Versatility of multivalent orientation, inverted meiosis, and rescued fitness in holocentric chromosomal hybrids

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  • Vladimir A. Lukhtanov
    Department of Karyosystematics, Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia;
  • Vlad Dincă
    Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland;
  • Magne Friberg
    Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, Lund University, 22362 Lund, Sweden;
  • Jindra Šíchová
    Laboratory of Molecular Cytogenetics, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic;
  • Martin Olofsson
    Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
  • Roger Vila
    Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
  • František Marec
    Laboratory of Molecular Cytogenetics, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic;
  • Christer Wiklund
    Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden

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<jats:title>Significance</jats:title> <jats:p> Changes in the number and/or structure of chromosomes (i.e., chromosomal rearrangements) have the potential to drive speciation. However, their accumulation in a population is considered both difficult and unpredictable, because the greatly reduced reproductive fitness of chromosomal hybrids prevents fixation of novel karyotypes. Here, we provide evidence for a mechanism that rescues fertility of chromosomal hybrids in species with holocentric chromosomes. We demonstrate that chromosomal heterozygotes of <jats:italic>Leptidea</jats:italic> Wood White butterflies have a reverse order of main meiotic events in which the first and most critical stage of the chromosome number reduction is replaced by the less risky stage of sister chromatid separation. This may facilitate long-term persistence of chromosomal rearrangements, which is a major prerequisite for chromosomal speciation. </jats:p>

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