Inheritance patterns of mitochondrial DNA in Drosophila paulistorum: substantial paternal transmission and the possible role of mitochondria in speciation

Sammanfattning: Direct studies of speciation are possible in the superspecies complex of Drosophila paulistorum, which consists of six different semispecies undergoing incipient speciation. Strict maternal inheritance of mitochondria is the most common pattern of mitochondrial inheritance in animals. Here I show that paternal transmission of mitochondrial DNA occurs in the heteroplasmic Orinocan semispecies and is not limited to hybrid offspring. Inheritance of one mitotype is mainly maternal while the other is mainly paternal; a highly unusual pattern of mitochondrial inheritance. I used absolute quantification real-time PCR on DNA extracted from eggs and imagoes from the Amazonian and Orinocan semispecies, as well as hybrids between these two semispecies. In crosses performed between F1 hybrids with a combination of mitotypes not found in any of the parents, no F2 hybrids were acquired. One possible explanation for this is that differences in mitotypes and inheritance patterns of mitochondrial DNA may cause incompatibilities between the genomes of D. paulistorum. This may be one cause of hybrid inviability and genetic isolation between semispecies, a necessary part of the speciation process. This further complicates the story of the ongoing speciation process in the D. paulistorum superspecies complex, which offers much to learn about speciation, mitochondrial inheritance and interactions between multiple genomes in the same organism.