Biparental inheritance

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Biparental inheritance is a type of biological inheritance where the progeny inherits a maternal and a paternal allele for one gene. It is one of the criteria for Mendelian inheritance. Sexual reproduction, where offspring result from the fusion of gametes from two parents, is the most common form of biparental inheritance. While less common, cases of biparental inheritance in extranuclear genes have been documented, such as biparental inheritance of mitochondrial DNA, or chloroplast DNA in plants. [1] Biparental inheritance of nuclear DNA by way of sexual reproduction can allow for new combinations of alleles from each contributing parent. The production of gametes through meiosis can sometimes include recombination, or crossing-over, which is a possibility for novel combinations of alleles.

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Mendelian inheritance

Biparental inheritance is a requirement for a trait to be characterized as Mendelian. If the gene does not have alternate forms, described as alleles, which can differ in each parent and then come together in the resulting offspring, then this trait is non-Mendelian. Part of the reason biparental inheritance is obligatory in Mendelian inheritance is because another requisite is the fertilization of gametes which have been produced by random segregation. Without gametes created by random segregation, fertilization (which leads to biparental inheritance through these gametes) could not result in Mendelian inheritance.

Mitochondrial biparental inheritance

Biparental extranuclear inheritance occurs in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for example. Two haploid cells of opposite mating types fuse together, both of which contribute mitochondria to the diploid offspring. [2] This is contrary to the majority of eukaryotic mitochondrial inheritance, which is largely inherited maternally. Within mitochondrial genomes, biparental inheritance and recombination have been documented in plants, animals and fungi by Barr et al. in 2005, [3] but the extent of these phenomena are thought to vary substantially across taxa. Occasional biparental mitochondrial transmission may benefit offspring by facilitating the removal of disadvantageous mutations from a population, while at the same time, continuing to restrict the spread of selfish genetic elements, such as genes that have a replication and transmission advantage at the expense of other genes [3]

While uncommon among most eukaryotes, biparental inheritance of mtDNA occurs regularly in bivalves. Paternal mtDNA leakage has been documented in sheep, [4] mice, [5] and Drosophila . [6] In 2018, Luo et al. documented evidence of biparental inheritance of mitochondrial DNA in humans, which was thought to be only transmitted maternally. [7] Although paternal mitochondrial DNA, in addition to the typically inherited maternal mtDNA, was proven to have been inherited by 17 members in three unrelated multigenerational families, researchers are not yet sure of the mechanisms through which this occurs. Luo et al. explain that maternal transmission of mtDNA results from the active elimination of paternal mitochondria, and that the genes underlying this elimination process may have undergone certain mutations to allow mtDNA to continue through embryonic development. [7] Mitochondrial endonuclease G relocates from the intermembrane space of paternal mitochondria to the matrix after fertilization, where it proceeds to degrade or eliminate paternal mtDNA. [8] A defect in such an EndoG-like pathway in humans might produce a paternal contribution, thus explaining a possible mechanism for biparental inheritance.

Related Research Articles

Heredity Passing of traits to offspring from the speciess parents or ancestor

Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic information of their parents. Through heredity, variations between individuals can accumulate and cause species to evolve by natural selection. The study of heredity in biology is genetics.

Mendelian inheritance Type of biological inheritance

Mendelian inheritance is a type of biological inheritance that follows the principles originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866, re-discovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and popularized by William Bateson. These principles were initially controversial. When Mendel's theories were integrated with the Boveri–Sutton chromosome theory of inheritance by Thomas Hunt Morgan in 1915, they became the core of classical genetics. Ronald Fisher combined these ideas with the theory of natural selection in his 1930 book The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection, putting evolution onto a mathematical footing and forming the basis for population genetics within the modern evolutionary synthesis.

Zygote Single diploid eukaryotic cell formed by a fertilization event between two gametes

A zygote is a eukaryotic cell formed by a fertilization event between two gametes. The zygote's genome is a combination of the DNA in each gamete, and contains all of the genetic information necessary to form a new individual organism.

Selfish genetic elements are genetic segments that can enhance their own transmission at the expense of other genes in the genome, even if this has no positive or a net negative effect on organismal fitness. Genomes have traditionally been viewed as cohesive units, with genes acting together to improve the fitness of the organism. However, when genes have some control over their own transmission, the rules can change, and so just like all social groups, genomes are vulnerable to selfish behaviour by their parts.

Mitochondrial DNA DNA located in cellular organelles called mitochondria

Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is only a small portion of the DNA in a eukaryotic cell; most of the DNA can be found in the cell nucleus and, in plants and algae, also in plastids such as chloroplasts.

Genetic linkage is the tendency of DNA sequences that are close together on a chromosome to be inherited together during the meiosis phase of sexual reproduction. Two genetic markers that are physically near to each other are unlikely to be separated onto different chromatids during chromosomal crossover, and are therefore said to be more linked than markers that are far apart. In other words, the nearer two genes are on a chromosome, the lower the chance of recombination between them, and the more likely they are to be inherited together. Markers on different chromosomes are perfectly unlinked.

Homologous chromosome Set of one,maternal and,one paternal chromosome that pair up with each other inside a cell during meiosis

A couple of homologous chromosomes, or homologs, are a set of one maternal and one paternal chromosome that pair up with each other inside a cell during fertilization. Homologs have the same genes in the same loci where they provide points along each chromosome which enable a pair of chromosomes to align correctly with each other before separating during meiosis. This is the basis for Mendelian inheritance which characterizes inheritance patterns of genetic material from an organism to its offspring parent developmental cell at the given time and area.

Heteroplasmy is the presence of more than one type of organellar genome within a cell or individual. It is an important factor in considering the severity of mitochondrial diseases. Because most eukaryotic cells contain many hundreds of mitochondria with hundreds of copies of mitochondrial DNA, it is common for mutations to affect only some mitochondria, leaving most unaffected.

Homoplasmy Identity of organellar DNA sequences in a cell

Homoplasmy is a term used in genetics to describe a eukaryotic cell whose copies of mitochondrial DNA are all identical. In normal and healthy tissues, all cells are homoplasmic. Homoplasmic mitochondrial DNA copies may be normal or mutated; however, most mutations are heteroplasmic. It has been discovered, though, that homoplasmic mitochondrial DNA mutations may be found in human tumors.

Human mitochondrial genetics Study of the human mitochondrial genome

Human mitochondrial genetics is the study of the genetics of human mitochondrial DNA. The human mitochondrial genome is the entirety of hereditary information contained in human mitochondria. Mitochondria are small structures in cells that generate energy for the cell to use, and are hence referred to as the "powerhouses" of the cell.

Non-Mendelian inheritance Type of pattern of inheritance

Non-Mendelian inheritance is any pattern of inheritance in which traits do not segregate in accordance with Mendel's laws. These laws describe the inheritance of traits linked to single genes on chromosomes in the nucleus. In Mendelian inheritance, each parent contributes one of two possible alleles for a trait. If the genotypes of both parents in a genetic cross are known, Mendel's laws can be used to determine the distribution of phenotypes expected for the population of offspring. There are several situations in which the proportions of phenotypes observed in the progeny do not match the predicted values.

Intragenomic conflict refers to the evolutionary phenomenon where genes have phenotypic effects that promote their own transmission in detriment of the transmission of other genes that reside in the same genome. The selfish gene theory postulates that natural selection will increase the frequency of those genes whose phenotypic effects cause their transmission to new organisms, and most genes achieve this by cooperating with other genes in the same genome to build an organism capable of reproducing and/or helping kin to reproduce. The assumption of the prevalence of intragenomic cooperation underlies the organism-centered concept of inclusive fitness. However, conflict among genes in the same genome may arise both in events related to reproduction and altruism.

petite (ρ–) is a mutant first discovered in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Due to the defect in the respiratory chain, 'petite' yeast are unable to grow on media containing only non-fermentable carbon sources and form small colonies when grown in the presence of fermentable carbon sources. The petite phenotype can be caused by the absence of, or mutations in, mitochondrial DNA, or by mutations in nuclear-encoded genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation. A neutral petite produces all wild type progeny when crossed with wild type.

Extrachromosomal DNA is any DNA that is found off the chromosomes, either inside or outside the nucleus of a cell. Most DNA in an individual genome is found in chromosomes contained in the nucleus. Multiple forms of extrachromosomal DNA exist, and, while some of these serve important biological functions, they can also play a role in diseases, such as ecDNA in cancer.

In genetics, paternal mtDNA transmission and paternal mtDNA inheritance refer to the incidence of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) being passed from a father to his offspring. Paternal mtDNA inheritance is observed in a small proportion of species; in general, mtDNA is passed unchanged from a mother to her offspring, making it an example of non-Mendelian inheritance. In contrast, mtDNA transmission from both parents occurs regularly in certain bivalves.

Extranuclear inheritance or cytoplasmic inheritance is the transmission of genes that occur outside the nucleus. It is found in most eukaryotes and is commonly known to occur in cytoplasmic organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts or from cellular parasites like viruses or bacteria.

Cytoplasmic male sterility is total or partial male sterility in plants as the result of specific nuclear and mitochondrial interactions. Male sterility is the failure of plants to produce functional anthers, pollen, or male gametes.

Organellar DNA (oDNA) is DNA contained in organelles, outside the nucleus of Eukaryotic cells.

Chromosome segregation is the process in eukaryotes by which two sister chromatids formed as a consequence of DNA replication, or paired homologous chromosomes, separate from each other and migrate to opposite poles of the nucleus. This segregation process occurs during both mitosis and meiosis. Chromosome segregation also occurs in prokaryotes. However, in contrast to eukaryotic chromosome segregation, replication and segregation are not temporally separated. Instead segregation occurs progressively following replication.

Uniparental inheritance is a non-mendelian form of inheritance that consists of the transmission of genotypes from one parental type to all progeny. That is, all the genes in offspring will originate from only the mother or only the father. This phenomenon is most commonly observed in eukaryotic organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts. This is because such organelles contain their own DNA and are capable of independent mitotic replication that does not endure crossing over with the DNA from another parental type. Although uniparental inheritance is the most common form of inheritance in organelles, there is increased evidence of diversity. Some studies found doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) and biparental transmission to exist in cells. Evidence suggests that even when there is biparental inheritance, crossing-over doesn't always occur. Furthermore, there is evidence that the form of organelle inheritance varied frequently over time. Uniparental inheritance can be divided into multiple subtypes based on the pathway of inheritance.

References

  1. ↑ Barnard‐Kubow, Karen B.; McCoy, Morgan A.; Galloway, Laura F. (2017). "Biparental chloroplast inheritance leads to rescue from cytonuclear incompatibility". New Phytologist. 213 (3): 1466–1476. doi:10.1111/nph.14222. PMID   27686577.
  2. ↑ Birky, C. William; Strausberg, Robert L.; Forster, Jean L.; Perlman, Philip S. (1978). "Vegetative segregation of mitochondria in yeast: Estimating parameters using a random model". Molecular and General Genetics MGG. 158 (3): 251–261. doi:10.1007/BF00267196. S2CID   24730742.
  3. 1 2 Barr, Camille M.; Neiman, Maurine; Taylor, Douglas R. (2005). "Inheritance and recombination of mitochondrial genomes in plants, fungi and animals". New Phytologist. 168 (1): 39–50. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01492.x. PMID   16159319.
  4. ↑ Zhao, X.; Li, N.; Guo, W.; Hu, X.; Liu, Z.; Gong, G.; Wang, A.; Feng, J.; Wu, C. (2004). "Further evidence for paternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA in the sheep (Ovis aries)". Heredity. 93 (4): 399–403. doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6800516. PMID   15266295. S2CID   8039497.
  5. ↑ Gyllensten, Ulf; Wharton, Dan; Josefsson, Agneta; Wilson, Allan C. (1991). "Paternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA in mice". Nature. 352 (6332): 255–257. Bibcode:1991Natur.352..255G. doi:10.1038/352255a0. PMID   1857422. S2CID   4278149.
  6. ↑ Nunes, Maria D. S.; Dolezal, Marlies; Schlötterer, Christian (2013). "Extensive paternal mtDNAleakage in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster". Molecular Ecology. 22 (8): 2106–2117. doi:10.1111/mec.12256. PMC   3659417 . PMID   23452233.
  7. 1 2 Luo, Shiyu; Valencia, C. Alexander; Zhang, Jinglan; Lee, Ni-Chung; Slone, Jesse; Gui, Baoheng; Wang, Xinjian; Li, Zhuo; Dell, Sarah; Brown, Jenice; Chen, Stella Maris; Chien, Yin-Hsiu; Hwu, Wuh-Liang; Fan, Pi-Chuan; Wong, Lee-Jun; Atwal, Paldeep S.; Huang, Taosheng (2018). "Biparental Inheritance of Mitochondrial DNA in Humans". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (51): 13039–13044. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1810946115 . PMC   6304937 . PMID   30478036.
  8. ↑ Zhou, Qinghua; Li, Haimin; Li, Hanzeng; Nakagawa, Akihisa; Lin, Jason L. J.; Lee, Eui-Seung; Harry, Brian L.; Skeen-Gaar, Riley Robert; Suehiro, Yuji; William, Donna; Mitani, Shohei; Yuan, Hanna S.; Kang, Byung-Ho; Xue, Ding (2016). "Mitochondrial endonuclease G mediates breakdown of paternal mitochondria upon fertilization". Science. 353 (6297): 394–399. Bibcode:2016Sci...353..394Z. doi:10.1126/science.aaf4777. PMC   5469823 . PMID   27338704.
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