Essential and recurrent roles for hairpin RNAs in silencing de novo sex chromosome conflict in Drosophila simulans

Jeffrey Vedanayagam, Marion Herbette, Holly Mudgett, Ching Jung Lin, Chun Ming Lai, Caitlin McDonough-Goldstein, Stephen Dorus, Benjamin Loppin, Colin Meiklejohn, Raphaëlle Dubruille, Eric C. Lai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

AU Meiotic: Pleaseconfirmthatallheadinglevelsarerepresentedcorrectly drive loci distort the normally equal segregation of alleles, : which benefits their own transmission even in the face of severe fitness costs to their host organism. However, relatively little is known about the molecular identity of meiotic drivers, their strategies of action, and mechanisms that can suppress their activity. Here, we present data from the fruitfly Drosophila simulans that address these questions. We show that a family of de novo, protamine-derived X-linked selfish genes (the Dox gene family) is silenced by a pair of newly emerged hairpin RNA (hpRNA) small interfering RNA (siRNA)-class loci, Nmy and Tmy. In the w[XD1] genetic background, knockout of nmy derepresses Dox and MDox in testes and depletes male progeny, whereas knockout of tmy causes misexpression of PDox genes and renders males sterile. Importantly, genetic interactions between nmy and tmy mutant alleles reveal that Tmy also specifically maintains male progeny for normal sex ratio. We show the Dox loci are functionally polymorphic within D. simulans, such that both nmy-associated sex ratio bias and tmy-associated sterility can be rescued by wild-type X chromosomes bearing natural deletions in different Dox family genes. Finally, using tagged transgenes of Dox and PDox2, we provide the first experimental evidence Dox family genes encode proteins that are strongly derepressed in cognate hpRNA mutants. Altogether, these studies support a model in which protamine-derived drivers and hpRNA suppressors drive repeated cycles of sex chromosome conflict and resolution that shape genome evolution and the genetic control of male gametogenesis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere3002136
JournalPLoS Biology
Volume21
Issue number6 June
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2023

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Immunology and Microbiology
  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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