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Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance

Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance

Diploid organisms inherit genetic material through chromosomes from both parents. Copies of the same gene are known as alleles. In most cases, both alleles are simultaneously expressed and allow various cellular processes to function optimally. If one of the alleles is missing or mutated, the expression of the other allele can compensate; however, this is not true for all genes.
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In most organisms, sex is determined by the ratio of X and Y chromosomes. However, in some organisms, such as Drosophila and C.elegans, sex is determined by the ratio of the number of X chromosomes to the number of sets of autosomes. The Y chromosome in Drosophila is active but does not determine sex. It contains genes responsible for the production of sperms in adult flies.
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Dosage Compensation

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In animals, gender is determined by the number and type of sex chromosome. For example, human females have two X chromosomes, and males have one X and one Y chromosome, whereas C.elegans with one X chromosome is a male, and the one with two X chromosomes is a hermaphrodite.
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X-chromosome...

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Slide Preparation Method to Preserve Three-dimensional Chromatin Architecture of Testicular Germ Cells

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Published on: January 10, 2014

Genomic imprinting and sex allocation.

Geoff Wild¹, Stuart A West

¹Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada. gwild@uwo.ca

The American Naturalist

|December 11, 2008

Summary

Genomic imprinting, where one parental gene copy is silenced, arises from conflicts between maternal and paternal alleles over resource allocation. This conflict is strongest in offspring-controlled sex allocation in haplodiploid species.

Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Genetics
Behavioral ecology

Background:

Genomic imprinting involves differential expression of maternal and paternal alleles.
Kin selection theory explains genomic imprinting due to potential conflicts of interest between inherited alleles.
Conflicts can arise over resource allocation, particularly in offspring reproduction.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate conflicts between parental alleles regarding sex allocation.
To analyze how interactions among relatives influence sex allocation strategies.
To model these conflicts in diploid and haplodiploid systems with maternal or offspring control.

Main Methods:

Theoretical modeling of sex allocation conflicts.
Analysis of kin interactions: local resource competition, local mate competition, and local resource enhancement.

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Solutions derived for diploid and haplodiploid organisms.

Main Results:

Conflicts over sex allocation are influenced by the mode of inheritance and control of reproduction.
Strongest conflicts, and thus strongest selection for genomic imprinting, are predicted in haplodiploids with offspring control of sex allocation.
Specific examples include social hymenoptera and parasitoid wasps.

Conclusions:

Genomic imprinting is strongly selected for in haplodiploid species where offspring influence sex allocation.
Social hymenoptera, especially those with local resource competition (e.g., honeybees, army ants), are predicted to show pronounced genomic imprinting.
Understanding these conflicts provides insights into the evolution of genomic imprinting and social behavior.