Assisted suicide of a selfish gene.
Assisted suicide of a selfish gene.
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协助自私基因自杀。
DOI：
10.1093/jhered/90.1.191
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发表时间：
1999
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Beeman,RW
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Thomson,MS;Beeman,RW
美帝亚因子(M)和杂交不亲和因子(H)参与了粉甲虫的两个不亲和系统，这两个系统以前被认为是独立的。M因子是一类新的自私基因，其作用是母亲对自我的致命性。H因子导致具有父系衍生H基因和以前未表征的母系辅助因子的杂交体死亡。我们现在发现M因素只有在没有H因素的情况下才会表现出它们的自私行为。此外，我们表明，以前未表征的母体辅助因子所需的h相关杂交不生存是相同的M因子。我们认为H株与M株之间的不亲和性是由于H因子抑制了致死M基因的自我拯救活性。这种相互作用将M个元素从自私转化为自我毁灭或“自杀”基因。M因子在全球范围内普遍存在，但在印度明显不存在，印度是唯一已知存在H因子的国家。这种机制可以通过在M区和非M区之间的边界建立绝对的杂交屏障来阻止自私M元素的传播。
Medea (M) factors and the hybrid incompatibility factor (H) are involved in two incompatibility systems in flour beetles that were previously thought to be independent. M factors are a novel class of selfish genes that act by maternal lethality to nonself. The H factor causes the death of hybrids with a paternally derived H gene and previously uncharacterized maternal cofactors. We now find that M factors exhibit their selfish behavior only in the absence of the H factor. Furthermore, we show that the previously uncharacterized maternal cofactors required for H-associated hybrid inviability are identical to M factors. We propose that incompatibility between H strains and M strains is due to suppression by the H factor of the self-rescuing activity of the lethal M genes. This interaction has the effect of converting M elements from selfish into self-destructive or 'suicidal' genes. M factors are globally widespread, but are conspicuously absent from India, the only country where the H factor is known to occur. Such a mechanism could prevent the spread of selfish M elements by establishing an absolute barrier to hybridization in the boundary between M and non-M zones.