ArticleNature communications2026
Selfish chromosomes exploit a germline checkpoint to eliminate competing gametes.
Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Rapid protamine evolution suppresses meiotic drive inScience advances · 2026Article
- Pervasive Positive Selection on X-linked Ampliconic Genes in Primates.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Pervasive suppressors halt the spread of selfish Segregation Distorter in a natural population.Genetics · 2026Article
- Disruption of small RNAs and mechanistic variation in Segregation Distorter: A sperm-killing drive system in Drosophila melanogaster.PLoS genetics · 2026Article
- Defective transcription of AAGAG satellite DNA causes sex-ratio meiotic drive in Drosophila.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Signatures of sex ratio distortion in humans.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Spermatid individualization is a common stage of spermiogenic failure suggesting that a male germline checkpoint may act at this stage during sperm development in Drosophila. However, the molecular identity of such a male germline checkpoint has remained elusive. Here, we show that Overdrive (Ovd), a gene dispensable for male fertility, is required for the selective elimination of post-meiotic spermatids targeted by selfish chromosomes. Gamete elimination occurs during the individualization stage of spermiogenesis, following histone-to-protamine transition failure of targeted spermatids. We show that Ovd is necessary for the selfish behavior of segregation distorters across distantly related Drosophila species, indicating that independent selfish chromosomes use common mechanisms. Our study suggests that the normal function of an Ovd-mediated germline checkpoint involves the elimination of abnormal gametes during male germline development, which is exploited by selfish chromosomes into eliminating competing sperm.
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Registered trials
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