Annelid Comparative Genomics and the Evolution of Massive Lineage-Specific Genome Rearrangement in Bilaterians.

ABSTRACT: The organization of genomes into chromosomes is critical for processes such as genetic recombination, environmental adaptation, and speciation. All animals with bilateral symmetry inherited a genome structure from their last common ancestor that has been highly conserved in some taxa but seemingly unconstrained in others. However, the evolutionary forces driving these differences and the processes by which they emerge have remained largely uncharacterized. Here, we analyze genome organization across the phylum Annelida using 23 chromosome-level annelid genomes. We find that while many annelid lineages have maintained the conserved bilaterian genome structure, the Clitellata, a group containing leeches and earthworms, possesses completely scrambled genomes. We develop a rearrangement index

SUBMITTER: Lewin TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11371463 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature