Limited Mutation-Rate Variation Within the Paramecium aurelia Species Complex

G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics

Michael Lynch^3¹  Hongan Long^1²  Thomas G. Doak^2³ 

[1] Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287^3;Institute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, KLMME, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China 266003^1;National Center for Genome Analysis Support, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405^2

关键词: ciliated protozoa;    mutation-accumulation;    neutral evolution;   

DOI  :  10.1534/g3.118.200420

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Genetics Society of America

【 摘 要 】

Mutation is one of the most fundamental evolutionary forces. Studying variation in the mutation rate within and among closely-related species can help reveal mechanisms of genome divergence, but such variation is unstudied in the vast majority of organisms. Previous studies on ciliated protozoa have found extremely low mutation rates. In this study, using mutation-accumulation techniques combined with deep whole-genome sequencing, we explore the germline base-substitution mutation-rate variation of three cryptic species in the Paramecium aurelia species complex— P. biaurelia , P. sexaurelia , and P. tetraurelia . We find that there is extremely limited variation of the mutation rate and spectrum in the three species and confirm the extremely low mutation rate of ciliates.

【 授权许可】

CC BY