Selfish
Little Circles: Transmission Bias and Evolution of Large Deletion-Bearing
Mitochondrial DNA in Caenorhabditis briggsae Nematodes
Selfish DNA
poses a significant challenge to genome stability and organismal fitness in
diverse eukaryotic lineages. Although selfish mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has
known associations with cytoplasmic male sterility in numerous gynodioecious
plant species and is manifested as petite mutants in experimental yeast lab
populations, examples of selfish mtDNA in animals are less common. We analyzed
the inheritance and evolution of mitochondrial DNA bearing large heteroplasmic
deletions including nad5 gene sequences (nad5Δ mtDNA), in the nematode
Caenorhabditis briggsae. The deletion is widespread in C. briggsae natural
populations and is associated with deleterious organismal effects.
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