Inheritance of somatic mutations by animal offspring

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Genetics
• Marine biology

Background:

• Somatic mutations were historically considered evolutionarily irrelevant as they are not passed to offspring.
• This assumption was based on species with early soma-germline separation.
• Nonbilaterian animals, like corals, may have late or absent soma-germline segregation, leaving the evolutionary role of somatic mutations unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the evolutionary significance of somatic mutations in corals.
• To determine if somatic mutations can be inherited across generations in Acropora palmata.
• To assess the impact of inherited somatic mutations on animal adaptation.

Main Methods:

• Studied uniparental and biparental reproduction in the coral Acropora palmata.
• Analyzed the inheritance of somatic mutations from parent to offspring.
• Quantified the percentage of shared somatic mutations in meiotic offspring.

Main Results:

• Uniparental, meiotic offspring inherited 50% of the 268 somatic mutations from their parent coral.
• Somatic mutations accumulated in adult corals entered the germline.
• These mutations were successfully passed to offspring larvae, which developed into healthy juvenile corals.

Conclusions:

• Somatic mutations are heritable in Acropora palmata, challenging previous evolutionary assumptions.
• Inherited somatic mutations can increase allelic diversity in animal populations.
• This mechanism facilitates adaptation across different habitats and generations.