploidy, including arrhenotoky and paternal genome elimination [PGE]). Here, we present the first formal test of this idea with a comparative analysis across scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea). Scale insects are renowned for their large variation in genetic systems, and multiple transitions between diplodiploidy and haplodiploidy have taken place within this group. Additionally, most species rely on endosymbiotic microorganisms to provide them with essential nutrients lacking in their diet. We show that species harboring endosymbionts are indeed more likely to have a genetic system with male haploidy, which supports the hypothesis that endosymbionts might have played a role in the transition to haplodiploidy. We also extend our analysis to consider the relationship between endosymbiont presence and transitions to parthenogenesis. Although in scale insects there is no such overall association, species harboring eukaryote endosymbionts were more likely to be parthenogenetic than those with bacterial symbionts. These results support the idea that intergenomic conflict can drive the evolution of novel genetic systems and affect host reproduction.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC   
© 2011 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.