Authors: Avraham A Levy, Moshe Feldman

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum, genome BBAADD) is a young hexaploid species formed only 8,500-9,000 years ago through hybridization between a domesticated free-threshing tetraploid progenitor, genome BBAA, and Aegilops tauschii, the diploid donor of the D subgenome. Very soon after its formation, it spread globally from its cradle in the fertile crescent into new habitats and climates, to become a staple food of humanity. This extraordinary global expansion was probably enabled by allopolyploidy that accelerated genetic novelty through the acquisition of new traits, new intergenomic interactions, and buffering of mutations, and by the attractiveness of bread wheat's large, tasty, and nutritious grain with high baking quality. New genome sequences suggest that the elusive donor of the B subgenome is a distinct (unknown or extinct) species rather than a mosaic genome. We discuss the origin of the diploid and tetraploid progenitors of bread wheat and the conflicting genetic and archaeological evidence on where it was formed and which species was its free-threshing tetraploid progenitor. Wheat experienced many environmental changes throughout its evolution, therefore, while it might adapt to current climatic changes, efforts are needed to better use and conserve the vast gene pool of wheat biodiversity on which our food security depends.

Topics: Bread; Diploidy; Evolution, Molecular; Genome, Plant; Hybridization, Genetic; Polyploidy; Tetraploidy; Triticum

PubMed: 35512194
DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koac130

Review

Authors: Kozo Tanaka, Hidemasa Goto, Yuhei Nishimura...

Tetraploidy, a condition in which a cell has four homologous sets of chromosomes, is often seen as a natural physiological condition but is also frequently seen in pathophysiological conditions such as cancer. Tetraploidy facilitates chromosomal instability (CIN), which is an elevated level of chromosomal loss and gain that can cause production of a wide variety of aneuploid cells that carry structural and numerical aberrations of chromosomes. The resultant genomic heterogeneity supposedly expedites karyotypic evolution that confers oncogenic potential in spite of the reduced cellular fitness caused by aneuploidy. Recent studies suggest that tetraploidy might also be associated with aging; mice with mutations in an intermediate filament protein have revealed that these tetraploidy-prone mice exhibit tissue disorders associated with aging. Cellular senescence and its accompanying senescence-associated secretory phenotype have now emerged as critical factors that link tetraploidy and tetraploidy-induced CIN with cancer, and possibly with aging. Here, we review recent findings about how tetraploidy is related to cancer and possibly to aging, and discuss underlying mechanisms of the relationship, as well as how we can exploit the properties of cells exhibiting tetraploidy-induced CIN to control these pathological conditions.

Topics: Aging; Animals; Cellular Senescence; Chromosomal Instability; Humans; Mice; Neoplasms; Tetraploidy

PubMed: 29949679
DOI: 10.1111/cas.13717

Authors: Sanghee Lim, Neil J Ganem

Topics: Humans; Neoplasms; Tetraploidy

PubMed: 25526024
DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.2790

Review

Authors: Marc A Vittoria, Ryan J Quinton, Neil J Ganem...

The overwhelming majority of proliferating somatic human cells are diploid, and this genomic state is typically maintained across successive cell divisions. However, failures in cell division can induce a whole-genome doubling (WGD) event, in which diploid cells transition to a tetraploid state. While some WGDs are developmentally programmed to produce nonproliferative tetraploid cells with specific cellular functions, unscheduled WGDs can be catastrophic: erroneously arising tetraploid cells are ill-equipped to cope with their doubled cellular and chromosomal content and quickly become genomically unstable and tumorigenic. Deciphering the genetics that underlie the genesis, physiology, and evolution of whole-genome doubled (WGD) cells may therefore reveal therapeutic avenues to selectively eliminate pathological WGD cells.

Topics: Humans; Tetraploidy; Neoplasms; Cell Division; Genome; Cell Physiological Phenomena

PubMed: 37714734
DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2023.08.004

Review

Authors: Micheline Kirsch-Volders, Miroslav Mišík, Michael Fenech...

Tetraploidisation plays a crucial role in evolution, development, stress adaptation, and disease, but its beneficial or pathological effects in different tissues remain unclear. This study aims to compare physiological and unphysiological tetraploidy in eight steps: 1) mechanisms of diploidy-to-tetraploidy transition, 2) induction and elimination of unphysiological tetraploidy, 3) tetraploid cell characteristics, 4) stress-induced unphysiological tetraploidy, 5) comparison of physiological vs. unphysiological tetraploidy, 6) consequences of unphysiological stress-induced tetraploidy, 7) nutritional or pharmacological prevention strategies of tetraploidisation, and 8) knowledge gaps and future perspectives. Unphysiological tetraploidy is an adaptive stress response at a given threshold, often involving mitotic slippage. If tetraploid cells evade elimination through apoptosis or immune surveillance, they may re-enter the cell cycle, causing genetic instability, micronuclei formation, aneuploidy, modification of the epigenome and the development of diseases. The potential contributions of unphysiological tetraploidy to neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and diabetes related diseases are summarized in schematic figures and contrasted with its role in cancer development. The mechanisms responsible for the transition from physiological to unphysiological tetraploidy and the tolerance to tetraploidisation in unphysiological tetraploidy are not fully understood. Understanding these mechanisms is of critical importance to allow the development of targeted nutritional and pharmacological prevention strategies and therapies.

Topics: Humans; Tetraploidy; Animals; Neoplasms; Genomic Instability; Neurodegenerative Diseases

PubMed: 40117022
DOI: 10.1007/s00412-025-00829-1

Authors: Simon Gemble, René Wardenaar, Kristina Keuper...

Diploid and stable karyotypes are associated with health and fitness in animals. By contrast, whole-genome duplications-doublings of the entire complement of chromosomes-are linked to genetic instability and frequently found in human cancers. It has been established that whole-genome duplications fuel chromosome instability through abnormal mitosis; however, the immediate consequences of tetraploidy in the first interphase are not known. This is a key question because single whole-genome duplication events such as cytokinesis failure can promote tumorigenesis. Here we find that human cells undergo high rates of DNA damage during DNA replication in the first S phase following induction of tetraploidy. Using DNA combing and single-cell sequencing, we show that DNA replication dynamics is perturbed, generating under- and over-replicated regions. Mechanistically, we find that these defects result from a shortage of proteins during the G1/S transition, which impairs the fidelity of DNA replication. This work shows that within a single interphase, unscheduled tetraploid cells can acquire highly abnormal karyotypes. These findings provide an explanation for the genetic instability landscape that favours tumorigenesis after tetraploidization.

Topics: Chromosomal Instability; DNA Damage; DNA Replication; Gene Duplication; Humans; Karyotype; Mitosis; S Phase; Tetraploidy

PubMed: 35355016
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04578-4

Authors: Léo Aubert, Estelle Bastien, Ophélie Renoult...

Tumor acidosis is associated with increased invasiveness and drug resistance. Here, we take an unbiased approach to identify vulnerabilities of acid-exposed cancer cells by combining pH-dependent flow cytometry cell sorting from 3D colorectal tumor spheroids and transcriptomic profiling. Besides metabolic rewiring, we identify an increase in tetraploid cell frequency and DNA damage response as consistent hallmarks of acid-exposed cancer cells, supported by the activation of ATM and ATR signaling pathways. We find that regardless of the cell replication error status, both ATM and ATR inhibitors exert preferential growth inhibitory effects on acid-exposed cancer cells. The efficacy of a combination of these drugs with 5-FU is further documented in 3D spheroids as well as in patient-derived colorectal tumor organoids. These data position tumor acidosis as a revelator of the therapeutic potential of DNA repair blockers and as an attractive clinical biomarker to predict the response to a combination with chemotherapy.

Topics: Humans; Tetraploidy; Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; Signal Transduction; DNA Damage; DNA Repair; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Colorectal Neoplasms

PubMed: 38366255
DOI: 10.1038/s44319-024-00089-7

Authors: José M Frade, Noelia López-Sánchez

Topics: Aging; Alzheimer Disease; Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; Animals; Humans; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Neurons; Tetraploidy

PubMed: 29070731
DOI: 10.18632/aging.101312

Authors: Jian Wu, Qing Zhou, Yaru Sang...

BACKGROUND

Artificial induction of polyploidy is the most common and effective way to improve the biological properties of Populus and develop new varieties of this tree. In this study, in order to confirm and expand earlier findings, we established a protocol using colchicine and based on an efficient shoot regeneration system of leaf blades to induce tetraploidy in vitro in three genotypes from diploid Populus hopeiensis. The stomatal characteristics, leaf blade size, and growth were evaluated for diploids and tetraploids of three genotypes.

RESULTS

We found that genotype, preculture duration, colchicine concentration, and colchicine exposure time had highly significant effects on the tetraploid induction rate. The optimal protocol for inducing tetraploidy in P. hopeiensis was to preculture leaf blades for 7 days and then treat them for 4 days with 40 mg/L colchicine. The tetraploid induction rates of genotypes BT1, BT3, and BT8 were 21.2, 11.4 and 16.7%, respectively. A total of 136 tetraploids were identified by flow cytometry analysis and somatic chromosome counting. The stomatal length, width, and density of leaf blades significantly differed between diploid and tetraploid plants. Compared with their diploid counterparts, the tetraploids produced larger leaf blades and had a slower growth rate. Our findings further document the modified morphological characteristics of P. hopeiensis following whole-genome duplication (e.g., induced tetraploidy).

CONCLUSIONS

We established a protocol for in vitro induction of tetraploidy from diploid leaf blades treated with colchicine, which can be applied to different genotypes of P. hopeiensis.

Topics: Tetraploidy; Populus; Polyploidy; Diploidy; Biological Variation, Population; Colchicine

PubMed: 37957587
DOI: 10.1186/s12870-023-04578-0

Authors: Koya Yoshizawa, Akira Matsura, Masaya Shimada...

Tetraploidy is a hallmark of cancer cells, and tetraploidy-selective cell growth suppression is a potential strategy for targeted cancer therapy. However, how tetraploid cells differ from normal diploids in their sensitivity to anti-proliferative treatments remains largely unknown. In this study, we found that tetraploid cells are significantly more susceptible to inhibitors of a mitotic kinesin (CENP-E) than are diploids. Treatment with a CENP-E inhibitor preferentially diminished the tetraploid cell population in a diploid-tetraploid co-culture at optimum conditions. Live imaging revealed that a tetraploidy-linked increase in unsolvable chromosome misalignment caused substantially longer mitotic delay in tetraploids than in diploids upon moderate CENP-E inhibition. This time gap of mitotic arrest resulted in cohesion fatigue and subsequent cell death, specifically in tetraploids, leading to tetraploidy-selective cell growth suppression. In contrast, the microtubule-stabilizing compound paclitaxel caused tetraploidy-selective suppression through the aggravation of spindle multipolarization. We also found that treatment with a CENP-E inhibitor had superior generality to paclitaxel in its tetraploidy selectivity across a broader spectrum of cell lines. Our results highlight the unique properties of CENP-E inhibitors in tetraploidy-selective suppression and their potential use in the development of tetraploidy-targeting interventions in cancer.

Topics: Humans; Cell Line; Microtubules; Mitosis; Neoplasms; Paclitaxel; Tetraploidy; Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone

PubMed: 36688680
DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.13379