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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.05.22.727232

A method to screen for meiotic drive using embryonic markers

Barbash, D. A.·McCormick, B. K.
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Abstract

Meiotic drivers are selfish elements which co-opt gametogenesis to increase their own transmission. Driving alleles may spread in a population even if harmful to overall fitness, requiring the emergence of host suppressors to ameliorate these costs. In some cases, intense co-evolutionary arms races between drivers and their host genomes may occur. These conflicts have been invoked to explain the rapid evolution of karyotypes and reproduction-associated proteins across the tree of life. Despite their evolutionary importance, relatively few meiotic drivers have been well-characterized, in large part due to the difficulties inherent to detecting meiotic drivers, distinguishing them from viability effects, and performing systematic screens. To address these gaps, we present an approach to driver detection at the embryo stage in wild-derived D. melanogaster. By combining fluorescent markers with a method to induce embryonic arrest at a standard developmental stage, we detect transmission of wild-derived alleles as compared to their fluorescently marked homologs in early embryos, before most fitness differences among alleles (which may mimic drive) manifest. We provide proof-of-concept for the approach and identify several areas for future improvement.

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Barbash, D. A., McCormick, B. K.. 2026-05-26. A method to screen for meiotic drive using embryonic markers. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.05.22.727232

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