Ecological drivers of coexistence and lethal variant evolution in the t haplotype

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ID: 317544
2026
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Abstract
Abstract One of the most extensively studied segregation distorters is the t haplotype in house mice (Mus musculus), which can have transmission rates as high as 99% in heterozygous males. Numerous t-haplotype variants exist that induce male sterility or cause embryonic lethality when homozygous. Lethal t variants are thought to have evolved through the accumulation of lethal mutations on a sterile background, but theoretical work indicates that this process is plausible only under substantial inbreeding and reproductive compensation. Here, we use a spatially explicit and stochastic individual-based model to investigate how sperm competition and polyandry, pre-copulatory mate choice, and male-specific fitness costs influence coexistence of sterile and lethal t-haplotype variants. Polyandry, pre-copulatory mate choice, male-specific fitness costsand immigration reduced t-haplotype frequencies, but there was substantial variation in coexistence patterns. Coexistence between two sterile variants was rare unless their transmission rates were nearly identical, whereas coexistence between two non-complementing lethal variantswas more common even when their transmission rates varied widely. The coexistence of sterile and lethal variants was highly asymmetric; thelethal variant was able to persist only when its transmission rate greatly exceeded that of the sterile variant. Notably, pre-copulatory mate choice exhibited by t-carrying females against t-carrying males impacted only the sterile variant negatively and allowed the lethal variant to persist without a transmission ratio advantage. Our results reconcile longstanding discrepancies between theoretical predictions and observations in natural populations and provide new insights into the evolution of lethal variants.
Reference Key
openalex_W7164890618 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Ayşegül Birand, Thomas A A Prowse, Phillip Cassey, Paul Q. Thomas
Journal current genetics
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/genetics/iyag154
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyag154
Keywords Keywords not found

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