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Sperm motility and postmating prezygotic isolation in two nightingale species
Baránková, Lucie ; Reifová, Radka (advisor) ; Frolíková, Michaela (referee)
The motility of male gametes (sperm) is one of the important factors influencing the reproductive success of males. Because sperms are often subjected to strong postmating sexual selection and even closely related species often differ in sperm morphology, sperm motility could also differ between species, which may contribute to reproductive isolation between species. As part of my diploma thesis, I studied sperm motility in two closely related species of songbirds, the common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) and the thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia). These two species of nightingales are an ideal model system because the areas of these two species overlap in the secondary contact zone across Central and Eastern Europe, where they occasionally hybridize and thus allow the study of speciation mechanisms in the natural environment. Both species also differ greatly in total sperm length. As part of my diploma thesis, I studied the possible influence of different sperm morphology on their motility. I further tested whether the motility of nightingale sperm differs in the fluid from the cloaca of a female of the same species and a different species, which would demonstrate the presence of postmating prezygotic reproductive isolation between species. The results of my work showed that despite the...
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Sex chromosome evolution in ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)
Pavlica, Tomáš ; Sember, Alexandr (advisor) ; Knytl, Martin (referee)
Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) possess strikingly diverse sex sex differentiation strategies (including gonochorism, unisexuality and several types of hermaphroditism) and mechanisms of sex determination (both environmental and genetic), including frequent turnovers between abovementioned strategies and mechanisms. Although exhibiting remarkable diversity of sex determination mechanisms, only about 5% of analyzed teleost species possess cytologically recognizable (i.e. heteromorphic) sex chromosomes. Still, nine different male- or female- heterogametic sex chromosome systems at various stages of differentiation have been described along with high rate of inter- and intraspecific variability. Given that early sex chromosome evolution is best studied in evolutionarily young nascent sex chromosomes, ray- finned fishes and especially the teleost lineage (Teleostei) represent vital model group for these investigations offering new insights into the evolution of these rapidly evolving regions of vertebrate genomes. Moreover, handful of studies available so far has provided evidence for a role of emerging sex chromosomes and their turnover in processes such as ecologial adaptation, speciation or genomic conflict. Besides cytogenetic studies, which had a major impact on our current knowledge about fish...
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Speciation genomics in nightingales
Mořkovský, Libor ; Reifová, Radka (advisor) ; Macholán, Miloš (referee) ; Piálek, Lubomír (referee)
Speciationisusuallyaslowprocessoccurringoverthousandstomillionsofyears.Thismakes speciation research difficult because no direct observation or manipulation is possible. At best, we can gain some insight by inferring the population history and structure in very fine detail by investigating genetic markers in multiple individuals of the nascent species. Today, speciationresearchisinanunprecedentedpositionthankstotheadventofhigh-throughput sequencingmethods,whichmakeiteasier and cheaper than ever before to evaluate multiple markers in many individuals. Speciation is not a straightforward process that happens in the same way every time, but rather a phenomenon occurring when genetic and ecological circumstancesactinginsymphonyultimatelyleadtoreproductiveisolationoftwosubpopula- tions. This is why it is important to study multiple model systems to understand the general principles behind speciation. We worked with two species of nightingales (Luscinia luscinia andL.megarhynchos)thatdivergedapproximately1.8Mya,likelyduetoglacialfluctuations in Europe. Our main goal was to use these new high-throughput sequencing methods to (1) detect interspecific hybrids between the species, (2) estimate levels of interspecific gene flow,(3)findareasofthenightingalegenomethatunderliereproductiveisolationand,finally, (4)...
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Why so specious? The role of pollinators and symbionts in plant population structure and speciation along elevational gradients.
SOUTO VILARÓS, Daniel
This thesis explores the role mutualist pollinators and their symbionts play in the genetic structuring and speciation of their host plants along an elevational gradient in Papua New Guinea. Using the fig and fig-wasp mutualism as a model system, we employed high-throughput sequencing techniques to explore fine-scale population genomics of both fig and wasps along their elevational range. We found there to be clear lowland and highland clustering of tree populations along the gradient, often with a mid-elevation contact zone. In the case of the pollinating wasps, we retrieved the same clustering except in this case, the genetic difference between clusters was high enough as to consider them as separate species. This result supports evidence from other studies challenging the cospeciation paradigm of one wasp species per fig species. In addition, we explore ecological traits which may promote, or at least, maintain, reproductive isolation between fig (sub)species along with behavioural preference tests from pollinating wasps. In order to further investigate the mechanisms promoting wasp speciation along the gradient, we describe Wolbachia infection status as well as strain type. Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is often invoked as a possible speciation agent since it can rapidly provoke and maintain reproductive isolation between otherwise freely interbreeding insect populations. Finally, we explore non-pollinating fig wasp (NPFW) diversity along the gradient for a subset of our focal species. Our study reveals that there is a tight relationship between NPFW diversity and host species, and a mid-elevation peak.
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Genomic approaches for studying speciation
Vozárová, Zuzana ; Reifová, Radka (advisor) ; Hulva, Pavel (referee)
Technological advances in DNA sequencing along with the emergence of new informatics approaches have created new possibilities in many biological fields. In this bachelor thesis, I will focus on the informatics approaches used in speciation genomics, that is research field focused on the problematics of the origin of new species. I will introduce some statistical methods used by these approaches for parameter estimation. The four particular methods I will write about are Maximum likelihood estimation, Bayesian model, Markov chain Monte Carlo and Iterative approach. I will describe several methods used for the detection of interspecific hybrids and recent as well as historical interspecific gene flow. These methods include NewHybrids, the hybrid index, genomic and spatial clines and coalescent-based methods. The thesis demonstrates the usefulness of the connection of applied mathematics and genomics for addressing general biological issues, and speciation particularly.
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Analysis of structure and origin of multiple sex chromosomes in \kur{Leptidea} wood white butterflies
POSPÍŠILOVÁ, Kristýna
Previous studies have shown a dynamic karyotype evolution and the presence of complex sex chromosome systems with 3-4 W chromosomes and 3-6 Z chromosomes in Leptidea wood white butterflies. To dissect the evolutionary history of multiple Z chromosomes of Leptidea species, we used identified and selected bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones containing orthologous genes of Bombyx mori chromosome Z and 17, isolated them from the available BAC library and used them as probes for physical mapping by BAC-FISH, first in L. juvernica, then in the closely related L. sinapis. In both Leptidea species, the majority of BAC clones corresponding to the linkage group Z of the B. mori reference genome hybridized to one chromosome of the complicated sex chromosome multivalent. Thus, we named it as Z1 chromosome. Location of all Z-derived BAC clones was identical in both species suggesting a conserved synteny and gene order between L. juvernica and L. sinapis Z1 chromosome. Moreover, our findings indicate that the Z1 chromosome is probably the ancestral Z chromosome in the genus Leptidea. Results of BAC-FISH mapping with clones corresponding to the linkage group 17 of the B. mori reference genome revealed the fusion/translocation event between an ancestral Z chromosome and the chromosome corresponding to B. mori chromosome 17 and supported a previous hypothesis about the role of chromosomal rearrangements in the formation of multiple sex chromosomes in Leptidea butterflies.
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Karyotype evolution of the family Araneidae
Pajpach, Filip ; Král, Jiří (advisor) ; Sember, Alexandr (referee)
Orb-weavers (Araneidae) are a diversified spider family comprising more than 3,100 species in more than 170 genera. Together with 13 other families, they con- stitute to superfamily Araneoidea. The presented thesis focuses on karyotype evo- lution of Araneidae, including its comparison with a related family Tetragnathidae. The results obtained from 19 araneid and four tetragnathid species confirm previ- ously postulated hypothesis that the ancestral karyotype of Araneoidea (including Araneidae) consists of 24 acrocentric chromosomes in males, including two acro- centric X chromosomes of system X1X20. However, there is a tendency of 2n decrease in some araneids due to centric fusions. In these cases, centric fusions affected most autosomes (and sometimes gonosomes as well); number of chromosome pairs de- creased from 11 to six. Three independent reduction events were detected in this thesis. Furthermore, pattern of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) was studied in this thesis using fluorescent in situ hybridization, since data on evolution of this marker are scarce in spiders. Striking variability in NORs number was discovered, ranging from one to 13 loci. Remarkably, multiple centric fusions were always ac- companied by considerable increase of NORs number. In araneids and tetragnathids possessing...
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Analysis of dosage effect of speciation gene Prdm9 on fertility of mouse hybrids
Flachs, Petr ; Trachtulec, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Stopka, Pavel (referee) ; Král, Jiří (referee)
(eng) The phenomenon of hybrid sterility represents one of the evolutionary mechanisms that enables speciation. Only a few speciation genes have been uncovered. The only one found in mammals is Prdm9 (PR-domain 9). Data in the literature on the involvement of Prdm9 in decreased fertility of various semifertile hybrid males of house mouse subspecies were scarce before the results of this thesis were completed, despite that such males are much more frequent in nature than the fully sterile ones. Utilizing a panel of genetic tools and a battery of phenotyping tests, this thesis shows a central role of Prdm9 in fecundity of hybrids, including many fertility disorders and age dependency. Both increasing and reducing the Prdm9 gene dosage significantly elevated fertility parameters. Surprisingly, even the allele that in one copy causes full hybrid sterility increased F1 hybrid fertility when present in multiple copies. The PRDM9 protein also plays a role in identifying the sites of meiotic recombination. This study also points out the principles of allelic competition in determination of the sites of preferred recombination (hotspots), which suggests a possible link between both previously described Prdm9 roles. This thesis summarizes a set of three logically interconnected publications with the ambition...
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Transformation of trace element speciation in disturbed soil profile
Kochergina, Yulia
Distributions of toxic trace elements were studied in soils before and after disturbation of their profiles.Two areas with different vegetation cover were selected: beech (Fagus sylvatica) and spruce (Picea abies) forests at the Načetín site in the Ore Mts. In the past, this area belonged to places with extreme levels of acidic atmospheric deposition. The studied areas are not placed too far from each other and have thus approximately the same climatic conditions, geological background and pollution input. On the other hand, physicochemical properties of soils (pH, CEC, BS, Ctot, Stot) and concentrations of major and trace elements are different. At selected sites in spruce and beech stand, two soil probes to a depth of 40-50 cm were dug in 2010 and samples of individual soil horizont were collected for chemical analyses (approximately 0.5 kg). Four samples from L, H, A and B horizons were taken in the spruce forest area and five samples from L, H, A, B and C horizons were taken in the beech forest. In 2011, the sites were re-sampled and samples were taken from horizons that were disturbed in 2010, paralleled by samples of undisturbed soil horizons from the same probe sites. Trace element concentrations were determined by ICP-MS, the speciation of individual elements in the soils was determined by...
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