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Genomic Signatures of Sexual Selection on Pollen-Expressed Genes in Arabis alpina
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences. Stockholm University, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab).ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9725-8523
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences. Stockholm University, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2962-2669
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences. Stockholm University, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3221-8835
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences. Stockholm University, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab).
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Number of Authors: 92022 (English)In: Molecular biology and evolution, ISSN 0737-4038, E-ISSN 1537-1719, Vol. 39, no 1, article id msab349Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Fertilization in angiosperms involves the germination of pollen on the stigma, followed by the extrusion of a pollen tube that elongates through the style and delivers two sperm cells to the embryo sac. Sexual selection could occur throughout this process when male gametophytes compete for fertilization. The strength of sexual selection during pollen competition should be affected by the number of genotypes deposited on the stigma. As increased self-fertilization reduces the number of mating partners, and the genetic diversity and heterozygosity of populations, it should thereby reduce the intensity of sexual selection during pollen competition. Despite the prevalence of mating system shifts, few studies have directly compared the molecular signatures of sexual selection during pollen competition in populations with different mating systems. Here we analyzed whole-genome sequences from natural populations of Arabis alpina, a species showing mating system variation across its distribution, to test whether shifts from cross- to self-fertilization result in molecular signatures consistent with sexual selection on genes involved in pollen competition. We found evidence for efficient purifying selection on genes expressed in vegetative pollen, and overall weaker selection on sperm-expressed genes. This pattern was robust when controlling for gene expression level and specificity. In agreement with the expectation that sexual selection intensifies under cross-fertilization, we found that the efficacy of purifying selection on male gametophyte-expressed genes was significantly stronger in genetically more diverse and outbred populations. Our results show that intra-sexual competition shapes the evolution of pollen-expressed genes, and that its strength fades with increasing self-fertilization rates.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2022. Vol. 39, no 1, article id msab349
Keywords [en]
pollen competition, sexual selection, mating system, gametophyte, ploidy
National Category
Biological Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-203965DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab349ISI: 000771141500015PubMedID: 34878144Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85123878099OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-203965DiVA, id: diva2:1652567
Available from: 2022-04-19 Created: 2022-04-19 Last updated: 2022-11-01Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Genomic studies of mating system variation in flowering plants
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Genomic studies of mating system variation in flowering plants
2022 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The striking diversity of reproductive strategies that flowering plants exhibit remains one of the most intriguing conundrums in evolutionary biology. Pollination-related traits and mating system strategies have a major impact on the processes shaping plant evolution through their effects on genetic diversity and selection. In this thesis, I use population genomic methods to investigate the genetic underpinnings and genomic impact of cross- and self-fertilization in flowering plants. I first study the evolution and breakdown of the supergene that governs the balanced floral polymorphism of distyly in a wild flaxseed species (Linum tenue). Then I assess the consequences of shifts to self-fertilization on the intensity of sexual selection that populations experience, using the crucifer species Arabis alpina as a model. In chapters I, II and III, I investigated how the evolution of supergenes is impacted by their genetic architecture. Building on a de novo genome assembly, I used population genomic data to identify and characterize the distyly supergene in Linum tenue (chapter II). I found that the dominant allele at the distyly S-locus is defined by the presence of a 260-kb region carried in hemizygosity by thrum individuals. Importantly, the hemizygous region harbors, among others, a strong candidate gene for style length. S-linked genes did not exhibit signatures of relaxed purifying selection, consistent with expectations from previous empirical studies and forward simulations (chapter I) in suggesting that hemizygosity might slow down genetic degeneration of non-recombining haplotypes. In the light of similar studies conducted in independently evolved distylous lineages (reviewed in chapter I), our results indicate that distyly supergenes show convergent evolution at the molecular level. By conducting comparative studies of the genome sequences of L. tenue and closely related homostylous L. trigynum (chapter III), I identified candidate mutations for distyly breakdown at S-linked genes. I also investigated the genome-wide effects of the evolutionary transition to homostyly and self-fertilization in L. trigynum. I found that L. trigynum populations are highly inbred, and show significantly lower genetic diversity and more marked population structure than the obligately outcrossing L. tenue. However, I found only weak signatures of relaxed purifying selection in L. trigynum at the genome-wide scale, suggesting that self-fertilization has not had a major effect on the impact of selection. Finally, by analyzing whole-genome sequences from individuals of populations of A. alpina with contrasting mating strategies, I investigated if shifts to self-fertilization have a particularly marked impact on the evolution of genes involved in pollen-pollen competition (chapter IV). The results indicate that the reduced intensity of sexual selection that self-fertilizing populations experience translate into more pronounced signatures of relaxed purifying selection on genes expressed in male gametophyte components. Overall, this thesis contributes to our understanding of the genetic basis and evolution of plant reproductive strategies, and how they impact selection both locally and broadly across the genome.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 2022. p. 65
Keywords
mating system evolution, cross- and self-fertilization, distyly, supergenes, complex phenotypic polymorphism, convergent evolution, homostyly, loss-of-function mutation, intrasexual competition, pollen, purifying selection, Linum, Arabis alpina
National Category
Evolutionary Biology
Research subject
Ecology and Evolution
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-210927 (URN)978-91-8014-098-0 (ISBN)978-91-8014-099-7 (ISBN)
Public defence
2022-12-16, Vivi Täckholmsalen (Q-salen), NPQ-huset, Svante Arrhenius väg 20, Stockholm, 09:00 (English)
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Available from: 2022-11-23 Created: 2022-11-01 Last updated: 2022-12-12Bibliographically approved

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Gutiérrez-Valencia, JuanitaFracassetti, MarcoHorvath, RobertLaenen, BenjaminSlotte, Tanja

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