Evolution of Caenorhabditis mitochondrial genome pseudogenes and Caenorhabditis briggsae natural isolates.

ABSTRACT: Although most metazoan mitochondrial genomes are highly streamlined and encode little noncoding DNA outside of the "AT" region, the accumulation of mitochondrial pseudogenes and other types of noncoding DNA has been observed in a growing number of animal groups. The nematode species Caenorhabditis briggsae harbors two mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) pseudogenes, named Psinad5-1 and Psinad5-2, presumably derived from the nad5 protein-coding gene. Here, we provide an in-depth analysis of mtDNA pseudogene evolution in C. briggsae natural isolates and related Caenorhabditis species. Mapping the observed presence and absence of the pseudogenes onto phylogenies suggests that Psinad5-1 originated in the ancestor to C. briggsae and its recently discovered outcrossing relative species Caenorhabditis sp.

SUBMITTER: Raboin MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2857805 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature