Price, P., Parkus, S., Lloyd, V. et al. (9 more authors) (2025) Single-cell consequences of X-linked meiotic drive in stalk-eyed flies. PLoS Genetics, 21 (9). e1011816. ISSN: 1553-7390
Abstract
Sex-linked meiotic drivers limit the inheritance of the alternate sex chromosome in the heterogametic sex, subsequently skewing the offspring sex ratio. They consequently have large impacts on genome evolution, adaptation, and the emergence and maintenance of sexually selected traits. Despite this, our understanding of their molecular basis and consequences for gametogenesis and sex chromosome regulation more broadly has focused on a handful of model organisms, primarily Drosophila and mouse, which are not representative of the broad diversity of reproductive modes and drive systems in nature. Here, we employ single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to investigate a sex-linked meiotic driver in the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni. First, we produce a comprehensive singlecell atlas of the male T. dalmanni gonad and identify major testis cell types. We then provide a comprehensive profile of the cellular and transcriptional landscape of the testis, providing evidence for a lack of complete meiotic sex chromosome inactivation and complex trajectory of dosage compensation. Second, by contrasting single-cell expression data between drive and standard testes, we provide insight into the consequences of a meiotic driver for the transcriptomic landscape of the testis and sex chromosome regulation. Importantly, we show that the presence of a meiotic driver does not perturb fundamental patterns of X-linked regulation. Our results provide insight into how the meiotic driver might bias its transmission to the next generation and highlight genes with perturbed expression as a potential consequence of the disruption of spermatogenesis.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 Price et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Keywords: | Gene expression; Spermatogenesis; Sex chromosomes; X-linked traits; X chromosomes; Drosophila melanogaster; Sperm; Spermatocytes |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number UK RESEARCH AND INNOVATION 101075898 EP/X041921/1 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL NE/X009734/1 LEVERHULME TRUST (THE) PLP-2023-148 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 12 Sep 2025 10:23 |
Last Modified: | 25 Sep 2025 09:19 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011816 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:231109 |