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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Sperm competition mechanisms, confidence of paternity, and the evolution of paternal care in the golden egg bug (Phyllomorpha laciniata).

Theoretical models predict how paternal effort should vary depending on confidence of paternity and on the trade-offs between present and future reproduction. In this study we examine patterns of sperm precedence in Phyllomorpha laciniata and how confidence of paternity influences the willingness of males to carry eggs. Female golden egg bugs show a flexible pattern of oviposition behavior, which results in some eggs being carried by adults (mainly males) and some being laid on plants, where mortality rates are very high. Adults are more vulnerable to predators when carrying eggs; thus, it has been suggested that males should only accept eggs if there are chances that at least some of the eggs will be their true genetic offspring. We determined the confidence of paternity for naturally occurring individuals and its variation with the time. Paternity of eggs fertilized by the last males to mate with females previously mated in the field has been determined using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). The exclusion probability was 98%, showing that AFLP markers are suitable for paternity assignment. Sperm mixing seems the most likely mechanism of sperm competition, because the last male to copulate with field females sires an average of 43% of the eggs laid during the next five days. More importantly, the proportion of eggs sired does not change significantly during that period. We argue that intermediate levels of paternity can select for paternal care in this system because: (1) benefits of care in terms of offspring survival are very high; (2) males have nothing to gain from decreasing their parental effort in a given reproductive event because sperm mixing makes it difficult for males to reach high paternity levels and males are left with no cues to assess paternity; (3) males cannot chose to care for their offspring exclusively because they can neither discriminate their own eggs, nor can they predict when their own eggs will be produced; and (4) males suffer no loss of further matings with other females when they carry eggs. Thus, our findings do not support the traditional view that paternal investment is expected to arise only in species where confidence of paternity is high. The results suggest that females maximize the chances that several males will accept eggs at different times by promoting a mechanism of sperm mixing that ensures that all males that have copulated with a female have some chance of fathering offspring, that this probability remains constant with time, and that males have no cues as to when their own offspring will be produced.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Induction of paternal genome loss by the paternal-sex-ratio chromosome and cytoplasmic incompatibility bacteria (Wolbachia): a comparative study of early embryonic events.

Paternal genome loss (PGL) during early embryogenesis is caused by two different genetic elements in the parasitoid wasp, Nasonia vitripennis. Paternal sex ratio (PSR) is a paternally inherited supernumerary chromosome that disrupts condensation of the paternal chromosomes by the first mitotic division of fertilized eggs. Bacteria belonging to the genus Wolbachia are present in Nasonia eggs and also disrupt paternal chromosome condensation in crosses between cytoplasmically incompatible strains. Cytoplasmic incompatibility Wolbachia are widespread in insects, whereas PSR is specific to this wasp. PGL results in production of male progeny in Nasonia due to haplodiploid sex determination. The cytological events associated with PGL induced by the PSR chromosome and by Wolbachia were compared by fluorescent light microscopy using the fluorochrome Hoescht 33258. Cytological examination of eggs fertilized with PSR-bearing sperm revealed that a dense paternal chromatin mass forms prior to the first metaphase. Quantification of chromatin by epifluorescence indicates that this mass does undergo replication along with the maternal chromatin prior to the first mitotic division but does not replicate during later mitotic cycles. Contrary to previous reports using other staining methods, the paternal chromatin mass remains condensed during interphase and persists over subsequent mitotic cycles, at least until formation of the syncytial blastoderm and cellularization, at which time it remains near the center of the egg with the yolk nuclei. Wolbachia-induced PGL shows several marked differences. Most notable is that the paternal chromatin mass is more diffuse and tends to be fragmented during the first mitotic division, with portions becoming associated with the daughter nuclei. Nuclei containing portions of the paternal chromatin mass appear to be delayed in subsequent mitotic divisions relative to nuclei free of paternal chromatin. Crosses combining incompatibility with PSR were cytologically similar to Wolbachia-induced PGL, although shearing of the paternal chromatin mass was reduced. Wolbachia may, therefore, block an earlier stage of paternal chromatin processing in the fertilized eggs than does PSR.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

A search for a paternal-age effect upon cases of 47, +21 in which the extra chromosome is of paternal origin.

If there is a paternal-age effect for 47, +21, it would appear most likely to be present primarily, if not exclusively, in cases in which the extra chromosome is of paternal origin. To search for such an effect, data were reviewed from seven series reporting at least four cases of 47, +21 of paternal origin. The mean of the paternal age-maternal-age difference of such cases (dp) in each series was compared with the mean of the paternal-age differences of cases in the same series that were of maternal origin (dm). If the difference between these (dp - dm or delta) is greater than zero, then this would imply a positive paternal-age effect among cases of paternal origin, at least compared to those of maternal origin. In the seven series, the values of delta ranged from -2.2 years to +3.4 years, and there was no evidence in these comparisons for any consistent trend. A second analysis controlled for any effect of maternal-age variation upon this difference. Each case of paternal origin was matched with a case of maternal origin in the same series that was of the same maternal age. Of 60 cases of paternal origin, exact matches were found for 38. In these 38, the mean value of the difference in parental ages, dp - dm or delta, was negative, about -1.1 (+/- 5.1 years). The difference was highest for the nine cases of paternal origin in which the extra chromosome resulted from presumptive second-division non-disjunction, -1.8 (+/- 3.8 years).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed2001

The Prader-Willi syndrome imprinting center activates the paternally expressed murine Ube3a antisense transcript but represses paternal Ube3a.

The imprinted UBE3A gene exhibits maternal-only expression in specific cell types in the brain, but exhibits biallelic expression in other cell types. UBE3A is located adjacent to a cluster of imprinted, paternally expressed genes that are known to be positively regulated by the Prader-Willi syndrome imprinting center (PWS-IC). Here, we examined the effect of the PWS-IC on the UBE3A locus. Using intersubspecific crosses, we found that deletion of the PWS-IC causes an upregulation of the paternal Ube3a allele. This indicates that unlike its positive effect on all the other paternally expressed transcripts in the region, the PWS-IC negatively regulates the levels of paternal UBE3A. Interestingly, we found that like the human UBE3A locus, the murine Ube3a locus includes an imprinted, paternally expressed antisense transcript. We show that this paternal antisense transcript is positively regulated by the PWS-IC. These results are consistent with a model in which the PWS-IC mediates activation and maintenance of paternal gene expression in the 15q11-q13 region, with repression of the paternal UBE3A gene occurring as an indirect result of expression of the antisense transcript.

Alleles↗

PubMed1998

Maternal inheritance of mouse mtDNA in interspecific hybrids: segregation of the leaked paternal mtDNA followed by the prevention of subsequent paternal leakage.

The transmission profiles of sperm mtDNA introduced into fertilized eggs were examined in detail in F1 hybrids of mouse interspecific crosses by addressing three aspects. The first is whether the leaked paternal mtDNA in fertilized eggs produced by interspecific crosses was distributed stably to all tissues after the eggs' development to adults. The second is whether the leaked paternal mtDNA was transmitted to the subsequent generations. The third is whether paternal mtDNA continuously leaks in subsequent backcrosses. For identification of the leaked paternal mtDNA, we prepared total DNA samples directly from tissues or embryos and used PCR techniques that can detect a few molecules of paternal mtDNA even in the presence of 10(8)-fold excess of maternal mtDNA. The results showed that the leaked paternal mtDNA was not distributed to all tissues in the F1 hybrids or transmitted to the following generations through the female germ line. Moreover, the paternal mtDNA leakage was limited to the first generation of an interspecific cross and did not occur in progeny from subsequent backcrosses. These observations suggest that species-specific exclusion of sperm mtDNA in mammalian fertilized eggs is extremely stringent, ensuring strictly maternal inheritance of mtDNA.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Estradiol and progesterone in paternal and non-paternal hamsters (Phodopus) becoming fathers: conflict with hypothesized roles.

Phodopus campbelli has an extensive paternal behavior repertoire whereas the closely-related Phodopus sungorus is not paternally responsive to a displaced pup. For the first time in a naturally paternal mammal, male estradiol and progesterone were determined during two critical phases: (1) the transition from sexually naive male to paired, expectant father that occurs in the absence of stimuli from pups (sexually naive males, paired males on G8, G12, G15, or G17 of the 18-day gestation) and (2) after pup stimuli became available to the males (paired males on days L1, L3, L5, or L12 of pup development). Hormone concentrations in naive males and between G17 and L1 (as stimuli from the birth and the pups became available to males) were also compared. Paternal responsiveness was tested on L3-L5 and confirmed species differences. Hormone concentrations in naive males were similar in the two species and males of both species had estradiol concentrations as high as fertile adult females. However, in direct contrast to predictions, estradiol concentrations were stable in P. campbelli males but increased before the birth, fell across the birth, and increased over pup development in P. sungorus males. Progesterone concentrations in P. campbelli males increased from G17 to L1 whereas a decrease had been predicted. Testosterone dynamics were consistent with previous studies. Either hormonal facilitation of paternal behavior is a hyper-variable trait that has evolved differently in different species, or, more probably, peripheral hormone concentrations are inadequate to explain the role of sex steroid hormones in paternal behavior.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Paternal alcoholism, paternal absence and the development of problem behaviors in boys from age six to twelve years.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between paternal alcoholism, paternal absence, and the development and stability of behavioral problems in boys, from kindergarten to the end of elementary school. METHOD: A sample of 642 boys originating from low socioeconomic status (SES) families was used. Paternal alcoholism was established using the Short Michigan Alcohol Screening Test. Behavioral problems (opposition, hyperactivity, inattention, physical aggression and anxiety) were assessed by teachers' reports when the boys were 6 and 12 years old. Four groups of boys were created on the basis of paternal alcoholism (nonalcoholic, alcoholic) and family structure (intact families, nonintact/father-absent families). RESULTS: Consistent with personality theories of alcoholism, results showed that a propensity for physical aggression and low anxiety best distinguished sons of male alcoholics (SOMAs) from non-SOMAs at both ages (6 and 12 years), even when SES was controlled. In addition, SOMAs were more oppositional and hyperactive than non-SOMAs at both ages. No significant effects were observed for family structure or age, or an interaction between these factors and paternal alcoholism in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that problem behaviors in SOMAs begin early and persist over time, and that paternal alcoholism and family structure are not associated with changes in boys' behaviors between kindergarten and the end of elementary school in this population, at least in the sample used.

Aggression↗

PubMed1998

Experimentally reduced paternity affects paternal effort and reproductive success in pied flycatchers

The question of whether, and how, male birds should change their parental effort in response to reduced paternity is a controversial issue among behavioural ecologists. We report a study on pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca, in which paternity was manipulated through experimentally induced mate switching during the female's fertile period. The paternity of care-giving males ranged from 0 to 100% of the brood. The number of parental males per nest varied between zero and two, and the amount of male assistance in nestling provisioning had a marked effect on female reproductive success. For 17 monogamous males, provisioning effort and the body mass of nestlings on day 12 were reduced at low levels of paternity. However, the shape of the effort function was not unambiguously determined. Male provisioning effort showed a curvilinear decline, whereas nestling body mass showed a linear decline. Two important assumptions of the theory of optimal parental effort seem to be fulfilled in this case: that males had reliable cues to their paternity, and that paternity is likely to be increased in future (normal) breeding attempts. The fact that males reduced their effort at the expense of the welfare of the offspring suggests that there are significant costs of parental care in this species. Whether a similar response to cuckoldry occurs in unmanipulated breeding situations remains to be studied.Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Heteroplasmy suggests paternal co-transmission of multiple genomes and pervasive reversion of maternally into paternally transmitted genomes of mussel (Mytilus) mitochondrial DNA.

Marine mussels of the genus Mytilus have two types of mitochondrial DNA with separate paternal and maternal inheritance. Females are homoplasmic for an F genome that is transmitted to all offspring, whereas males are heteroplasmic for this F genome and for a highly diverged (> 20%) M genome that is transmitted only to sons. Here we provide phylogenetic evidence based on lrRNA sequence data that most of the paternal genomes in European M. trossulus have an introgressive female M. edulis origin and are nearly indistinguishable in sequence from F types of M. trossulus. This observation is best explained by the hypothesis that introgressed F type molecules have recently invaded the paternal route and have assumed the role of M molecules, then resetting to zero the time of sequence divergence between M and F lineages. European M. trossulus shows a high prevalence of males heteroplasmic for three different mitochondrial DNA types all having the same two paternal types and the same maternal type, consistent with paternal co-transmission of multiple genomes. Co-transmission of the same genomes must apparently operate uninterruptedly for several generations in spite of the very different evolutionary origin of the specific molecules that are transmitted paternally and maternally in European M. trossulus.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Correlation between magnitude of CAG repeat length alterations and length of the paternal repeat in paternally inherited Huntington's disease.

An increasing number of diseases are being found to be due to elongation of specific trinucleotide repeat sequences. Inverse correlation between the age at onset and the length of the repeat has been found in most of these. The elongated CAG repeat causing Huntington's disease is highly unstable when inherited from an affected father. In this study we found an average parent-to-offspring difference of +0.08 repeat units in maternally inherited repeats, significantly less than the average difference of +2.92 repeat units with paternal transmission. Large repeat expansions, of more than 5 repeat units, were seen only in paternally inherited cases. With paternal transmission the magnitude of repeat length alterations was directly correlated to increasing paternal repeat length. Increasing variation in repeat length among siblings was correlated to increasing average repeat length in the sibship in both maternally and paternally inherited HD. Comparison of the magnitude of repeat length alterations to parental age at the time of birth of the offspring showed no correlation.

Fathers↗

PubMed1984

The distribution of the paternity index as a basis for evaluation of sequential testing in paternity analysis.

Several procedures for evaluation of paternity testing data have been suggested in the literature, the majority of them being based on the paternity index statistic (L) or some transform of it. A major problem has been that the true distribution of the paternity index has not been known, making it difficult to perform quantitative evaluations of different procedures. We present an algorithm for computation of the distribution of the paternity index within the limits of a completely controlled amount of approximation. Using this algorithm we evaluate the power and the rate of erroneous classifications of a standard routine test based on a fixed number of genetic marker systems. The efficiency of this standard test procedure is compared to a stepwise (sequential) procedure where in each step one or several marker systems are scored for the mother-child-putative father trio. We suggest that a sequential strategy for testing may be more efficient than one that is based on a fixed number of systems. A sequential procedure can provide information about the accused man's state of paternity in a considerably larger fraction of cases without a substantial increase of the frequency of incorrect classifications. In addition, the cost measured as the average number of marker systems that has to be tested for each trio may be lower in the case of sequential testing than with a fixed number of systems.

Blood Group Antigens↗

PubMed1998

Certainty of paternity and paternal investment in eastern bluebirds and tree swallows.

Extra-pair paternity is common in many socially monogamous passerine birds with biparental care. Thus, males often invest in offspring to which they are not related. Models of optimal parental investment predict that, under certain assumptions, males should lower their investment in response to reduced certainty of paternity. We attempted to reduce certainty of paternity experimentally in two species, the eastern bluebird, Sialia sialis, and the tree swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, by temporarily removing fertile females on two mornings during egg laying. In both species, experimental males usually attempted to copulate with the female immediately after her reappearance, suggesting that they experienced the absence of their mate as a threat to their paternity. Experimental males copulated at a significantly higher rate than control males. However, contrary to the prediction of the model, experimental males did not invest less than control males in their offspring. There was no difference between experimental and control nests in the proportion of male feeds, male and female feeding rates, nestling growth and nestling condition and size at age 14 days. We argue that females might have restored the males' confidence in paternity after the experiment by soliciting or accepting copulations. Alternatively, males may not reduce their effort, because the fitness costs to their own offspring may outweigh the benefits for the males, at least in populations where females cannot fully compensate for reduced male investment. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

Evaluation of the paternity probability on an application of minisatellite variant repeat mapping using polymerase chain reaction (MVR-PCR) to paternity testing.

Minisatellite variant repeat (MVR) mapping using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied to a practical case of paternity testing to evaluate the paternity probability. In order to obtain single allele mapping by allele-specific MVR-PCR, three flanking polymorphic sites for each of the MS31A and MS32 loci were investigated and all three individuals were typed as heterozygous for at least one flanking polymorphic site at each locus. Allele-specific MVR-PCR was then performed using genomic DNA. It was confirmed that one allele in the child was identical to that from the mother and the other one in the child was identical to that from the alleged father. Mapped allele codes were also compared with those in the database by dot-matrix analysis, and no identical allele was found although some motifs were shared with Japanese alleles. The paternity index and the probability of paternity exclusion in the case at these two MVR loci were calculated using the presumed values of the allele frequencies. These studies seem to illustrate the practical value of MVR mapping of MS31A and MS32 loci in paternity testing.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1992

Parental imprinting studied by allele-specific primer extension after PCR: paternal X chromosome-linked genes are transcribed prior to preferential paternal X chromosome inactivation.

The preferential inactivation of the paternal X chromosome in extraembryonic cells during early mouse development is an example of parental imprinting, but it has not been studied at the transcriptional level because standard methods of measuring RNA levels do not allow detection of allele-specific RNAs in individual early embryos. We sought to determine whether the paternal allele of the X chromosome-linked gene for 3-phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (Pgk-1), which is located very near the center of X chromosome inactivation, is transcribed prior to differentiation of extraembryonic lineages. Previous reports indicated that in heterozygous embryos there is a delay in the appearance of the phosphoglycerate kinase 1 allozyme encoded by the paternal X chromosome until 2 days after the appearance of the corresponding maternal allozyme. We report results obtained by use of a reverse transcription/PCR-based method which allows the quantitative measurement of allele-specific RNA. The assay is sensitive enough for the quantitative analysis in single embryos of allele-specific transcripts differing by only one nucleotide. We have used this assay to analyze mouse embryos heterozygous at the Pgk-1 and Hprt [hypoxanthine (guanine) phosphoribosyltransferase] loci, and we find that individual 8-cell and blastocyst embryos express both Hprt and Pgk-1 paternal transcripts, as do pooled 2- to 4-cell embryos. These results are discussed in view of the apparent temporal delay in paternal expression of the Pgk-1 gene at the enzyme level.

Alleles↗

PubMed1975

Paternal loss (pal): a meiotic mutant in Drosophila melanogaster causing loss of paternal chromosomes.

The effects of a male-specific meiotic mutant, paternal los (pal), in D. melanogaster have been examined genetically. The results indicate the following: (1) When homozygous in males, pal can cause loss, but not nondisjunction, of any chromosome pair. The pal-induced chromosome loss produces exceptional progeny that apparently failed to receive one, or more, paternal chromosomes and, in addition, mosaic progeny during whose early mitotic divisions one or more paternal chromosomes were lost. (2) Only paternally derived chromosomes are lost. (3) Mitotic chromosome loss can occur in homozygous pal+progeny of pal males. (4) Chromosomes differ in their susceptibility to pal-induced loss. The site responsible for the insensitivity vs. sensitivity of the X chromosome to pal mapped to the basal region of the X chromosome at, or near, the centromere. From these results, it is suggested that pal+acts in male gonia to specify a product that is a component of, or interacts with, the centromeric region of chromosomes and is necessary for the normal segregation of paternal chromosomes. In the presence of pal, defective chromosomes are produced and these chromosomes tend to get lost during the early cleavage divisions of the zygote. (5) The loss of heterologous chromosome pairs is not independent; there are more cases of simultaneous loss of two chromosomes than expected from independence. Moreover, an examination of cases of simultaneous somatic loss of two heterologs reveals an asymmetry in the early mitotic divisions of the zygote such that when two heterologs are lost at a somatic cleavage division, almost invariably one daughter nucleus fails to get either, and the other daughter nucleus receives its normal chromosome complement. It is suggested that this asymmetry is not a property of pal but is rather a normal process that is being revealed by the mutant. (6) The somatic loss of chromosomes in the progeny of pal males allows the construction of fate maps of the blastoderm. Similar fate maps are obtained using data from gynandromorphs and from marked Y chromosome (nonsexually dimorphic) mosaics.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

The paternal sex ratio chromosome in the parasitic wasp Trichogramma kaykai condenses the paternal chromosomes into a dense chromatin mass.

A recently discovered B chromosome in the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma kaykai was found to be transmitted through males only. Shortly after fertilization, this chromosome eliminates the paternal chromosome set leaving the maternal chromosomes and itself intact. Consequently, the sex ratio in these wasps is changed in favour of males by modifying fertilized diploid eggs into male haploid offspring. In this study, we show that in fertilized eggs at the first mitosis the paternal sex ratio (PSR) chromosome condenses the paternal chromosomes into a so-called paternal chromatin mass (PCM). During this process, the PSR chromosome is morphologically unaffected and is incorporated into the nucleus containing the maternal chromosomes. In the first five mitotic divisions, 67% of the PCMs are associated with one of the nuclei in the embryo. Furthermore, in embryos with an unassociated PCM, all nuclei are at the same mitotic stage, whereas 68% of the PCM-associated nuclei are at a different mitotic phase than the other nuclei in the embryo. Our observations reveal an obvious similarity of the mode of action of the PSR chromosome in T. kaykai with that of the PSR-induced paternal genome loss in the unrelated wasp Nasonia vitripennis.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Paternity Testing Commission of the International Society of Forensic Genetics: recommendations on genetic investigations in paternity cases.

The International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG) has established a Paternity Testing Commission (PTC) with the purpose of formulating international recommendations concerning genetic investigations in paternity testing. The PTC recommends that paternity testing be performed in accordance with the ISO 17025 standards. The ISO 17025 standards are general standards for testing laboratories and the PTC offers explanations and recommendations concerning selected areas of special importance to paternity testing.

Equipment and Supplies↗

PubMed1993

Paternity testing with VNTR DNA systems. II. Evaluation of 271 cases of disputed paternity with the VNTR systems D2S44, D5S43, D7S21, D7S22, and D12S11.

Paternity testing was carried out in 271 cases of disputed paternity using the 5 VNTR systems D2S44 (YNH24), D5S43 (MS8), D7S21 (MS31), D7S22 (g3), and D12S11 (MS43a), and 10-15 conventional marker systems including the HLA-A,B system. By means of the matching criteria for the VNTR systems established elsewhere (Morling & Hansen 1992), all 70 unrelated men who had been excluded by conventional typing were also excluded with 2 or more VNTR systems. Based on the observed exclusion frequencies for the 5 VNTR systems, a theoretical exclusion rate exceeding 0.999 could be obtained. A total of 350 father/child pairs were studied and in 3 paternity cases and one immigrant family, the alleged fathers were excluded solely by one of the 5 VNTR systems possibly reflecting mutations. No mother/child exclusions were observed among 350 mother/child pairs. Linkage analysis between the syntenic systems D7S21 (MS31) and D7S22 (g3) was performed in 29 informative families with 81 children and revealed a recombination distance of about 31 cM. The positive evidence for paternity provided by the 5 VNTR systems in cases with non-exclusions is discussed.

Adult↗