Genomic signatures of recombination in a natural population of the bdelloid rotifer Adineta vaga

Olga A. Vakhrusheva (), Elena A. Mnatsakanova, Yan R. Galimov, Tatiana V. Neretina, Evgeny S. Gerasimov, Sergey A. Naumenko, Svetlana G. Ozerova, Arthur O. Zalevsky, Irina A. Yushenova, Fernando Rodriguez, Irina R. Arkhipova, Aleksey A. Penin, Maria D. Logacheva, Georgii A. Bazykin and Alexey S. Kondrashov
Additional contact information
Olga A. Vakhrusheva: Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
Elena A. Mnatsakanova: M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
Yan R. Galimov: Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Tatiana V. Neretina: M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
Evgeny S. Gerasimov: M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
Sergey A. Naumenko: Institute for Information Transmission Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kharkevich Institute)
Svetlana G. Ozerova: Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Arthur O. Zalevsky: M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
Irina A. Yushenova: Marine Biological Laboratory
Fernando Rodriguez: Marine Biological Laboratory
Irina R. Arkhipova: Marine Biological Laboratory
Aleksey A. Penin: Institute for Information Transmission Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kharkevich Institute)
Maria D. Logacheva: Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
Georgii A. Bazykin: Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
Alexey S. Kondrashov: M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Abstract Sexual reproduction is almost ubiquitous among extant eukaryotes. As most asexual lineages are short-lived, abandoning sex is commonly regarded as an evolutionary dead end. Still, putative anciently asexual lineages challenge this view. One of the most striking examples are bdelloid rotifers, microscopic freshwater invertebrates believed to have completely abandoned sexual reproduction tens of Myr ago. Here, we compare whole genomes of 11 wild-caught individuals of the bdelloid rotifer Adineta vaga and present evidence that some patterns in its genetic variation are incompatible with strict clonality and lack of genetic exchange. These patterns include genotype proportions close to Hardy-Weinberg expectations within loci, lack of linkage disequilibrium between distant loci, incongruent haplotype phylogenies across the genome, and evidence for hybridization between divergent lineages. Analysis of triallelic sites independently corroborates these findings. Our results provide evidence for interindividual genetic exchange and recombination in A. vaga, a species previously thought to be anciently asexual.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19614-y

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