RRC ID 4292
Author Seidel HS, Rockman MV, Kruglyak L.
Title Widespread genetic incompatibility in C. elegans maintained by balancing selection.
Journal Science
Abstract Natural selection is expected to eliminate genetic incompatibilities from interbreeding populations. We have discovered a globally distributed incompatibility in the primarily selfing species Caenorhabditis elegans that has been maintained despite its negative consequences for fitness. Embryos homozygous for a naturally occurring deletion of the zygotically acting gene zeel-1 arrest if their sperm parent carries an incompatible allele of a second, paternal-effect locus, peel-1. The two interacting loci are tightly linked, with incompatible alleles occurring in linkage disequilibrium in two common haplotypes. These haplotypes exhibit elevated sequence divergence, and population genetic analyses of this region indicate that natural selection is preserving both haplotypes in the population. Our data suggest that long-term maintenance of a balanced polymorphism has permitted the incompatibility to persist despite gene flow across the rest of the genome.
Volume 319(5863)
Pages 589-94
Published 2008-2-1
DOI 10.1126/science.1151107
PII 1151107
PMID 18187622
PMC PMC2421010
MeSH Alleles Animals Animals, Genetically Modified Caenorhabditis elegans / embryology Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics* Cloning, Molecular Crosses, Genetic Disorders of Sex Development Embryo, Nonmammalian / physiology Embryonic Development Gene Flow Genes, Helminth Genetic Linkage Genome, Helminth Haplotypes Linkage Disequilibrium Male Molecular Sequence Data Penetrance Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide Selection, Genetic*
IF 41.846
Times Cited 156
WOS Category GENETICS & HEREDITY
Resource
C.elegans tm1946