Open AccessA suppressor of a wtf poison-antidote meiotic driver acts via mimicry of the driver’s antidote
Author(s) -
María Angélica Bravo Núñez,
Jeffrey J. Lange,
Sarah E Zanders
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
plos genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.587
H-Index - 233
eISSN - 1553-7404
pISSN - 1553-7390
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007836
Subject(s) - biology , meiosis , genetics , schizosaccharomyces pombe , gene drive , meiotic drive , gametogenesis , antidote , gene , saccharomyces cerevisiae , chemistry , organic chemistry , toxicity , crispr , embryogenesis
Meiotic drivers are selfish alleles that subvert gametogenesis to increase their transmission into progeny. Drivers impose a fitness cost, putting pressure on the genome to evolve suppressors. Here we investigate the wtf gene family from Schizosaccharomyces pombe , previously shown to contain meiotic drivers in wild isolates. We discovered that wtf13 found in lab stocks is a meiotic driver. wtf13 kills spores that do not inherit it by generating both a diffusible poison and a spore-specific antidote. Additionally, we demonstrate that wtf13 is suppressed by another wtf gene, wtf18-2 , that arose spontaneously in the lab and makes only an antidote. Wtf18-2 does not act indiscriminately to prevent spore destruction. Instead, it rescues only the spores that inherit wtf18-2 . In this way, wtf18-2 selfishly gains a transmission advantage of its own while dampening the drive of wtf13 . This establishes a novel paradigm for meiotic drive suppressors and provides insight into the mechanisms and evolution of drive systems.