Ploidy Variation in Fungi: Polyploidy, Aneuploidy, and Genome Evolution
Year: 2017
Type: review
Abstract: The ability of an organism to replicate and segregate its genome with high fidelity is vital to its survival and for the production of future generations. Errors in either of these steps (replication or segregation) can lead to a change in ploidy or chromosome number. While these drastic genome changes can be detrimental to the organism, resulting in decreased fitness, they can also provide increased fitness during periods of stress. A change in ploidy or chromosome number can fundamentally change how a cell senses and responds to its environment. Here, we discuss current ideas in fungal biology that illuminate how eukaryotic genome size variation can impact the organism at a cellular and evolutionary level. One of the most fascinating observations from the past 2 decades of research is that some fungi have evolved the ability to tolerate large genome size changes and generate vast genomic heterogeneity without undergoing canonical meiosis.
Source: Microbiology Spectrum
Authors: Robert T. Todd, Anja Forche, Anna Selmecki
Institutions: Creighton University, Bowdoin College
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2740612628