Deleterious Mutations Accumulate Faster in Allopolyploid Than Diploid Cotton (Gossypium) and Unequally between Subgenomes.

ABSTRACT: Whole-genome duplication (polyploidization) is among the most dramatic mutational processes in nature, so understanding how natural selection differs in polyploids relative to diploids is an important goal. Population genetics theory predicts that recessive deleterious mutations accumulate faster in allopolyploids than diploids due to the masking effect of redundant gene copies, but this prediction is hitherto unconfirmed. Here, we use the cotton genus (Gossypium), which contains seven allopolyploids derived from a single polyploidization event 1-2 Million years ago, to investigate deleterious mutation accumulation. We use two methods of identifying deleterious mutations at the nucleotide and amino acid level, along with whole-genome resequencing of 43 individuals spanning six allopolyploi

SUBMITTER: Conover JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8841602 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature