The macronuclear genomic landscape within Tetrahymena thermophila

Abstract

The extent of intraspecific genomic variation is key to understanding species evolutionary history, including recent adaptive shifts. Intraspecific genomic variation remains poorly explored in eukaryotic micro-organisms, especially in the nuclear dimorphic ciliates, despite their fundamental role as laboratory model systems and their ecological importance in many ecosystems. We sequenced the macronuclear genome of 22 laboratory strains of the oligohymenophoran Tetrahymena thermophila, a model species in both cellular biology and evolutionary ecology. We explored polymorphisms at the junctions of programmed eliminated sequences, and reveal their utility to barcode very closely related cells. As for other species of the genus Tetrahymena, we confirm micronuclear centromeres as gene diversification centres in T. thermophila, but also reveal a two-speed evolution in these regions. In the rest of the genome, we highlight recent diversification of genes coding for extracellular proteins and cell adhesion. We discuss all these findings in relation to this ciliate’s ecology and cellular characteristics.