DOI: 10.5061/dryad.69p8cz9g4
title: Autosomally-encoded segregation distortion of sex chromosomes

description: Some selfish genetic elements drive at meiosis to achieve transmission
 distortion, breaking the rules of Mendelian segregation to enhance their
 evolutionary success. It has been shown that enhancers of drive must act
 in cis in order to gain the selfish benefit of drive, and that suppressors
 of drive will be selected at unlinked loci. Here, we model the evolution
 of an autosomal trans-acting gene (Distorter) that causes the Y-chromosome
 (or even 0-chromosome) to drive without driving itself, a phenomenon we
 call “remote-control meiotic drive”. We show that such a gene may spread
 in the population when linked to a second locus, Assister, whose alleles
 are transmitted at different frequencies through sperm as compared to
 eggs, for which we consider various scenarios, e.g., sexually antagonistic
 selection or sex-limited drive. Depending on the mechanistic details of
 sex-chromosome drive, Distorter’s spread can additionally facilitate
 transitions between XY and X0 sex determination. Our results provide proof
 of principle that stretches the current understanding of segregation
 modifier and sex allocation theory. Moreover, we identify alternative
 evolutionary trajectories that could also lead to remote control drive,
 and discuss its potential applications in developing synthetic
 sex-ratio-distorting elements for use in, e.g., pest management.
description: # Autosomally-encoded segregation distortion of sex chromosomes Greenberg,
 Naomi L., Patten, Manus M. & Schenkel, Martijn A. 2025.
 Autosomally-encoded segregation distortion of sex chromosomes. Proceedings
 of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb 2025.1085.
 CONTACT: Martijn A. Schenkel EMAIL:
 [maschenkel@gmail.com](mailto:maschenkel@gmail.com) All data and
 additional files are included in data_archive.zip. This data archive is
 structured in a way that it is clear how the various files are used to
 generate specific elements from the manuscript. This means that most data
 and analysis scripts are ordered into folders that correspond to specific
 figures from the main text or supplementary material. Note that non-data
 figures (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 6) are excluded from this archive, and only
 the data and analysis files from data figures are included. The folders in
 this archive are as follows: All the data folders have a separte
 README.txt which explains the variables included within the data files.
 **/Figure_2** Contains the code ("analysis.R") used to generate
 the data used in Figure 2, a script for generating Figure 1
 ("figure_script.R") as well as additional folders containing the
 data. A separate README.txt is included with further details.
 **/Figure_3** Contains the code ("analysis.R") used to generate
 the data used in Figure 3, a script for generating Figure 1
 ("figure_script.R") as well as additional folders containing the
 data. A separate README.txt is included with further details.
 **/Figure_4** Contains the code ("analysis.R") used to generate
 the data used in Figure 4, a script for generating Figure 1
 ("figure_script.R") as well as additional folders containing the
 data. A separate README.txt is included with further details.
 **/Figure_5** Contains the code ("analysis.R") used to generate
 the data used in Figure 5, a script for generating Figure 1
 ("figure_script.R") as well as additional folders containing the
 data. A separate README.txt is included with further details.
 **/supplementary_figures** Contains a folder for each supplementary figure
 that features data (Figures S1-S5); each folder also includes a README.txt
 file with further details. Note that Supplementary Figure S6 is a non-data
 figure and therefore excluded from this archive.