4.5 Article

Sperm should evolve to make female meiosis fair

Journal

EVOLUTION
Volume 69, Issue 4, Pages 1004-1014

Publisher

WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1111/evo.12621

Keywords

Genomic conflict; meiosis; meiotic drive; sperm-egg interactions

Funding

  1. NSF [1002942]
  2. National Science Foundation [1262645]
  3. National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health [NIH RO1GM83098, RO1GM107374]
  4. Div Of Biological Infrastructure
  5. Direct For Biological Sciences [1002942, 1262645] Funding Source: National Science Foundation

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Genomic conflicts arise when an allele gains an evolutionary advantage at a cost to organismal fitness. Oogenesis is inherently susceptible to such conflicts because alleles compete for inclusion into the egg. Alleles that distort meiosis in their favor (i.e., meiotic drivers) often decrease organismal fitness, and therefore indirectly favor the evolution of mechanisms to suppress meiotic drive. In this light, many facets of oogenesis and gametogenesis have been interpreted as mechanisms of protection against genomic outlaws. That females of many animal species do not complete meiosis until after fertilization, appears to run counter to this interpretation, because this delay provides an opportunity for sperm-acting alleles to meddle with the outcome of female meiosis and help like alleles drive in heterozygous females. Contrary to this perceived danger, the population genetic theory presented herein suggests that, in fact, sperm nearly always evolve to increase the fairness of female meiosis in the face of genomic conflicts. These results are consistent with the apparent sperm dependence of the best characterized female meiotic driversin animals. Rather than providing an opportunity for sperm collaboration in female meiotic drive, the fertilization requirement indirectly protects females from meiotic drivers by providing sperm an opportunity to suppress drive.

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