Consequences of drive on the evolution of genomes and species

Meiotic drivers violate Mendelian principles by biasing their segregation to the next generation, often at a cost to the individual. This cost leads to a cyclical arms race between drivers and host genomes where drivers acquire modifications to cheat, and the rest of the genome evolves counter-drive mechanisms to restore fair segregation. Repeated bouts of innovation on both sides of the conflict can have consequences for genome and species evolution. Much of the foundational and recent work in this field has found its home in the Genetics Society of America journals. In this commentary, Edvalson and Larracuente highlight some recent work published in these journals that address key questions about the evolutionary consequences of meiotic drive.