Mitochondrial inheritance and the detection of non-parental mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in crosses of Agaricus bisporus homokaryons

This study evaluates mtDNA transmission in Agaricus bisporus, as well as the occurrence of non-parental haplotypes in heterokaryons produced by controlled crosses. Sixteen crosses were performed with blended liquid cultures, using different combinations of 13 homokaryotic strains. For each cross, different mtDNA haplotypes were present in each homokaryon. Heterokaryons generated from these crosses were subject to genetic analysis with RFLP markers to identify (i). karyotic status, (ii). mtDNA haplotype, and (iii). the occurrence of non-parental mtDNA haplotypes. These analyses generally supported the occurrence of uniparental mitochondrial (mt) inheritance in A. bisporus, with one mtDNA haplotype usually favoured in the new heterokaryon. The preponderance of one mtDNA haplotype in a new heterokaryon did not necessarily show a correlation with a greater mycelial growth rate for the parent homokaryon possessing that haplotype. Mixed mtDNA haplotypes and non-parental haplotypes were also identified in the heterokaryons from some crosses. Evidence for the occurrence of two mtDNA haplotypes in one heterokaryotic mycelium was observed in 8 of 16 crosses, suggesting the maintenance of true heteroplasmons after three successive subculturing steps. Non-parental mtDNA haplotypes were seen in heterokaryons produced from 7 of 16 crosses. The mating protocol described can be utilized to generate novel mtDNA haplotypes for strain improvement and the development of strain-specific markers. Mechanisms of mt selection and inheritance are discussed.     

Populational Heritability: Extending Punnett Square Concepts to Evolution at the Metapopulation Level

In a previous study, using experimental metapopulations of the flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, we investigated phase III of Wright's shifting balance process (Wade and Griesemer 1998). We experimentally modeled migration of varying amounts from demes of high mean fitness into demes of lower mean fitness (as in Wright's characterization of phase III) as well as the reciprocal (the opposite of phase III). We estimated the meta-populational heritability for this level of selection by regression of offspring deme means on the weighted parental deme means.Here we develop a Punnett Square representation of the inheritance of the group mean to place our empirical findings in a conceptual context similar to Mendelian inheritance of individual traits. The comparison of Punnett Squares for individual and group inheritance shows how the latter concept can be rigorously defined and extended despite the lack of explicitly formulated, simple Mendelian laws of inheritance at the group level. Whereas Wright's phase III combines both interdemic selection and meta-populational inheritance, our formulation separates the issue of meta-populational heritability from that of interdemic selection. We use this conceptual context to discuss the controversies over the levels of selection and the units of inheritance.     

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of the aromatic shrub Lavandula latifolia

Transgenic plants of the aromatic shrub Lavandula latifolia (Lamiaceae) were produced using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer. Leaf and hypocotyl explants from 35–40-day old lavender seedlings were inoculated with the EHA105 strain carrying the nptII gene, as selectable marker, and the reporter gusA gene with an intron. Some of the factors influencing T-DNA transfer to L. latifolia explants were assessed. Optimal transformation rates (6.0 ± 1.6% in three different experiments) were obtained when leaf explants precultured for 1 day on regeneration medium were subcultured on selection medium after a 24 h co-cultivation with Agrobacterium. Evidence for stable integration was obtained by GUS assay, PCR and Southern hybridisation. More than 250 transgenic plants were obtained from 37 independent transformation events. Twenty-four transgenic plants from 7 of those events were successfully established in soil. -glucuronidase activity and kanamycin resistance assays in greenhouse-grown plants from two independent transgenic lines confirmed the stable expression of both gusA and nptII genes two years after the initial transformation. Evidence from PCR data, GUS assays and regeneration in the presence of kanamycin demonstrated a 1:15 Mendelian segregation of both transgenes among seedlings of the T1 progeny of two plants from one transgenic L. latifolia line.     

Autotetraploids and genetic mapping using common AFLP markers: the R2 allele conferring resistance to Phytophthora infestans mapped on potato chromosome 4

 Due to the complexity of tetrasomic inheritance, mapping studies in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) are generally conducted at the diploid level. In the present study we tested the feasibility of Bulked Segregant Analysis (BSA) using a tetraploid offspring for the identification of AFLP markers linked to the R2 allele, which confers race-specific resistance to Phytophthora infestans. Eleven bulk-specific AFLP markers, detected in fingerprints of 205 AFLP primer combinations, could be mapped in a linkage group encompassing the R2 locus. The efficiency of BSA at the tetraploid level, determined by the frequency of single-dose restriction fragments (SDRF), was much higher than expected on the basis of overall genetic dissimilarity between the parental clones. The fortuitous detection of AFLPs with linkage to the R2 allele is explained on the basis of specific genetic dissimilarity between cultivated potato and the chromosomal segment introgressed from S. demissum carrying the resistant R2 allele. AFLP markers common to those with linkage to R2 were visually recognized by their electrophoretic mobility in the AFLP fingerprint in a parental clone of a reference mapping population. Using these common AFLP markers we anchored the linkage group comprising the R2 allele to potato chromosome 4. Received: 30 October 1997 / Accepted: 6 November 1997     

Selective disappearance of maternal centrioles after fertilization in the anisogamous brown alga Cutleria cylindrica (Cutleriales, Phaeophyceae): Paternal inheritance of centrioles is universal in the brown algae

The behavior of centrioles in zygotes and female gametes developing parthenogenetically in the anisogamous brown alga Cutieria cyiindrica Okamura was studied using electron and immunofluorescence microscopy. Two pairs of centrioles, detected using anti-centrin antibody, were observed in the vicinity of the male and female nuclei, respectively, just after plasmogamy. The fluorescence intensity of one of the two centrin foci became weak 6 h after plasmogamy and finally disappeared. It was impossible to determine whether the male- or female-derived centrioles disappeared in zygotes, because there was nothing to detect morphological differences between the two centrioles. However, a prominent anti-centrin staining focus was located at the condensed male nucleus in zygotes in which karyogamy had not occurred yet. As a result, it was considered that the maternally inherited centrioles had selectively disappeared during development in C. cylindrica. The paternal inheritance of centrioles in zygotes was also confirmed by electron microscopy. Considering previous observations from oogamous and isogamous species of brown algae, we concluded that the paternal inheriance of centrioles could be universal in the brown algae.     

Allelic composition and genetic background effects on transgene expression and inheritance in white clover

Allelic composition and genetic background effects on GUS expression and inheritance using a chimeric (cauliflower mosaic virus 35Sp:uidA) transgene were investigated in white clover as a prelude to transgenic cultivar development. Stable expression and Mendelian inheritance of the uidA transgene was observed over two generations when the uidA transgene was maintained in a heterozygous state. Transgenic backcross progeny (BC1) were intercrossed to produce segregating F2 populations. GUS-positive F2 plants were test-crossed with a non-transgenic control plant to determine whether individuals were heterozygous or homozygous for the transgene. Both expected and distorted segregation ratios were observed. Distortion of the segregation ratio was not caused by transgene inactivation or rearrangement, but was influenced by genetic background. BC1, BC2 and F2 populations were found to have similar levels of uidA gene expression. Quantification of GUS expression from progeny of high and low GUS expressing plants indicate that it is possible to alter transgene expression through selection. No difference was found between the level of expression for F2 plants homozygous or heterozygous for the transgene. These results indicate that F2 plants, homozygous for a transgene, might be used to develop a transgenic cultivar. However, progeny testing to determine the influence of genetic background is a prerequisite to such a development.     

On Hybrid Formation in the Rock Fern Asplenium x alternifolium (Aspleniaceae,Pteridophyta)

Length polymorphism in a non-coding spacer (trnL_UAA-trnF_GAA) in the chloroplast DNA was used in the investigation of the origin of the most common and conspicuous European fern hybrid, Asplenium x alternifolium (Aspleniaceae, Pteridophyta). The origins of A. x alternifolium, the hybrid between A. trichomanes s.l. and A. septentrionale s.l. was studied at three ploidy levels, diploid, triploid and tetraploid. The cpDNA technique allowed us to investigate the mode of hybrid formation between sexual species for the first time over a wide geographic range and with a large sample size. Morphological variation in this hybrid has previously been attributed to different reciprocal parental combinations, and to the influence of chloroplast genes on morphogenesis. Our results demonstrate that one parent, A. septentrionale s.l., acts predominantly as the female parent in these hybrids, with only one population of A. x alternifolium showing reciprocal hybridity. The discovery of predominantly unidirectional hybrid formation in this hybrid may be explained by the different breeding systems of the parental taxa. The role of gametophyte ecology is also assessed.     

Differences Between Vervets (Cercopithecus aethiops) and Patas Monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) in Agonistic Interactions Between Adult Females

We examined agonistic interactions between adult females in wild, unprovisioned patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) and vervets (Cercopithecus aethiops). The dominance hierarchy of patas is far less clear than that of vervets. Patas had fewer interactions per dyad, fewer dyads with interactions, and a high percentage (18%) of reversals in which lower-ranking females won in agonistic interactions with higher-ranking females. Although the rank ordering of the kinds of interactions patas and vervets displayed is similar, with avoidance being the most frequently observed agonistic response to approaches by other females, patas were chased and supplanted more often than vervets were. The resources over which females were supplanted also differ between species. Supplants over food comprise smaller proportion of total supplants patas than for vervets. Patas appear to feed on less usurpable foods than vervets. We conclude that (1) Erythrocebus and Cercopithecus spp., except C. aethiops, should not be categorized with other Cercopithecinae, and C. aethiops should not be categorized with other Cercopithecus spp. and Erythrocebus, in discussions and analyses of relationships between females within groups and (2) ecological conditions, i.e., usurpability of foods, can override phylogenetic history as the selective pressure determining the nature of female competitive relationships within groups.     

A novel variant in DMXL2 gene is associated with autosomal dominant non-syndromic hearing impairment (DFNA71) in a Cameroonian family

Approximately half of congenital hearing impairment cases are inherited, with non-syndromic hearing impairment (NSHI) being the most frequent clinical entity of genetic hearing impairment cases. A family from Cameroon with NSHI was investigated by performing exome sequencing using DNA samples obtained from three family members, followed by direct Sanger sequencing in additional family members and controls participants. We identified an autosomal dominantly inherited novel missense variant [NM_001174116.2:c.918G>T; p.(Q306H)] in DMXL2 gene (MIM:612186) that co-segregates with mild to profound non-syndromic sensorineural hearing impairment . The p.(Q306H) variant which substitutes a highly conserved glutamine residue is predicted deleterious by various bioinformatics tools and is absent from several genome databases. This variant was also neither found in 121 apparently healthy controls without a family history of hearing impairment , nor 112 sporadic NSHI cases from Cameroon. There is one previous report of a large Han Chinese NSHI family that segregates a missense variant in DMXL2. The present study provides additional evidence that DMXL2 is involved in hearing impairment etiology, and we suggest DMXL2 should be considered in diagnostic hearing impairment panels.     

Using Mendelian Inheritance To Improve High-Throughput SNP Discovery

Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing or genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approaches allow for rapid and cost-effective discovery and genotyping of thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in multiple individuals. However, rigorous quality control practices are needed to avoid high levels of error and bias with these reduced representation methods. We developed a formal statistical framework for filtering spurious loci, using Mendelian inheritance patterns in nuclear families, that accommodates variable-quality genotype calls and missing data—both rampant issues with GBS data—and for identifying sex-linked SNPs. Simulations predict excellent performance of both the Mendelian filter and the sex-linkage assignment under a variety of conditions. We further evaluate our method by applying it to real GBS data and validating a subset of high-quality SNPs. These results demonstrate that our metric of Mendelian inheritance is a powerful quality filter for GBS loci that is complementary to standard coverage and Hardy–Weinberg filters. The described method, implemented in the software MendelChecker, will improve quality control during SNP discovery in nonmodel as well as model organisms.