Meiotic drive shapes rates of karyotype evolution in mammals.

ABSTRACT: Chromosome number is perhaps the most basic characteristic of a genome, yet generalizations that can explain the evolution of this trait across large clades have remained elusive. Using karyotype data from over 1000 mammals, we developed and applied a phylogenetic model of chromosome evolution that links chromosome number changes with karyotype morphology. Using our model, we infer that rates of chromosome number evolution are significantly lower in species with karyotypes that consist of either all bibrachial or all monobrachial chromosomes than in species with a mix of both types of morphologies. We suggest that species with homogeneous karyotypes may represent cases where meiotic drive acts to stabilize the karyotype, favoring the chromosome morphologies already present in the genome. I

SUBMITTER: Blackmon H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6590138 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature