Tight genetic linkage of genes causing hybrid necrosis and pollinator isolation between young species.

Li, Chaobin; Binaghi, Marta; Pichon, Vivien; Cannarozzi, Gina; Brandão de Freitas, Loreta; Hanemian, Mathieu; Kuhlemeier, Cris (2023). Tight genetic linkage of genes causing hybrid necrosis and pollinator isolation between young species. Nature Plants, 9(3), pp. 420-432. Nature Publishing Group 10.1038/s41477-023-01354-8

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The mechanisms of reproductive isolation that cause phenotypic diversification and eventually speciation are a major topic of evolutionary research. Hybrid necrosis is a post-zygotic isolation mechanism in which cell death develops in the absence of pathogens. It is often due to the incompatibility between proteins from two parents. Here we describe a unique case of hybrid necrosis due to an incompatibility between loci on chromosomes 2 and 7 between two pollinator-isolated Petunia species. Typical immune responses as well as endoplasmic reticulum stress responses are induced in the necrotic line. The locus on chromosome 2 encodes ChiA1, a bifunctional GH18 chitinase/lysozyme. The enzymatic activity of ChiA1 is dispensable for the development of necrosis. We propose that the extremely high expression of ChiA1 involves a positive feedback loop between the loci on chromosomes 2 and 7. ChiA1 is tightly linked to major genes involved in the adaptation to different pollinators, a form of pre-zygotic isolation. This linkage of pre- and post-zygotic barriers strengthens reproductive isolation and probably contributes to rapid diversification and speciation.

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