The economics of organellar gene loss and endosymbiotic gene transfer.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The endosymbiosis of the bacterial progenitors of the mitochondrion and the chloroplast are landmark events in the evolution of life on Earth. While both organelles have retained substantial proteomic and biochemical complexity, this complexity is not reflected in the content of their genomes. Instead, the organellar genomes encode fewer than 5% of the genes found in living relatives of their ancestors. While many of the 95% of missing organellar genes have been discarded, others have been transferred to the host nuclear genome through a process known as endosymbiotic gene transfer.

Results

Here, we demonstrate that the difference in the per-cell copy number of the organellar and nuclear genomes presents an energetic incentive to the cell to either delete organell

SUBMITTER: Kelly S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8686548 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature