Frequency of chimerism in populations of the kelp Lessonia spicata in central Chile.

ABSTRACT: Chimerism occurs when two genetically distinct conspecific individuals fuse together generating a single entity. Coalescence and chimerism in red seaweeds has been positively related to an increase in body size, and the consequent reduction in susceptibility to mortality factors, thus increasing survival, reproductive potential and tolerance to stress in contrast to genetically homogeneous organisms. In addition, they showed that a particular pattern of post-fusion growth maintains higher genetic diversity and chimerism in the holdfast but homogenous axes. In Chilean kelps (brown seaweeds), intraorganismal genetic heterogeneity (IGH) and holdfast coalescence has been described in previous research, but the extent of chimerism in wild populations and the patterns of distribution of the gene

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez AV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5325190 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature