High heteroplasmy is associated with low mitochondrial copy number and selection against non-synonymous mutations in the snail Cepaea nemoralis.

ABSTRACT: Molluscan mitochondrial genomes are unusual because they show wide variation in size, radical genome rearrangements and frequently show high variation (> 10%) within species. As progress in understanding this variation has been limited, we used whole genome sequencing of a six-generation matriline of the terrestrial snail Cepaea nemoralis, as well as whole genome sequences from wild-collected C. nemoralis, the sister species C. hortensis, and multiple other snail species to explore the origins of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation. The main finding is that a high rate of SNP heteroplasmy in somatic tissue was negatively correlated with mtDNA copy number in both Cepaea species. In individuals with under ten mtDNA copies per nuclear genome, more than 10% of all positions were heteroplasmic,

SUBMITTER: Davison A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11177401 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature