Supplementary Material for: Nucleolar Dominance and Repression of 45S Ribosomal RNA Genes in Hybrids between Xenopus borealis and X. muelleri (2n = 36) S.Maciak K.Michalak S.D.Kale P.Michalak 2016 <p>Nucleolar dominance is a dramatic disruption in the formation of nucleoli and the expression of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, characteristic of some plant and animal hybrids. Here, we report that F<sub>1</sub> hybrids produced from reciprocal crosses between 2 sister species of <i>Xenopus</i> clawed frogs, <i>X. muelleri</i> and <i>X. borealis</i>, undergo nucleolar dominance somewhat distinct from a pattern previously reported in hybrids between phylogenetically more distant <i>Xenopus</i> species. Patterns of nucleolar development, 45S rRNA expression, and gene copy inheritance were investigated using a combination of immunostaining, pyrosequencing, droplet digital PCR, flow cytometry, and epigenetic inhibition. In <i>X. muelleri</i> × <i>X. borealis</i> hybrids, typically only 1 nucleolus is formed, and 45S rRNA genes are predominantly expressed from 1 progenitor's alleles, <i>X. muelleri</i>, regardless of the cross-direction. These changes are accompanied by an extensive (∼80%) loss of rRNA gene copies in the hybrids relative to their parents, with the transcriptionally underdominant variant <i>(X. borealis)</i> being preferentially lost. Chemical treatment of hybrid larvae with a histone deacetylase inhibitor resulted in a partial derepression of the underdominant variant. Together, these observations shed light on the genetic and epigenetic basis of nucleolar dominance as an underappreciated manifestation of genetic conflicts within a hybrid genome.</p>