Dynamics of the sex ratio in Tetrahymena thermophila
Dynamics of the sex ratio in Tetrahymena thermophila
Abstract Sex is often hailed as one of the major successes in evolution, and in sexual organisms the maintenance of proper sex ratio is crucial. As a large unicellular eukaryotic lineage, ciliates exhibit tremendous variation in mating systems, especially the number of sexes and the mechanism of sex determination (SD), and yet how the populations maintain proper sex ratio is poorly understood. Here Tetrahymena thermophila, a ciliate with seven mating types (sexes) and probabilistic SD mechanism, is analyzed from the standpoint of population genetics. It is found based on a newly developed population genetics model that there are plenty of opportunities for both the co-existence of all seven sexes and the fixation of a single sex, pending on several factors, including the strength of natural selection. To test the validity of predictions, five experimental populations of T. thermophila were maintained in the laboratory so that the factors that can influence the dynamics of sex ratio could be controlled and measured. Furthermore, whole-genome sequencing was employed to examine the impact of newly arisen mutations. Overall, it is found that the experimental observations highly support theoretical predictions. It is expected that the newly established theoretical framework is applicable in principle to other multi-sex organisms to bring more insight into the understanding of the maintenance of multiple sexes in a natural population.
Miao Wei、Wang Guangying、Chen Kai、Ma Xuefeng、Deng Shanjun、Zhang Jing、Fu Yunxin、Xiong Jie、He Xionglei
Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences||University of Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences||University of Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences||University of Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Gene Engineering of Ministry of Education, Cooperative Innovation Center for High Performance Computing, College of Ecology and Evolution, Sun Yat-sen UniversityKey Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences||University of Chinese Academy of SciencesLaboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bioresources, Yunnan University||Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, and Human Genetics Center, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science CenterKey Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Gene Engineering of Ministry of Education, Cooperative Innovation Center for High Performance Computing, College of Ecology and Evolution, Sun Yat-sen University||State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University
遗传学细胞生物学普通生物学
ciliatemulti-sex systemsex ratiopopulation geneticsexperimental evolution
Miao Wei,Wang Guangying,Chen Kai,Ma Xuefeng,Deng Shanjun,Zhang Jing,Fu Yunxin,Xiong Jie,He Xionglei.Dynamics of the sex ratio in Tetrahymena thermophila[EB/OL].(2025-03-28)[2025-05-16].https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/327544.点此复制
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