[1] Paleopolyploidy is the result of genome duplications which occurred at least several million years ago (MYA). Such an event could either double the genome of a single species (autopolyploidy) or combine those of two species (allopolyploidy). Because of functional redundancy, genes are rapidly silenced or lost from the duplicated genomes. Most paleopolyploids, through evolutionary time, have lost their polyploid status through a process called diploidization , and are currently considered diploids, e.g., baker's yeast, [2] Arabidopsis thaliana , [3] and perhaps humans. [4] [5] [6] [7]
Paleopolyploidy is extensively studied in plant lineages. It has been found that almost all flowering plants have undergone at least one round of genome duplication at some point during their evolutionary history. Ancient genome duplications are also found in the early ancestor of vertebrates (which includes the human lineage) near the origin of the bony fishes, and another in the stem lineage of teleost fishes. [8] Evidence suggests that baker's yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ), which has a compact genome, experienced polyploidization during its evolutionary history.
The term mesopolyploid is sometimes used for species that have undergone whole genome multiplication events (whole genome duplication, whole genome triplification, etc.) in more recent history, such as within the last 17 million years. [9]
Ancient genome duplications are widespread throughout eukaryotic lineages, particularly in plants. Studies suggest that the common ancestor of Poaceae, the grass family which includes important crop species such as maize, rice, wheat, and sugar cane, shared a whole genome duplication about 70 million years ago. [10] In more ancient monocot lineages one or likely multiple rounds of additional whole genome duplications had occurred, which were however not shared with the ancestral eudicots. [11] Further independent more recent whole genome duplications have occurred in the lineages leading to maize, sugar cane and wheat, but not rice, sorghum or foxtail millet.[ citation needed ]
A polyploidy event 160 million years ago is theorized to have created the ancestral line that led to all modern flowering plants. [12] That paleopolyploidy event was studied by sequencing the genome of an ancient flowering plant, Amborella trichopoda . [13]
The core eudicots also shared a common whole genome triplication (paleo-hexaploidy), which was estimated to have occurred after monocot-eudicot divergence but before the divergence of rosids and asterids. [14] [15] [16] Many eudicot species have experienced additional whole genome duplications or triplications. For example, the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana , the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced, has experienced at least two additional rounds of whole genome duplication since the duplication shared by the core eudicots. [3] The most recent event took place before the divergence of the Arabidopsis and Brassica lineages, about 20 million years ago to 45 million years ago. Other examples include the sequenced eudicot genomes of apple, soybean, tomato, cotton, etc.[ citation needed ]
Compared with plants, paleopolyploidy is much rarer in the animal kingdom. It has been identified mainly in amphibians and bony fishes. Although some studies suggested one or more common genome duplications are shared by all vertebrates (including humans), the evidence is not as strong as in the other cases because the duplications, if they exist, happened so long ago (about 400-500 Ma compared to less than 200 Ma in plants), and the matter is still under debate. The idea that vertebrates share a common whole genome duplication is known as the 2R Hypothesis. Many researchers are interested in the reason why animal lineages, particularly mammals, have had so many fewer whole genome duplications than plant lineages.[ citation needed ]
A well-supported paleopolyploidy has been found in baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), despite its small, compact genome (~13Mbp), after the divergence from Kluyveromyces lactis and K. marxianus . [17] Through genome streamlining, yeast has lost 90% of the duplicated genome over evolutionary time and is now recognized as a diploid organism.[ citation needed ]
Duplicated genes can be identified through sequence homology on the DNA or protein level. Paleopolyploidy can be identified as massive gene duplication at one time using a molecular clock. To distinguish between whole-genome duplication and a collection of (more common) single gene duplication events, the following rules are often applied:
In theory, the two duplicated genes should have the same "age"; that is, the divergence of the sequence should be equal between the two genes duplicated by paleopolyploidy (homeologs). Synonymous substitution rate, Ks, is often used as a molecular clock to determine the time of gene duplication. Thus, paleopolyploidy is identified as a "peak" on the duplicate number vs. Ks graph (shown on the right).
However, using Ks plots to identify and document ancient polyploid events can be problematic, as the method fails to identify genome duplications that were followed by massive gene elimination and genome refinement. Other mixed model approaches that combined Ks plots with other methods are being developed to better understand paleopolyploidy. [18]
Duplication events that occurred a long time ago in the history of various evolutionary lineages can be difficult to detect because of subsequent diploidization (such that a polyploid starts to behave cytogenetically as a diploid over time) as mutations and gene translations gradually make one copy of each chromosome unlike its counterpart. This usually results in a low confidence for identifying a very ancient paleopolyploidy.
Paleopolyploidization events lead to massive cellular changes, including doubling of the genetic material, changes in gene expression and increased cell size. Gene loss during diploidization is not completely random, but heavily selected. Genes from large gene families are duplicated. On the other hand, individual genes are not duplicated.[ clarification needed ] Overall, paleopolyploidy can have both short-term and long-term evolutionary effects on an organism's fitness in the natural environment.[ citation needed ]
Whole genome duplication may increase the rates and efficiency by which organisms acquire new biological traits. However, one test of this hypothesis, which compared evolutionary rates in innovation in early teleost fishes (with duplicate genomes) to early holostean fishes (without duplicated genomes) found little difference between the two. [8]
Genome doubling provided the organism with redundant alleles that can evolve freely with little selection pressure. The duplicated genes can undergo neofunctionalization or subfunctionalization which could help the organism adapt to the new environment or survive different stress conditions.[ citation needed ]
Polyploids often have larger cells and even larger organs. Many important crops, including wheat, maize and cotton, are paleopolyploids which were selected for domestication by ancient peoples.[ citation needed ]
It has been suggested that many polyploidization events created new species, via a gain of adaptive traits, or by sexual incompatibility with their diploid counterparts. An example would be the recent speciation of allopolyploid Spartina — S. anglica ; the polyploid plant is so successful that it is listed as an invasive species in many regions. [19]
There are two major divisions of polyploidy, allopolyploidy and autopolyploidy. Allopolyploids arise as a result of the hybridization of two related species, while autopolyploids arise from the duplication of a species' genome as a result of hybridization of two conspecific parents, [20] or somatic doubling in reproductive tissue of a parent. Allopolyploid species are believed to be much more prevalent in nature, [20] possibly because allopolyploids inherit different genomes, resulting in increased heterozygosity, and therefore higher fitness. These different genomes result in an increased likelihood of large genomic reorganizations, [20] [21] which can be either deleterious, or advantageous. Autopolyploidy, however, is generally considered to be a neutral process, [21] though it has been hypothesized that autopolyploidy may serve as a useful mechanism for inducing speciation, and therefore assisting in the ability of an organism to quickly colonize in new habitats without undergoing the time-intensive and costly period of genomic reorganization experienced by allopolyploid species. One common source of autopolyploidy in plants stems from "perfect flowers", which are capable of self-pollination, or "selfing". This, along with errors in meiosis that lead to aneuploidy, can create an environment where autopolyploidy is very likely. This fact can be exploited in a laboratory setting by using colchicine to inhibit chromosome segregation during meiosis, creating synthetic autopolyploid plants.[ citation needed ]
Following polyploidy events, there are several possible fates for duplicated genes; both copies may be retained as functional genes, change in gene function may occur in one or both copies, gene silencing may mask one or both copies, or complete gene loss may occur. [20] [22] Polyploidy events will result in higher levels of heterozygosity, and, over time, can lead to an increase in the total number of functional genes in the genome. As time passes after a genome duplication event, many genes will change function as a result of either change in duplicate gene function for both allo- and autopolyploid species, or there will be changes in gene expression caused by genomic rearrangements induced by genome duplication in allopolyploids. When both copies of a gene are retained, and thus the number of copies doubled, there is a chance that there will be a proportional increase in expression of that gene, resulting in twice as much mRNA transcript being produced. There is also the possibility that transcription of a duplicated gene will be down-regulated, resulting in less than two-fold increase in transcription of that gene, or that the duplication event will yield more than a two-fold increase in transcription. [23] In one species, Glycine dolichocarpa (a close relative of the soybean, Glycine max), it has been observed that following a genome duplication roughly 500,000 years ago, there has been a 1.4 fold increase in transcription, indicating that there has been a proportional decrease in transcription relative to gene copy number following the duplication event. [23]
The hypothesis of vertebrate paleopolyploidy originated as early as the 1970s, proposed by the biologist Susumu Ohno. He reasoned that the vertebrate genome could not achieve its complexity without large scale whole-genome duplications. The "two rounds of genome duplication" hypothesis (2R hypothesis) came about, and gained in popularity, especially among developmental biologists.[ citation needed ]
Some researchers have questioned the 2R hypothesis because it predicts that vertebrate genomes should have a 4:1 gene ratio compared with invertebrate genomes, and this is not supported by findings from the 48 vertebrate genome projects available in mid-2011. For example, the human genome consists of ~21,000 protein coding genes according to June, 2011 counts at UCSC and Ensembl genome analysis centers[ citation needed ] while an average invertebrate genome size is about 15,000 genes. The amphioxus genome sequence provided support for the hypothesis of two rounds of whole genome duplication, followed by loss of duplicate copies of most genes. [24] Additional arguments against 2R were based on the lack of the (AB)(CD) tree topology amongst four members of a gene family in vertebrates. However, if the two genome duplications occurred close together, we would not expect to find this topology. [25] A recent study generated the sea lamprey genetic map, which yielded strong support for the hypothesis that a single whole-genome duplication occurred in the basal vertebrate lineage, preceded and followed by several evolutionarily independent segmental duplications that occurred over chordate evolution. [26]
Microevolution is the change in allele frequencies that occurs over time within a population. This change is due to four different processes: mutation, selection, gene flow and genetic drift. This change happens over a relatively short amount of time compared to the changes termed macroevolution.
Ploidy is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively, in each homologous chromosome pair, which chromosomes naturally exist as. Somatic cells, tissues, and individual organisms can be described according to the number of sets of chromosomes present : monoploid, diploid, triploid, tetraploid, pentaploid, hexaploid, heptaploid or septaploid, etc. The generic term polyploid is often used to describe cells with three or more sets of chromosomes.
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of (homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one from each of two parents; each set contains the same number of chromosomes, and the chromosomes are joined in pairs of homologous chromosomes. However, some organisms are polyploid. Polyploidy is especially common in plants. Most eukaryotes have diploid somatic cells, but produce haploid gametes by meiosis. A monoploid has only one set of chromosomes, and the term is usually only applied to cells or organisms that are normally diploid. Males of bees and other Hymenoptera, for example, are monoploid. Unlike animals, plants and multicellular algae have life cycles with two alternating multicellular generations. The gametophyte generation is haploid, and produces gametes by mitosis; the sporophyte generation is diploid and produces spores by meiosis.
Gene duplication is a major mechanism through which new genetic material is generated during molecular evolution. It can be defined as any duplication of a region of DNA that contains a gene. Gene duplications can arise as products of several types of errors in DNA replication and repair machinery as well as through fortuitous capture by selfish genetic elements. Common sources of gene duplications include ectopic recombination, retrotransposition event, aneuploidy, polyploidy, and replication slippage.
Comparative genomics is a branch of biological research that examines genome sequences across a spectrum of species, spanning from humans and mice to a diverse array of organisms from bacteria to chimpanzees. This large-scale holistic approach compares two or more genomes to discover the similarities and differences between the genomes and to study the biology of the individual genomes. Comparison of whole genome sequences provides a highly detailed view of how organisms are related to each other at the gene level. By comparing whole genome sequences, researchers gain insights into genetic relationships between organisms and study evolutionary changes. The major principle of comparative genomics is that common features of two organisms will often be encoded within the DNA that is evolutionarily conserved between them. Therefore, Comparative genomics provides a powerful tool for studying evolutionary changes among organisms, helping to identify genes that are conserved or common among species, as well as genes that give unique characteristics of each organism. Moreover, these studies can be performed at different levels of the genomes to obtain multiple perspectives about the organisms.
Sequence homology is the biological homology between DNA, RNA, or protein sequences, defined in terms of shared ancestry in the evolutionary history of life. Two segments of DNA can have shared ancestry because of three phenomena: either a speciation event (orthologs), or a duplication event (paralogs), or else a horizontal gene transfer event (xenologs).
In genetics, the term synteny refers to two related concepts:
The Chimpanzee Genome Project was an effort to determine the DNA sequence of the chimpanzee genome. Sequencing began in 2005 and by 2013 twenty-four individual chimpanzees had been sequenced. This project was folded into the Great Ape Genome Project.
Human evolutionary genetics studies how one human genome differs from another human genome, the evolutionary past that gave rise to the human genome, and its current effects. Differences between genomes have anthropological, medical, historical and forensic implications and applications. Genetic data can provide important insights into human evolution.
Hybrid speciation is a form of speciation where hybridization between two different species leads to a new species, reproductively isolated from the parent species. Previously, reproductive isolation between two species and their parents was thought to be particularly difficult to achieve, and thus hybrid species were thought to be very rare. With DNA analysis becoming more accessible in the 1990s, hybrid speciation has been shown to be a somewhat common phenomenon, particularly in plants. In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid species is also called a nothospecies. Hybrid species are by their nature polyphyletic.
Orphan genes, ORFans, or taxonomically restricted genes (TRGs) are genes that lack a detectable homologue outside of a given species or lineage. Most genes have known homologues. Two genes are homologous when they share an evolutionary history, and the study of groups of homologous genes allows for an understanding of their evolutionary history and divergence. Common mechanisms that have been uncovered as sources for new genes through studies of homologues include gene duplication, exon shuffling, gene fusion and fission, etc. Studying the origins of a gene becomes more difficult when there is no evident homologue. The discovery that about 10% or more of the genes of the average microbial species is constituted by orphan genes raises questions about the evolutionary origins of different species as well as how to study and uncover the evolutionary origins of orphan genes.
The 2R hypothesis or Ohno's hypothesis, first proposed by Susumu Ohno in 1970, is a hypothesis that the genomes of the early vertebrate lineage underwent two whole genome duplications, and thus modern vertebrate genomes reflect paleopolyploidy. The name derives from the 2 rounds of duplication originally hypothesized by Ohno, but refined in a 1994 version, and the term 2R hypothesis was probably coined in 1999. Variations in the number and timings of genome duplications typically still are referred to as examples of the 2R hypothesis.
Evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) is the study of developmental programs and patterns from an evolutionary perspective. It seeks to understand the various influences shaping the form and nature of life on the planet. Evo-devo arose as a separate branch of science rather recently. An early sign of this occurred in 1999.
Plant evolution is the subset of evolutionary phenomena that concern plants. Evolutionary phenomena are characteristics of populations that are described by averages, medians, distributions, and other statistical methods. This distinguishes plant evolution from plant development, a branch of developmental biology which concerns the changes that individuals go through in their lives. The study of plant evolution attempts to explain how the present diversity of plants arose over geologic time. It includes the study of genetic change and the consequent variation that often results in speciation, one of the most important types of radiation into taxonomic groups called clades. A description of radiation is called a phylogeny and is often represented by type of diagram called a phylogenetic tree.
A ghost lineage is a hypothesized ancestor in a species lineage that has left no fossil evidence, but can still be inferred to exist or have existed because of gaps in the fossil record or genomic evidence. The process of determining a ghost lineage relies on fossilized evidence before and after the hypothetical existence of the lineage and extrapolating relationships between organisms based on phylogenetic analysis. Ghost lineages assume unseen diversity in the fossil record and serve as predictions for what the fossil record could eventually yield; these hypotheses can be tested by unearthing new fossils or running phylogenetic analyses.
Genome evolution is the process by which a genome changes in structure (sequence) or size over time. The study of genome evolution involves multiple fields such as structural analysis of the genome, the study of genomic parasites, gene and ancient genome duplications, polyploidy, and comparative genomics. Genome evolution is a constantly changing and evolving field due to the steadily growing number of sequenced genomes, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic, available to the scientific community and the public at large.
Aerobic fermentation or aerobic glycolysis is a metabolic process by which cells metabolize sugars via fermentation in the presence of oxygen and occurs through the repression of normal respiratory metabolism. Preference of aerobic fermentation over aerobic respiration is referred to as the Crabtree effect in yeast, and is part of the Warburg effect in tumor cells. While aerobic fermentation does not produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in high yield, it allows proliferating cells to convert nutrients such as glucose and glutamine more efficiently into biomass by avoiding unnecessary catabolic oxidation of such nutrients into carbon dioxide, preserving carbon-carbon bonds and promoting anabolism.
Diploidization is the process of converting a polyploid genome back into a diploid one. Polyploidy is a product of whole genome duplication (WGD) and is followed by diploidization as a result of genome shock. The plant kingdom has undergone multiple events of polyploidization followed by diploidization in both ancient and recent lineages. It has also been hypothesized that vertebrate genomes have gone through two rounds of paleopolyploidy. The mechanisms of diploidization are poorly understood but patterns of chromosomal loss and evolution of novel genes are observed in the process.
Kenneth Henry Wolfe is an Irish geneticist and professor of genomic evolution at University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland.
Eukaryote hybrid genomes result from interspecific hybridization, where closely related species mate and produce offspring with admixed genomes. The advent of large-scale genomic sequencing has shown that hybridization is common, and that it may represent an important source of novel variation. Although most interspecific hybrids are sterile or less fit than their parents, some may survive and reproduce, enabling the transfer of adaptive variants across the species boundary, and even result in the formation of novel evolutionary lineages. There are two main variants of hybrid species genomes: allopolyploid, which have one full chromosome set from each parent species, and homoploid, which are a mosaic of the parent species genomes with no increase in chromosome number.
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