Mutational robustness of morphological traits in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila.

ABSTRACT: Ciliate nuclear architecture, in particular the sequestration of a transcriptionally silent germline genome, allows for the accumulation of mutations that are "hidden" from selection during many rounds of asexual reproduction. After sexual conjugation, these mutations are expressed, potentially resulting in highly variable phenotypes. Morphological traits are widely used in ciliate taxonomy, however, the extent to which the values of these traits are robust to change in the face of mutation remains largely unknown. In this study, we examine the effects of mutations accumulated in the germline genome to test the mutational robustness of four traits commonly used in ciliate morphological taxonomy (number of somatic kineties, number of postoral kineties, macronuclear size, and cell size). We

SUBMITTER: Long H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4346436 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar-Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature