Early-Stage Evolution of the Neo-Y Chromosome in Drosophila
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Zoological Studies 50(3): 338-349 (2011) Early-Stage Evolution of the Neo-Y Chromosome in Drosophila albomicans Chia-Hao Cheng1, Ching-Ho Chang2, and Hwei-yu Chang1,3,* 1Department of Entomology, National Taiwan Univ., Taipei 106, Taiwan 2Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan Univ., Taipei 106, Taiwan 3Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 115, Taiwan (Accepted December 27, 2010) Chia-Hao Cheng, Ching-Ho Chang, and Hwei-yu Chang (2011) Early-stage evolution of the neo-Y chromosome in Drosophila albomicans. Zoological Studies 50(3): 338-349. Numerous theories have specified that an originally autosomal neo-Y chromosome arm is expected to undergo degenerative evolution. Neo- sex chromosomes of Drosophila albomicans originated from 2 Robertsonian translocation events, one for X and the other for Y, between ancestral Drosophila sex chromosomes and a pair of autosomes homologous to the 3rd chromosomes of its sibling species D. nasuta. Since the neo-sex chromosome in D. albomicans is still evolutionarily young, we used genetic approaches to reveal changes in the entire neo-Y chromosome. Non-disjunction is an indicator used to investigate differences between homologous chromosomes. In this study, we first confirmed that no male recombination had occurred in hybrid males of these 2 sibling species. With the aid of molecular marker genotyping and direct karyotyping of aneuploid offspring produced through specially designed crosses and backcrosses of fertile hybrids, we found that the non-disjunction rate was significantly higher in hybrid males with the neo-Y chromosome than in hybrids without it. The high non- disjunction rate made it possible to generate 3,X,X/neo-Y F2 females and X,neo-Y/neo-Y F3 male offspring which can reveal recessive effects of the homozygous 3rd chromosome arm. Results of this aneuploid study revealed severe recessive inviability of the neo-Y chromosome. Our results further suggested that increased non-disjunction in hybrid males with the neo-Y chromosome is likely due to changes that occurred on the Y arm, whereas recessive deleterious alleles might be located on the 3rd arm of the neo-Y chromosome. Taken together, the elevated non-disjunction rate and severe recessive inviability revealed significant changes in the neo-Y chromosome at this early stage of chromosome evolution in D. albomicans. http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/50.3/338.pdf Key words: Meiosis, Neo-sex chromosome, Non-disjunction, Recessive deleterious allele. Neo-sex chromosomes which formed by (Charlesworth and Charlesworth 2000). For fusion events between sex chromosomes and example, the neo-Y chromosome of D. miranda, autosomes have independently evolved in many the neo-sex chromosomes of which diverged more Drosophila lineages. Due to achiasmatic meiosis than 106 yr ago (Ma), has accumulated many found in male Drosophila (Morgan 1912), the deleterious mutations and transposable elements neo-Y chromosome which only exists in males (Bachtrog and Charlesworth 2002, Bachtrog might lack recombination after fused chromosomes 2005). In another case, the neo-Y chromosome being fixed in the population. A non-recombining of D. psudoobscura has lost most of its genes neo-Y chromosome was predicted to degenerate and heterochromatinized since it diverged from due to Muller’s ratchet, background selection, the neo-X about 18 Ma (Carvalho and Clark the Hill-Robertson effect, and selective sweep 2005). Although those studies showed obvious * To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed. Chia-Hao Cheng and Ching-Ho Chang contribute equally to this work. E-mail:[email protected] 338 Cheng et al. – Neo-Y of Drosophila albomicans 339 degeneration due to the lack of recombination a YY individual cannot survive in an XY sex- in neo-Y chromosomes, early changes after the determination system. Instead, non-disjunction, fixation of neo-sex chromosomes are still unclear. an abnormal whole-chromosome behavior, may Examining a Drosophila species with a younger serve as an indicator to reveal the divergence neo-sex chromosome system would be helpful in among sex-related chromosomes. Aneuploids answering this question. with an abnormal number of ancestral-type sex Drosophila albomicans has a pair of neo- chromosomes (i.e., X or Y chromosome of D. sex chromosomes and can be crossed with its nasuta) caused by non-disjunction are frequently allopatrically distributed sibling species, D. nasuta found in hybrid populations derived from these (Kitagawa et al. 1982). The neo-sex system 2 sibling species (Yu et al. 1999). This non- appears in every D. albomicans lineage but is disjunction may indicate mispairing between these totally absent from other species of the D. nasuta inter-specific chromosomes. Although the pairing subgroup (Meera Rao and Ranganath 1991, of homologous chromosomes, which is essential Chang et al. 2008). This fact implies that the for segregating them into 2 separate gametes, is age of the neo-sex system of D. albomicans is a nearly universal feature of sexual reproduction, even younger than species divergence, which is non-disjunction was discovered in D. melanogaster estimated to have occurred < 0.5 Ma (Chang et al. nearly 100 yr ago (Bridge 1913 1916). This non- 1989, Bachtrog 2006). According to homology, we disjunction can be used as a special tool for call these 2 fused parts the Y (or X) arm and the different genetic analyses; for instance, it may 3rd arm of the neo-sex chromosome in this study. generate X,neo-Y/neo-Y individuals which could Since the divergence period is not sufficiently long, provide a new chance to investigate recessive neither the differential substitution rate between inferiority of the neo-Y of D. albomicans. the neo-X and neo-Y nor obvious degeneration Genetic markers can serve as fundamental of the neo-Y chromosome was observed on the tools to reveal the non-disjunction rate of hybrids 3rd chromosome arms by a sequence analysis and the accumulation of recessive deleterious (Chang 2008). However, those results could not alleles. We previously established several rule out other changes such as meiotic behavior molecular markers (Chang et al. 2008) which and an accumulation of deleterious alleles on can be used for easy and rapid detection of the entire neo-sex chromosome. In our previous hybrid non-disjunction under the prerequisite study, a free 3rd autosome (i.e., not fused to a of“no male recombination”. No crossing- sex chromosome) acquired from D. nasuta was over during meiosis in male D. melanogaster fixed in certain hybrid strains and behaved like a of the subgenus Sophophora was first reported Y chromosome without recombination (Chang and by Morgan (1912), and achiasmatic meiosis is Kung 2008). Homozygotes of this chromosome, characteristic of nearly all higher dipteran males, which was designated a Y-like chromosome, can like Drosophila (Gethmann 1988). However, even be obtained by backcrossing males from this in the Sophophora subgenus, an appreciable strain to D. nasuta. Our study revealed that the level of spontaneous male recombination was fitness of individuals carrying homozygous Y-like discovered in D. ananassae (Kikkawa 1938). chromosomes began to decline within a few Since D. albomicans is classified into the subgenus hundred generations (Chang and Kung 2008). Drosophila which diverged from Sophophora more Therefore, the 3rd chromosome arm of the neo-Y than 60 Ma (Beverley and Wilson 1984, Tamura et in D. albomicans is expected to degenerate due to al. 2004), whether it also lacks male recombination the accumulation of recessive deleterious alleles requires experimental support. after millions of generations without recombination. In this study, genetic experiments were Accordingly, we suspect that examining conducted to understand this early stage changes at the chromosome level may be more of evolution of the neo-sex chromosome by accessible than averaging substitution rates or investigating hybrid offspring of these 2 sibling finding non-functional evidence from randomly species. Reciprocal crosses between D. chosen genes on the chromosome at this early albomicans and D. nasuta can produce 3 kinds of stage of evolution of the neo-Y chromosome. (2 male and 1 female) hybrids with different sex- In principle, the accumulation of recessive related chromosome configurations (3,X/neo-Y; deleterious alleles on the neo-Y chromosome 3,Y/neo-X; and 3,X/neo-X in Fig. 1). The non- could be examined by the survival rate of disjunction rate of these hybrids can be estimated individuals homozygous for the neo-Y. However, by aneuploid offspring produced through specially 340 Zoological Studies 50(3): 338-349 (2011) designed crossing schemes with proper genotyping Chang and Tai 2007). All crosses were made or karyotyping. In addition, the backcross of a 3,X/ using 4-d-old virgin flies, and the flies were sexed neo-Y male to a D. nasuta female can produce 3,X/ within 8 h after emergence. X,neo-Y female offspring due to non-disjunction. In this study, crossing schemes 1 to 6 were Afterwards, backcrossing these aneuploid females designed to determine the recombination rates of to D. albomicans males may produce X,neo-Y/ sex chromosomes in D. albomicans (1 and 2) and neo-Y males homozygous for the 3rd chromosome non-disjunction rates in hybrid offspring (3, 4, and arm. Through these genetic approaches, we 5), and to detect recessive deleterious alleles on were able to reveal the existence of recessive the neo-Y chromosome (6). Two separate pairs deleterious alleles on the neo-Y chromosome if of each crossing scheme were established in those XYY males were absent or rare. the beginning as 2 repeats instead of generating repeats in subsequent generations. In general, 20 offspring were genotyped as 1 sample. MATERIALS AND METHODS Molecular markers Drosophila strains and crossing schemes Four loci with inter-specific differences Inbred strains D. albomicans #163.5- between D.