Molecular evolution and ecological adaptation of male- and female-transmitted mtDNA genomes in bivalves

双壳类雄性和雌性传播的 mtDNA 基因组的分子进化和生态适应

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-05510
• 负责人: Stewart, Donald
• 金额: $ 3.07万
• 依托单位: Acadia University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=688573
• 关键词: Molecular; evolution; ecological; adaptation; male

My long-term objectives are to understand the origin and factors maintaining a highly unusual system of mitochondrial DNA inheritance present in bivalve mollusks. This system is called “doubly uniparental inheritance” (DUI) of mitochondrial DNA. Unlike all other animals, many groups of bivalves possess two distinct sex-associated mtDNA lineages rather than just a single, female-transmitted mtDNA lineage. My short-term objectives are to test various hypotheses that have been proposed to explain factors associated with the developmental controls and evolutionary dynamics of the male- and female-transmitted DNA genomes. These hypotheses include the proposal that DUI allows for natural selection to improve sperm performance in these mussels, or that these gender-associated genomes might play a role in sex determination. The distinct male and female transmitted mtDNA genomes found in marine mussels also undergo recombination, a phenomenon that was, until recently, not thought to occur in animal mtDNA genomes. My approach to studying this unusual system of mitochondrial DNA inheritance includes a combination of sperm motility analyses, whole mitochondrial genome sequencing assays, and bioinformatics/in silico analyses. The anticipated outcome of my research is to advance our understanding of basic biological processes, primarily in bivalves, but this knowledge will also apply to other animal groups. My research will advance our understanding of fundamental cellular processes and will be of general interest and value to geneticists, invertebrate biologists and zoologists. The advancement of pure knowledge in the area of sex determination in bivalves may have applications in the field of aquaculture and in the development of biological controls for invasive freshwater mussel species through artificial control of sex ratios. My research also has broad implications for interpreting the evolution of mitochondrial DNA. For example, my research program will provide essential data for interpreting DNA sequences for a particular gene known as Cox1, which is used as the basis of the "Consortium for the Barcode of Life" initiative. This is an attempt to use DNA sequence data to identify all species of animals in the world using a simple, inexpensive test. The correct interpretation of DNA Barcodes of native marine and freshwater mussels will be increasingly important as these species face threats from global climate change and global transport of invasive bivalve species.

我的长期目标是了解双壳类软体动物中线粒体DNA遗传的起源和因素。这种系统被称为线粒体DNA的“双单亲遗传”（DUI）。与所有其他动物不同，许多双壳类动物拥有两个不同的性别相关mtDNA谱系，而不仅仅是一个单一的雌性传递的mtDNA谱系。我的短期目标是测试已经提出的各种假说，以解释与男性和女性传播的DNA基因组的发育控制和进化动力学相关的因素。这些假设包括DUI允许自然选择来改善这些贻贝中的精子性能，或者这些与性别相关的基因组可能在性别决定中发挥作用。在海洋贻贝中发现的不同的雄性和雌性传递的mtDNA基因组也经历重组，直到最近，这种现象才被认为发生在动物mtDNA基因组中。我研究这种不寻常的线粒体DNA遗传系统的方法包括精子活力分析，全线粒体基因组测序分析和生物信息学/计算机分析的组合。我的研究的预期成果是推进我们对基本生物过程的理解，主要是在双壳类动物中，但这些知识也将适用于其他动物群体。我的研究将促进我们对基本细胞过程的理解，并将对遗传学家，无脊椎动物生物学家和动物学家产生普遍的兴趣和价值。在双壳类性别决定领域的纯知识的进步可能在水产养殖领域和通过人工控制性别比例来发展对入侵淡水贻贝物种的生物控制方面具有应用。我的研究对解释线粒体DNA的进化也有广泛的意义。例如，我的研究计划将提供必要的数据来解释一个特定基因的DNA序列，该基因被称为Cox 1，它被用作“生命条形码联盟”倡议的基础。这是一种尝试，使用DNA序列数据来识别世界上所有物种的动物，使用简单，廉价的测试。正确解释本地海洋和淡水贻贝的DNA条形码将越来越重要，因为这些物种面临全球气候变化和入侵双壳类物种全球运输的威胁。