#polyploidy

[sproutystudies]

Polyploidy

Hello, hello! Since my study species, cultivated strawberry, is a polyploid organism, my first educational post is on polyploidy.

While most animals are diploid, meaning that they have two sets of chromosomes, it is common for plants to have additional sets of chromosomes. When an organism has more than two complete sets of chromosomes, this is known as polyploidy. This can be contrasted to aneuploidy, which is when an organism has a loss or gain in chromosomes that results in one or more set being incomplete.

There are two main types of polyploids. Autopolyploids arise from genome duplication within a single organism or species (Lloyd & Bomblies, 2016). This can either occur from spontaneous whole genome duplication due to endoreduplication (mitotic failure) or from self fertilization following meiotic error. During mitotic failure, the genome is doubled in preparation for cell division but the cell fails to divide (Shu et al, 2018). During meiotic error, chromosome sets fail to segregate, leading to formation of an unreduced gamete (Spoelhof et al, 2017). Autopolyploids have increased vigor due to larger nucleus size and greater protection from recessive deleterious mutations, but they do not gain different genetic information like in allopolyploids.

Allopolyploids arise from hybridization between two closely related species (Lloyd & Bomblies, 2016). There can be variation in the steps to allopolyploid formation. Notably, an allopolyploid arising from genome duplication of a sterile hybrid can be called an amphidiploid, and an allopolyploid arising from two polyploid parents can be called an amphipolyploid. Allopolyploids have increased vigor for the same reasons as autopolyploids but also have the advantage of new alleles being introduced. As alleles on some chromosomes are lost or silenced over time, favorable alleles can be conserved through natural or artificial selection. The various advantages conferred by allopolyploidy are together known as hybrid vigor.

Cultivated strawberry is an allo-octoploid, meaning it has eight sets of chromosomes with variation in their species of origin. These chromosomes diploidize to form four sub-genomes, known as sub-genome A-D. This means that most genes exist in quadruplicate. A gene in one sub-genome is known as a homeologue of its counterparts in other sub-genomes. The term homeologue is derived from the term homologue, which refers to genes with a shared origin.

Cultivated strawberry is also an amphipolyploid, as it arose from hybridization of two octoploid parents (Edger et al, 2019). Each of these parents originated from four diploid progenitors (Edger et al, 2019). These progenitors are believed to be F. iinumae, F. nipponica, F. vesca, and F. viridis (Edger et al, 2019). The genomes of each of these progenitors form the sub-genomes of the octoploids.

Figures in this post are from Hegarty & Hiscock, 2008. The strawb picture is my own.

Important Terms: polyploidy, aneuploidy, autopolyploid, allopolyploid, endoreduplication, unreduced gametes, alleles, homeologues, hybrid vigor

When the Winter quarter starts I plan to make these educational posts a weekly thing, largely to help prepare for my qualifying exam, but hopefully they will be useful to others as well. If there are topics related to my studies that are particularly interesting to anyone, feel free to reach out so I can prioritize them :)

[jetpackexhaust]

The Polyploid heart, some science fun by me!

[kasplonkable]

Foxma HC's

I love these bitches so much. I've finished Gotham now and lemme just say... You know that scene (spoilers for season 5 from here I guess lmao) when Ed breaks into the GCPD and is going through the files, and Lucius catches him and pushes him back with a hand on his chest?? Yeah, I've been thinking about that scene a lot. This list breaks from canon a little bit (as in, it exists in a world where they would realistically date), but oh well. Enjoy :-)

I reckon they're one of those couples where people don't even realise they're dating until something obviously lovey-dovey happens

like, they'll be at a dinner party or something and one of them maybe gets a little too drunk and kisses the other, and everyone else is like "lol that's embarrassing, Lucius and Ed just kissed" and they're like "???yeah??? We've been dating for 3 years now???"

Like, between all the hand holding, and the sharing food and clothes, everyone just thought they were really friendly with each other (but in hindsight they probably should have guessed)

they have nights where they challenge each other at board games all night. Like, they'll cycle through about 15 games in one night, and have an ongoing tally of wins pinned up on the fridge

on their anniversary, they'll buy each other a new game to add to the tournament

predictably, if they ever watch a game show on TV, they'll race to answer the question first (but every now and then, Lucius lets Ed win just to see how excited he gets about it (Ed knows this of course, but he doesn't mind so much when Lucius looks at him like that))

because they're interested in the same sort of subjects, info dumping is always a fun time for both of them (even if it's unrelated, it's still fun)

while Ed's hanging up the washing, he'll listen to Lucius rant about the intricacies and beauty of biomechanics

and then while Lucius is cooking, he'll listen to Ed rant about epigenetics

This happens a lot though, with pretty much anything...

"so they've basically got a ton of chromosomes!! And there's this one fern that has the world record for having the most!! It's called the adder's tongue fern, or Ophioglossum reticulatum, and it has up to 1,440 chromosomes!!! That's way too many!!" "And what was this called again??" "Polyploidy!! Wait, I haven't even started on Oxytricha trifallax yet!! So basically-" *heart eyes*

Ed always forgets to carry his ear defenders around, so Lucius makes sure he has a spare pair in his bag just in case Ed needs them

Lucius likes to tinker with things when he's bored

one time, Ed came home to find him surrounded by a mixture of cogs and screws only to find that he'd taken apart their toaster

"it stopped working..."

"oh, okay!! Can you fix it?"

"Yeah! It was a fairly common problem, all I needed to do was- what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

*absolute heart eyes* "I just love you is all"

there are so many books and papers around their house that it could be mistaken for a library

well, it's like that right up until the moment Ed gets overstimulated by it all, and then Lucius helps him clean it until everywhere is spotless again (this usually happens late at night, leading to the two of them cleaning until 2 AM and they can finally both sleep)

their whole house is a mixture of dark wood and warm colours. It's really lovely when one comes back and can smell a home cooked meal wafting through the corridors. That's when it especially feels like home

They have a coat hanger by the door that is always overflowing with jackets. When it finally fell over, they both had to reevaluate how many coats they actually needed

one time Ed learn how to quilt so he gave Lucius a massive quilted blanket for his birthday. It was big enough to cover their bed and checked with reds and yellows and the occasional dark green. He loved it so much that it became a permanent fixture in their room

in the winter months, when their small flat can't keep out the Gotham cold, they'll bundle under the blankets and hold onto eachother until they fall asleep

there's not really a strict big spoon or little spoon, just two people clinging to eachother in a tangle of limbs

Lucius has one of those alarms where you have to solve a maths equation before it turns off. Normally Ed would love it, but not at 5 AM...

"nghh can you just turn it off already"

"give me a second, this one's a bit challenging... actually, I'm just going to grab some paper quickly-"

"can you at least taKE THE ALARM WITH YOU?!" Ed groans as he rolls over and tries to hide from the noise in his pillow

Lucius likes to go on runs early in the morning. He enjoys the fresh air and lack of people. That and the fact that Ed is only just waking up when he gets back, sleepily kissing him and handing him a warm cup of coffee with the promise of breakfast soon after

That being said, sometimes he'll go to get up for his run only to find Ed curled into his side. It's those mornings when he decides to snooze his alarm and spend another hour or so dozing next to the love of his life

they go on cute dates to their local museum, sometimes checking out the occasional lecture happening there

They enjoy comparing notes afterwards to see what parts each of them found most interesting

But sometimes if the lecture is boring (and it's rare for either of them to find a lecture boring) they'll forgo the academic notes, and instead send messages back and fourth across the desk

Ed always expects Lucius to throw the notes away afterwards, but he keeps them at the back of his notebook

This lecture is kind of boring. He's just ranting about Crayfish?

Yes, it is slightly strange. I think I heard him say something about invasive species, but honestly I drifted off about 10 minutes ago

Do you want to grab a Chinese after this?

Yeah sure! The usual place?

Obviously

...

Love you

I love you too

[yoonyia]

I'm not gonna tag you because I feel bad but kenon why did you ask about the fish hyper evolution

I had work to do but now I've been studying gold fish DNA for the past hour and a half

I dont need to know any of this

I'm not interested in biology above the nonsense fantasy stuff

why are you making me do this

why

also why the fuck do gold fish have 100 chromosomes

I KNOW WHY BECAUSE IM STUDYING THIS SHIT

BUT WHY DO I KNOW THAT

THIS IS STUPID

ALSO IVE BEEN MAKING DIAGRAMS IN SCIENCE CLASS OF PHILTONIC CONNECTIONS AND ITS DRIVING ME INSANE

yea I should be thinking about electricity circuits and fire safety BUT MY BRAIN NEEDS TO FIGURE OUT THE SPIRITUAL WEB OF CONNECTIONS OF THE UNIVERSE AND MAKE A SPECIES OF FISH

I wish I was peter

atleast then I'd have the brains to do this

I spent 2 and a half weeks on this the first time

I swear to God if it takes more then 3 days this time I'm going to drink soda untill I cry (which is probably like 2 sips because I can't handle the fuzzy liquid death)

I'm gonna drive myself insane

this isn't even complicated man it's just proteins and mutations

it's not that complicated

the Burundi genocide you're studying has more complexity then this

YOU CAN DO IT YOON

I KNOW YOURE BETTER AT POLITICS BUT BIOLOGY ISNT THAT HARD

I MEAN TO BE HONEST PEOPLE CUTTING UP OTHER PEOPLE BECAUSE OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND COLONIAL DIVIDE ISNT THAT COMPLICATED EITHER BUT THIS IS PROBABLY EASIER THEN THAT

YOU DUMB FUCK ITS JUST FISH DNA STOP BEING HORRIFIED OF IT

I give up I'm taking a break

fuck you earth I'll see you all at the picnic

[headspace-hotel]

i wonder how long it would take for plants with cosmopolitan distribution to become different species in different places

It's interesting cuz there are some examples like Common Yarrow where the plants on different continents have distinctly different morphological traits, and local areas have developed plants with different traits like red or pink flowers instead of white, and things like that, so they're like 40% of the way there probably.

In some cosmopolitan weeds there is such an incredible amount of morphological variation

And plants can speciate basically instantly by doubling their genome (polyploidy) or hybridizing with a closely related species.

There's actually an example of a plant that was introduced from North America to Ireland and subsequently became a new species and was described as such, I wish I could remember the name...

There are several plants considered "anecophytes" meaning they evolved to exist in human created agricultural fields and no where else.

There is probably a great number of human-facilitated new plant species awaiting description...

[polyploidycosplay]

Cure Cosmo cosplay by me Polyploidy, photos by ShiningEternity

[iamthekaijuking]

I love the Piklopedia entry on the Jumbo Bulborb. Olimar mentions that its abnormal large size is due to "abnormal extra chromosomes due to failed meiosis" and that it "is unable to reproduce".

how does a space trucker even know cytogenetics without any advanced equipment tho

Maybe they just have like a bio scanner like subnautica or something, I use a similar stuff in my primary novel setting. It’s convenient.

Olimar does correctly label the affliction the jumbo bulborb has as polyploidy. Most animals have two sets of chromosomes (except for things like male Hymenopterans but I think we all know that family of animals is a bunch of freaks) as adults, but they don’t start out like that. During the earliest stages of fertilization they have more, and the excess is just discarded.

How many extra chromosomes jumbos have, we don’t know. But apparently bulborbs with polyploidy grow extra huge but never develop to the point of sexual maturity. It’s possible that the extra chromosomes have resulted in too many growth hormones, meaning that jumbos are in a permanent state of puberty.

A hormone imbalance is what caused the (unfortunately late) Goliath the American bullfrog tadpole to grow massive. While we don’t know why Goliath had a hormone imbalance, the results were very similar to jumbo bulborbs. Basically just continuous growth but never growing up, and eventually reaching a point where his anatomy couldn’t support his size.

[befuddled-calico-whump]

dryad whump: air layering, treatment with spindle poison to induce polyploidy, delibearate mistreatment to make them synthesize anthocyanins (for aesthetic purposes, like a blood orange)

i know very little about gardening but these are definitely Concepts (positive)

[ohnothehedgepog]

In light of that new screenshot of Shadow growing demon wings, some world building I've been doing for the Black Arms religion. The working name for it right now is "The Knowledge of the Flesh". Aesthetically and clergy-wise, it's basically Demon Catholicism. The practice centers around mutating one's own body and DNA to create and manifest whatever it is they desire. The ultimate goal of the church and practitioners is to achieve the fabled miracle, where someone will be able to turn their own body into the perfect alchemical engine that can enable them to bend reality to their will. While there are disagreements about how the clergy will know if someone has become the fabled miracle, one of the signs will be having the power to bend space and time with enough control that they can escape from a black hole.

A feature of the institution is the existence of saints. These Hive Lords are kind of like ecclesiastical scholars or researchers who have been able to create powerful advancements in how one can mutate their own DNA to attain greater and greater heights of control. A lot of the names of the saints are still a work in progress. The most important saint in their religion is Saint Horizontal Gene Transfer. There are others like Saint Pluripotent, Saint Polyploidy, etc. One of the most important and relatively recent saints is Saint Telomerase. This is Black Doom and Death's father (and Shadow's grandpa), who's practice in Knowledge of the Flesh Doom studied to develop his own theorem and power that led him to becoming canonized briefly.

Doom himself is the church's first and only decanonized saint, his former title being Saint Metastasis. This is due to the fact that his blood contaminated the sacrament in a permanent way that was unforeseen and unwanted. The sacrament is a collection of all of the saints' blood pooled together in the sanctum at the center of a planet. Drinking from this grants accumulated Knowledge of the Flesh to whoever imbibes it and survives. When Saint Metastasis was first canonized, it was thought that his knowledge of how to mutate flesh quickly and live forever would be beneficial to furthering the path to the fabled miracle, but instead his blood contaminated the blood and the rest of the saints' bodies forever, and anyone who drank from it would be dealing with painful, cancerous flesh that's difficult to control and can even drive one to eternal, immortal, insanity. The sanctum has the towering bodies of all the saints chained up and pierced so that blood flows out of them for eternity. The tops of their heads are cut off so that they can't form enough conscious thought to escape, their brain stems being left there to keep their bodies functioning forever to provide blood. It's unknown if they feel pain or are even conscious in this state, their brains and eyes pierced by the golden spokes of halos forming a crown about them so that their minds can't regenerate.

Black Doom still wears his robes that were given to him when he ascended sainthood, made with holy purple hues. Considering he's been trying to conquer Earth for over 2,000 years and was decanonized before then, it's understandable that these robes are very ancient and tattered, but he refuses to part with them due to the signifier of status, power, and importance they represent. The church tried to throw him into a black hole to stop him permanently but he managed to avoid it before crossing the event horizon, and escaped to another galaxy with his little darkling brother, some of Saint Telomerase's pre-corruption flesh/brain, and a sample of pristine sacrament (sacrament that hasn't been corrupted by his blood). Doom obliterated his little brother's knowledge of everything prior and turned him into a Hive Lord, Black Death.

Doom hoped to come back with an army against the other demons and conquer the church, but those hopes were dashed by his son, Shadow. I'm still working on why Doom wasn't able to create Shadow as a Darkling like other Hive Lords can. The two theories I have right now is either Doom already had a Darkling that escaped him due to abuse, and thus he can't create another Darkling naturally until the first one dies or becomes a Hive Lord, or due to his own cancerous body, none of the Darklings he tried to gestate in others were able to form into life. As far as Black Death was aware though, the lie that Doom told him about why he can't make a Darkling "the natural way" is sterility induced by possessing internal gestation. Most Hive Lords have to grow their Darkling in a host. If a Demon has a body that grows the Darkling internally instead, their immune system contradicts this and destroys the Darkling before it can form due to seeing it as a foreign invader in the Hive Lord's body.

[moonstruck-stormy]

May have RSV(respiratory syncytial virus), will be going back to the doctors tomorrow for a test bc I was only tested for Covid (there’s a rsv outbreak in my state apparently among Covid and the flu)

It sucks to admit that I’m sickly. My friend is familiar with the disorder I have bc his aunt has it too, and he said she’s sickly like me. And I was like ????.

It didn’t process even as a former bio major that the lack of one of the nervous system tumor suppressors can influence my immune system’s capabilities.

I just thought it was normal to get sick cyclically. February, May, July, November again and again. I used to get repeated sinus infections every single February. It took a lot of care to not catch Covid.

Ik I shouldn’t expect my neurologist to tell me everything about my disorder, but everything is like loosely connected that it’s like “what doesn’t this disorder do?”

(I know the answer which is it doesn’t kill me directly but like if someone with nf1 dies of cancer would you also attribute the lack of neurofibromin 1 as a contributor?)

I should be more proactive and tell her things that seem innocuous, but I don’t know what’s abnormal or not, and I don’t want to make a fuss over nothing.

NF1 isn’t even a disability under the law eyes of the law because half the people with it don’t even display symptoms.

Genetics are so confusing, man.

Polyploidy but only half of the time, genetically dominant but can skip a generation only sometimes. A mutation, but they can predict where on the very large gene that nf1 affects got mutated. What the hell?

So uh, I hope I don’t have RSV, bc apparently for the very sickly it can last weeks up to a whole month possibly more.

Sorry for the vent I’m gonna draw to feel better

[adtothebone]

Mitochondria get all the memories and memes from biology class, but don’t forget about polyploidy, an occasional chromosomal condition humans share with ferns and salamanders.

[weatherman667]

How (Some) Plants Survived The K-Pg Extinction

How did flowers survive the K-T barrier?

By doubling their DNA.  Normally, Polyploidy is a genetic disadvantage, and is quickly weeded out.  But, in extreme conditions, Polyploidy provides more adaptability.

Also, fuck you Paleontologists

OOOOh, we’re too good to call it the K-T barrier anymore!

*cites an article that deadnames the K-T barrier).

Runtime:  9:53

[evoldir]

Fwd: Postdoc: CharlesU_Prague.Bioinformatics

Begin forwarded message: > From: evoldir@evol.biology.mcmaster.ca > Subject: Postdoc: CharlesU_Prague.Bioinformatics > Date: 17 August 2024 at 05:11:55 BST > To: rdmpage@gmail.com > > > > Bioinformatician Postdoc position in > Plant Evolutionary Biology > > The Department of Botany, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, > offers a two years Bioinformatician Postdoc position in Plant Evolutionary > Biology. The preferred start date for this position is the 1st of January > 2025 (with some flexibility). > > The postdoc position aims to unravel the consequences of whole genome > multiplication (WGM), i.e. polyploidisation, on genomic traits that > alter the reproductive strategies of autopolyploid plants and determine > their evolutionary trajectory. The postdoc position is part of a project > funded by the Czech Science Foundation (GA??R) and led by Patrik Mr??z > (Department of Botany) with the participation of experts in plant > physiology, embryology and bioinformatics. > > Polyploidisation is a key evolutionary mechanism that can lead to > instantaneous multiple changes manifested at different structural, > developmental and functional levels, from genes to phenotypic > traits. Despite the widespread occurrence of polyploidy in vascular > plants, we still know little about the direct phenotypic effects of WGM, > the underlying physiological and transcriptomic patterns, and the fitness > consequences. > > We will use Pilosella rhodopea (Asteraceae, Compositae), a species > that forms the largest primary contact zone of diploids and recurrent > autopolyploids ever recorded in angiosperms. Although WGM severely > disrupts sexual reproduction in autopolyploids, it enhances vegetative > reproduction both quantitatively and qualitatively to such an extent that > it literally changes the game by allowing autopolyploids to successfully > establish and persist, with putative strong effects on their spatial > clonal structure and ramet age. > > The successful candidate will investigate (i) the impact of WGM on > transriptomic profiles in diploid and autotri- and autotetrapolyploids, > with aspecial emphasize on two newly expressed clonal traits - root > sprout buds and aposporic initials, and (ii) phylogenetic relationships > and genetic structure of the Pilosella alpicola group. > > Profile & Qualifications > > Highly motivated applicants with excellent communication and demonstrable > writing skills, and a strong interest in evolutionary biology should > hold PhD in Bioinformatics or Biology.  Previous experience and proven > skills with analyses of genomic / transcriptomic data is a requirement. > > Funding > > Accepted applicant will be supported by the project from the Czech Science > Foundation for two years (2025-2026) with a50,000 CZK / month gross salary > (~ 2,000 EUR, depending on the current rate). > > How to apply > > Please send your motivation letter including your CV and contact > details of two referees as a single pdf file by e-mail to Patrik Mr??z, > mrazpat@natur.cuni.cz before the 15th of October 2024. > > For further information please write to: > > mrazpat@natur.cuni.cz > > https://ift.tt/giq8VYL > > https://ift.tt/CHYocxi > > Patrik Mr??z > Herbarium PRC & Department of Botany > > Charles University,Faculty of Science > Ben??tsk?? 2, 128 00 Praha 2 > CZECHIA > Tel.: +420 221 95 1642 > https://ift.tt/DdzZXg3 > > https://ift.tt/giq8VYL > > https://ift.tt/CHYocxi > > Patrik Mr??z

[ainews]

Gnus, also known as wildebeest, are popular animals due to their unique appearance and large herds that are often seen migrating across the African savanna. However, what many people may not know is that these common animals actually possess a very interesting genetic feature – polyploidy.

Polyploidy is a genetic condition where an organism has more than two sets of chromosomes in its cells. In the case of gnus, this means that their cells contain more than the usual two sets of chromosomes, resulting in a total of four sets.

This phenomenon is not unique to gnus; in fact, many other species, including some plants and fish, also exhibit polyploidy. However, the reason behind why gnus specifically have this genetic condition is still a matter of debate among scientists.

One theory suggests that polyploidy in gnus may have evolved as an adaptation to their harsh habitat. The African savanna is a tough environment, with unpredictable weather patterns and a constant threat of predators. Having an extra set of chromosomes may have provided gnus with a survival advantage, making them adapt better to changes in their environment.

Another theory suggests that the polyploidy in gnus may have originated from hybridization events between different species of wildebeest. It is believed that in the past, the northern and southern species of wildebeest may have interbred, giving rise to the polyploid gnus we see today.

Regardless of the exact reason for their polyploidy, it is clear that gnus have successfully adapted to their environment and continue to thrive as a species. This unique genetic feature may also play a role in other aspects of their biology, such as their ability to withstand diseases and adapt to changing climatic conditions.

But how does this relate to cryptids, or mythical creatures? Some believe that the presence of polyploid gnus may have contributed to the creation of tales and legends about cryptids such as the “man-eating gnu” or the “cow-horse-gnu hybrid.” These stories may have originated from sightings of gnus with unusual appearances due to their polyploid genetics.

In conclusion, while the exact reason for the polyploidy of gnus is still a topic of study, it is clear that this genetic feature has played a significant role in their evolution and success as a species. As we continue to uncover more about the genetics and biology of these fascinating animals, we may also gain a better understanding of how polyploidy contributes to the diversity of life on Earth.

[headspace-hotel]

hi i'm being sooooooo normal about polyploidy in plants