A maternal-effect selfish genetic element in Caenorhabditis elegans

Selfish genetic interactions in nematodes Identifying the effects and evolution of selfish genetic elements can be difficult because of their biased inheritance. Ben-David et al. identified a selfish genetic element that drives maternal-effect lethality in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (see the Perspective by Phadnis). This incompatibility stems from the interaction between a maternally deposited toxin and a zygotically expressed antidote. Interestingly, the antidote is encoded by the gene pha-1 , which has been described as an essential gene in embryonic development. Science , this issue p. 1051 ; see also p. 1013