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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Mitonuclear Mismatch Is Associated With Increased Male Frequency, Outcrossing, And Male Sperm Size In Experimentally-Evolved C. Elegans, Brent William Bever
Mitonuclear Mismatch Is Associated With Increased Male Frequency, Outcrossing, And Male Sperm Size In Experimentally-Evolved C. Elegans, Brent William Bever
Dissertations and Theses
We provide the first controlled study of how male frequencies and rates of outcrossing evolve in response to mitonuclear mismatch by allowing replicate lineages of C. elegans nematodes containing either mitochondrial or nuclear mutations of electron transport chain (ETC) genes to evolve under three sexual systems: facultatively outcrossing (wildtype), obligately selfing, and obligately outcrossing. In partial support of a tenet of the mitonuclear sex hypothesis, which predicts that outcrossing will be favored in cases of mitonuclear mismatch, we found evolution of increased male frequency in at least one replicate line of all four ETC mutant backgrounds tested--nuclear isp-1, mitochondrial …
Accumulation And Transmission Dynamics Of A Naturally-Occurring Mtdna Deletion In Caenorhabditis Briggsae, Jennifer Anne Sullins
Accumulation And Transmission Dynamics Of A Naturally-Occurring Mtdna Deletion In Caenorhabditis Briggsae, Jennifer Anne Sullins
Dissertations and Theses
Maintaining mitochondrial genome sequence integrity is essential for preserving normal mitochondrial function. Several human diseases have been associated with heteroplasmic mitochondrial genome mutations, but few genetic systems can simultaneously represent pathogenic mitochondrial genome evolution and inheritance. The nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae is one such model. Natural C. briggsae isolates are globally-distributed and phylogenetically grouped into three distinct clades, with isolates exhibiting varying levels of a large-scale mtDNA deletion, nad5∆. Furthermore, a small subset of clade II isolates exhibits putative compensatory mutations that may reduce the risk of deletion formation and accumulation in those populations. In this thesis, the author characterizes the …
Mechanisms Of Adaptation In The Newly Invasive Species Brachypodium Sylvaticum (Hudson) Beauv., Gina Lola Marchini
Mechanisms Of Adaptation In The Newly Invasive Species Brachypodium Sylvaticum (Hudson) Beauv., Gina Lola Marchini
Dissertations and Theses
It is common knowledge that invasive species cause worldwide ecological and economic damage, and are nearly impossible to eradicate. However, upon introduction to a novel environment, alien species should be the underdogs: They are present in small numbers, possess low genetic diversity, and have not adapted to the climate and competitors present in the new habitat. So, how are alien species able to invade an environment occupied by native species that have already adapted to the local environment? To discover some answers to this apparent paradox I conducted four ecological genetic studies that utilized the invasive species Brachypodium sylvaticum (Hudson) …