Evidence for Biased Gene Conversion in Concerted Evolution of Ribosomal DNA

Hillis, David M.; Moritz, Craig; Porter, Calvin A.; Baker, Robert J.

doi:10.1126/science.1987647

Cited by 339 publications

(198 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…It is known that the eukaryotic ribosomal DNA (rDNA) array typically consists of several hundred tandemly repeated copies of the transcription unit, encoding 18S-ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-28SrRNA. However, these copies are believed to be genetically homogenized by concerted evolution (e.g., Hillis et al 1991). Williams et al (1988) considered the possibility that homogenization via concerted evolution may take longer evolutionary times than commonly believed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ongoing Phenotypic and Genotypic Diversification in Adaptively Radiated Freshwater Crabs from Jamaica

Schubart

Weil

Stenderup

et al. 2010

Evolution in Action

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The Caribbean island of Jamaica is home to a lineage of crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Sesarmidae) which have colonized the most unusual terrestrial habitats. Today, they can be found nesting in bromeliad leaf axils or empty snail shells, scurrying on the forest floor or among dry rock rubble, climbing on walls of deep cave systems, or digging burrows in the banks of mountain streams. In order to facilitate survival of their offspring in these remarkable and new habitats, complex behavioral adaptations have evolved, including feeding and protecting the offspring, and transport of empty snail shells into the nursery to buffer the pH and provide the necessary calcium carbonate [summarized in Diesel (Proc Roy Soc Lond B 264:1403-1406, 1997, Diesel and Schubart (Evolutionary ecology of social and sexual systems: crustaceans as model organisms. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 365-386, 2007)]. No other American sesarmid crab species shows this degree of terrestriality and elaborate brood care behavior. Instead, the most related species typically are inhabitants of marshes and mangroves and reproduce by releasing their larvae into the ocean, without any additional paternal obligation. Molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the Jamaican endemic sesarmids are monophyletic and thus the outcome of a single colonization event, which took place approximately 4.5 million years ago and was followed by a rapid radiation, speciation, and adaptation to ecological niches, which have not been used by crabs in any other parts of the world and required evolution of complex behavioral strategies to render survival in these habitats possible (Schubart et al. Nature 393:363-365, 1998a). This system can be considered a classic example of an adaptive radiation of comparatively young age. It calls for research concerning the mechanisms and the pace of evolution to generate these highly specialized forms. In the present paper, we provide new data on evolutionary processes at the intraspecific level, which may help to understand the potential of diversification in these crabs. Furthermore, published and unpublished data available for these specialized crabs are summarized, giving evidence for the astounding diversity of evolutionary strategies and the dimension of biodiversity beyond the species level.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ongoing Phenotypic and Genotypic Diversification in Adaptively Radiated Freshwater Crabs from Jamaica

Schubart

Weil

Stenderup

et al. 2010

Evolution in Action

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“…When documenting hybridization events in plant using ITS sequences, it is necessary to consider concerted evolution. Some studies suggested that homogenization of ITS copies can eliminate one of the parents copies in few generations (Hillis et al, 1991;Wendel et al, 1995;Aguilar et al, 1999). Our ITS results support the same scenario in R. lichiangensis (Fig.…”

Section: Putative Hybrids In Rosa Sections Chinenses and Synstylaementioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogeny of Rosa sections Chinenses and Synstylae (Rosaceae) based on chloroplast and nuclear markers

Zhu

Gao

Fougère‐Danezan

2015

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

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“…It has been suggested that concerted evolution by gene conversion maintains the sequence homogeneity of the multiple copies (Hillis et al, 1991). However, there are several examples of intragenomic nucleotide variations between two distinct types of the same rDNA species (Carranza et al, 1996;Mylvaganam & Dennis, 1992), some of which displayed growth-stagespecific transcription (Gunderson et al, 1987;Mashkova et al, 1981).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct evidence for redundant segmental replacement between multiple 18S rRNA genes in a single Prototheca strain

et al. 2007

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Informational genes such as those encoding rRNAs are related to transcription and translation, and are thus considered to be rarely subject to lateral gene transfer (LGT) between different organisms, compared to operational genes having metabolic functions. However, several lines of evidence have suggested or confirmed the occurrence of LGT of DNA segments encoding evolutionarily variable regions of rRNA genes between different organisms. In the present paper, we show, for the first time to our knowledge, that variable regions of the 18S rRNA gene are segmentally replaced by multiple copies of different sequences in a single strain of the green microalga Prototheca wickerhamii, resulting in at least 17 genotypes, nine of which were actually transcribed. Recombination between different 18S rRNA genes occurred in seven out of eight variable regions (V1-V5 and V7-V9) of eukaryotic small subunit (SSU) rRNAs. While no recombination was observed in V1, one to three different recombination loci were demonstrated for the other regions. Such segmental replacement was also implicated for helix H37, which is defined as V6 of prokaryotic SSU rRNAs. Our observations provide direct evidence for redundant recombination of an informational gene, which encodes a component of mature ribosomes, in a single strain of one organism.

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Evidence for Biased Gene Conversion in Concerted Evolution of Ribosomal DNA

Cited by 339 publications

References 28 publications

Ongoing Phenotypic and Genotypic Diversification in Adaptively Radiated Freshwater Crabs from Jamaica

Ongoing Phenotypic and Genotypic Diversification in Adaptively Radiated Freshwater Crabs from Jamaica

Phylogeny of Rosa sections Chinenses and Synstylae (Rosaceae) based on chloroplast and nuclear markers

Direct evidence for redundant segmental replacement between multiple 18S rRNA genes in a single Prototheca strain

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