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Mechanisms of meiotic drive in symmetric and asymmetric meiosis

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Abstract

Meiotic drive, the non-Mendelian transmission of chromosomes to the next generation, functions in asymmetric or symmetric meiosis across unicellular and multicellular organisms. In asymmetric meiosis, meiotic drivers act to alter a chromosome’s spatial position in a single egg. In symmetric meiosis, meiotic drivers cause phenotypic differences between gametes with and without the driver. Here we discuss existing models of meiotic drive, highlighting the underlying mechanisms and regulation governing systems for which the most is known. We focus on outstanding questions surrounding these examples and speculate on how new meiotic drive systems evolve and how to detect them.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge M. Arlt, D. Burke, S. Hammoud, S. Kalantry and J. Moran for their comments.

Funding

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants HD094736 to JLM, and T32GM007544 and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship DGE 1256260 to ANK.

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  1. Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Alyssa N. Kruger & Jacob L. Mueller

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  1. Alyssa N. Kruger
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Kruger, A.N., Mueller, J.L. Mechanisms of meiotic drive in symmetric and asymmetric meiosis. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 78, 3205–3218 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-020-03735-0

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