Somatic genome architecture and molecular evolution are decoupled in "young" linage-specific gene families in ciliates.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of lineage-specific gene families remains poorly studied across the eukaryotic tree of life, with most analyses focusing on the recent evolution of de novo genes in model species. Here we explore the origins of lineage-specific genes in ciliates, a ~1 billion year old clade of microeukaryotes that are defined by their division of somatic and germline functions into distinct nuclei. Previous analyses on conserved gene families have shown the effect of ciliates' unusual genome architecture on gene family evolution: extensive genome processing-the generation of thousands of gene-sized somatic chromosomes from canonical germline chromosomes-is associated with larger and more diverse gene families. To further study the relationship between ciliate genome architecture and gene fami

SUBMITTER: Maurer-Alcala XX 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10810533 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature