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Transcriptomics and the origin of obligate parthenogenesis

Heredity volume 131, pages 119–129 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Despite the presence of obligately parthenogenetic (OP) lineages derived from sexual ancestors in diverse phylogenetic groups, the genetic mechanisms giving rise to the OP lineages remain poorly understood. The freshwater microcrustacean Daphnia pulex typically reproduces via cyclical parthenogenesis. However, some populations of OP D. pulex have emerged due to ancestral hybridization and introgression events between two cyclically parthenogenetic (CP) species D. pulex and D. pulicaria. These OP hybrids produce both subitaneous and resting eggs parthenogenetically, deviating from CP isolates where resting eggs are produced via conventional meiosis and mating. This study examines the genome-wide expression and alternative splicing patterns of early subitaneous versus early resting egg production in OP D. pulex isolates to gain insight into the genes and mechanisms underlying this transition to obligate parthenogenesis. Our differential expression and functional enrichment analyses revealed a downregulation of meiosis and cell cycle genes during early resting egg production, as well as divergent expression patterns of metabolism, biosynthesis, and signaling pathways between the two reproductive modes. These results provide important gene candidates for future experimental verification, including the CDC20 gene that activates the anaphase-promoting complex in meiosis.

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Fig. 1: Daphnia life history and reproduction.
Fig. 2: Summary of prior transcriptomic studies and the goal of current study.
Fig. 3: Transcriptomic analysis results.
Fig. 4: KEGG pathway analysis results.
Fig. 5: Alternative splicing analysis results.
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

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Data availability

The raw reads for this study are deposited at NCBI SRA PRJNA847604.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by NIH grant R35GM133730 to SX. We would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions and the Xu lab members for their helpful discussions.

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  1. Marelize Snyman

    Present address: Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75235, USA

  2. Sen Xu

    Present address: Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, 76019, USA

    Marelize Snyman & Sen Xu

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  1. Marelize Snyman
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SX designed the study. MS performed the tissue collection, molecular work, and data analyses. SX and MS wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sen Xu.

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Snyman, M., Xu, S. Transcriptomics and the origin of obligate parthenogenesis. Heredity 131, 119–129 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-023-00628-3

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