Evolution of the recombination regulator PRDM9 in minke whales. ...

• Main Authors: Damm, Elena, Ullrich, Kristian K, Amos, William B, Odenthal-Hesse, Linda
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2022
• Subjects: Balaenoptera acutorostrata; Balaenoptera bonaerensis; Meiotic recombination regulation; Microsatellite loci; Minke whales; PRDM9; Postzygotic reproductive isolation; mtDNA; Alleles; Animals; Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase; Meiosis; Minke Whale; Zinc Fingers; Pacific; minke whale
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.83581; https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/336156

Funder: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. ... : BACKGROUND: PRDM9 is a key regulator of meiotic recombination in most metazoans, responsible for reshuffling parental genomes. During meiosis, the PRDM9 protein recognizes and binds specific target motifs via its array of C2H2 zinc-fingers encoded by a rapidly evolving minisatellite. The gene coding for PRDM9 is the only speciation gene identified in vertebrates to date and shows high variation, particularly in the DNA-recognizing positions of the zinc-finger array, within and between species. Across all vertebrate genomes studied for PRDM9 evolution, only one genome lacks variability between repeat types - that of the North Pacific minke whale. This study aims to understand the evolution and diversity of Prdm9 in minke whales, which display the most unusual genome reference allele of Prdm9 so far discovered in mammals. RESULTS: Minke whales possess all the features characteristic of PRDM9-directed recombination, including complete KRAB, SSXRD and SET domains and a rapidly evolving array of ...