Abstract
IN eastern North America there are populations of all-female salamanders that incorporate the nuclear genomes of two or three of four sympatric bisexual species. The hybrids can be diploid, triploid, tetraploid or pentaploid, and 18 different combinations have been reported. All hybrids require sperm from a sympatric male of one of the bisexual species to reproduce, but the sperm may or may not be incorporated in the egg. Some of the hybrids are believed to represent separate, clonal species, but little is known of the origin of this hybrid complex. Vertebrate mitochondrial DNA is inherited maternally, allowing identification of the female parent that gave rise to hybrid lineages. A portion of the cytochrome b gene was sequenced from diploid and triploid hybrids that represent combinations of all four species. Nearly all hybrids had a similar mitochondrial genome sequence, independent of nuclear genome composition and ploidy, and the sequence was distinct from that of any of the four bisexual species. The hybrids maintain a mitochondrial lineage that has evolved independently of their nuclear genome and represent the most ancient known unisexual vertebrate lineage.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Vrijenhoek, R. C., Dawley, R. M., Cole, C. J. & Bogart, J. P. N.Y. State Mus. Bull. 466, 19–23 (1989).
Meyer, A., Kocher, T. D., Basasibwaki, P. & Wilson, A. C. Nature 347, 550–553 (1990).
Bogart, J. P., Elinson, R. P. & Licht, L. E. Science 246, 1032–1034 (1989).
Bogart, J. P. N.Y. State Mus. Bull. 466, 209–217 (1989).
Taylor, A. S. & Bogart, J. P. Genome 33, 837–844 (1990).
Bogart, J. P. & Licht, L. E. Can. J. Genet. Cytol. 28, 605–617 (1986).
Lowcock, L. A. & Bogart, J. P. Can. J. Zool. 67, 350–356 (1989).
Uzzell, T. M. & Goldblatt, S. M. Evolution 21, 345–354 (1967).
Sessions, S. Chromosoma 84, 599–621 (1982).
Kraus, F. Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan 709, 1–24 (1985).
Kraus, F. N.Y. State Museum Bull. 466, 218–227 (1989).
Kraus, F. & Miyamoto, M. M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 2235–2238 (1990).
Anderson, S. et al. Nature 290, 457–465 (1981).
Bogart, J. P. in Polyploidy: Biological Relevance (ed. Lewis, W. H.) 341–378 (Plenum, New York, 1980).
Avise, J. C., Trexler, J. C., Travis, J. & Nelson, W. S. Evolution 45, 1530–1533 (1991).
Irwin, D. M., Kocher, T. D. & Wilson, A. C. J. molec. Evol. 32, 128–144 (1991).
Highton, R. & Webster, T. P. Evolution 30, 33–45 (1976).
Quattro, J. M., Avise, J. C. & Vrijenhoek, R. C. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 348–352 (1992).
Kocher, T. D. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86, 6196–6200 (1989).
Hedges, S. B., Bezy, R. L. & Maxson, L. R. Molec. Biol. Evol. 8, 767–780 (1991).
Cabot, E. L. & Beckenbach, A. T. Comput. appl. Biosci. 5, 233–234 (1989).
Saitou, N. & Nei, M. Molec. Biol. Evol. 4, 406–425 (1987).
Studier, J. A. & Keppler, K. J. Molec. Biol. Evol. 5, 729–731 (1988).
Jukes, T. H. & Cantor, C. R. in Mammalian Protein Metabolism (ed. Munroe, H. N.) 21–132 (Academic, New York, 1969).
Felsenstein, J. Evolution 39, 783–791 (1985).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hedges, S., Bogart, J. & Maxson, L. Ancestry of unisexual salamanders. Nature 356, 708–710 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/356708a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/356708a0
This article is cited by
-
Influence of genome and bio-ecology on the prevalence of genome exchange in unisexuals of the Ambystoma complex
BMC Evolutionary Biology (2018)
-
Post-zygotic selection against parental genotypes during larval development maintains all-hybrid populations of the frog Pelophylax esculentus
BMC Evolutionary Biology (2015)
-
A novel nucleo-cytoplasmic hybrid clone formed via androgenesis in polyploid gibel carp
BMC Research Notes (2011)
-
Probing the meiotic mechanism of intergenomic exchanges by genomic in situ hybridization on lampbrush chromosomes of unisexual Ambystoma (Amphibia: Caudata)
Chromosome Research (2010)
-
Genetic basis and breeding application of clonal diversity and dual reproduction modes in polyploid Carassius auratus gibelio
Science China Life Sciences (2010)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
