Evolution of dnmt-2 and mbd-2-like genes in the free-living nematodes Pristionchus pacificus, Caenorhabditis elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae.

ABSTRACT: Whole genome sequencing of several metazoan model organisms provides a platform for studying genome evolution. How representative are the genomes of these model organisms for their respective phyla? Within nematodes, for example, the free-living soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a highly derived species with unusual genomic characters, such as a reduced Hox cluster (Curr. Biol., 13, 37-40) and the absence of a Hedgehog signaling system. Here, we describe the recent loss of a DNA methyltransferase-2 gene (dnmt-2) in C.elegans. A dnmt-2-like gene is present in the satellite model organism Pristionchus pacificus, another free-living nematode that diverged from C.elegans 200-300 million years ago. In contrast, C.elegans, Caenorhabditis briggsae and P.pacificus all contain an mbd-2-like g

SUBMITTER: Gutierrez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC535690 | biostudies-literature | 2004

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature