Phylogenomic test of the hypotheses for the evolutionary origin of eukaryotes.

ABSTRACT: The evolutionary origin of eukaryotes is a question of great interest for which many different hypotheses have been proposed. These hypotheses predict distinct patterns of evolutionary relationships for individual genes of the ancestral eukaryotic genome. The availability of numerous completely sequenced genomes covering the three domains of life makes it possible to contrast these predictions with empirical data. We performed a systematic analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of ancestral eukaryotic genes with archaeal and bacterial genes. In contrast with previous studies, we emphasize the critical importance of methods accounting for statistical support, horizontal gene transfer, and gene loss, and we disentangle the processes underlying the phylogenomic pattern we observe. We firs

SUBMITTER: Rochette NC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3969559 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature