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bioRxiv · 10.1101/690321

Meiotic drive reduces egg-to-adult viability in stalk-eyed flies

Finnegan, S. R.·White, N. J.·Koh, D.·Camus, M. F.·Fowler, K.·Pomiankowski, A.
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Abstract

SR meiotic drive is a selfish genetic element located on the X chromosome in a number of species that causes dysfunction of Y-bearing sperm. SR is transmitted to up to 100% of offspring, causing extreme sex ratio bias. SR in several species is found in a stable polymorphism at a moderate frequency, suggesting there must be strong frequency-dependent selection resisting its spread. We investigate the effect of SR on female and male egg-to-adult viability in the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni. SR meiotic drive in this species is old, and appears to be broadly stable at a moderate (~20%) frequency. We use large-scale controlled crosses to estimate the strength of selection acting against SR in female and male carriers. We find that SR reduces the egg-to-adult viability of both sexes. In females, homozygous females experience greater reduction in viability (sf = 0.242) and the deleterious effects of SR are additive ([h] = 0.511). The male deficit in viability (sm = 0.214) is not different from that in homozygous females. The evidence does not support the expectation that deleterious side-effects of SR are recessive or sex-limited. We discuss how these reductions in egg-to-adult survival, as well as other forms of selection acting on SR, act to maintain SR polymorphism in this species.

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Finnegan, S. R., White, N. J., Koh, D., Camus, M. F., Fowler, K., Pomiankowski, A.. 2019-07-02. Meiotic drive reduces egg-to-adult viability in stalk-eyed flies. https://doi.org/10.1101/690321

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