Extensive divergence between mating-type chromosomes of the anther-smut fungus

Genomic regions that determine mating compatibility are subject to distinct evolutionary forces that can lead to a cessation of meiotic recombination and the accumulation of structural changes between members of the homologous chromosome pair. The relatively recent discovery of dimorphic mating-type...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genetics (Austin) 2013-01, Vol.193 (1), p.309-315
Main Authors: Hood, Michael E, Petit, Elsa, Giraud, Tatiana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal reproduction
Basidiomycota - genetics
Biodiversity
Biological Evolution
Chromosome Mapping
Chromosomes
Chromosomes, Fungal
Evolutionary biology
Fungi
Genes, Mating Type, Fungal
Genetic recombination
Genomics
Investigations
Life Sciences
Populations and Evolution
Recombination, Genetic
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Summary:Genomic regions that determine mating compatibility are subject to distinct evolutionary forces that can lead to a cessation of meiotic recombination and the accumulation of structural changes between members of the homologous chromosome pair. The relatively recent discovery of dimorphic mating-type chromosomes in fungi can aid the understanding of sex chromosome evolution that is common to dioecious plants and animals. For the anther-smut fungus, Microbotryum lychnidis-dioicae (= M. violaceum isolated from Silene latifolia), the extent of recombination cessation on the dimorphic mating-type chromosomes has been conflictingly reported. Comparison of restriction digest optical maps for the two mating-type chromosomes shows that divergence extends over 90% of the chromosome lengths, flanked at either end by two pseudoautosomal regions. Evidence to support the expansion of recombination cessation in stages from the mating-type locus toward the pseudoautosomal regions was not found, but evidence of such expansion could be obscured by ongoing processes that affect genome structure. This study encourages the comparison of forces that may drive large-scale recombination suppression in fungi and other eukaryotes characterized by dimorphic chromosome pairs associated with sexual life cycles.
ISSN:1943-2631
0016-6731
1943-2631
DOI:10.1534/genetics.112.146266