Paramecium Molecular Evolution Chapter uri icon

abstract

  • 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Paramecia are iconic members of the phylum Ciliophora, the ciliate protozoa or synonym. Many different aspects of their cellular and molecular features have been intensively studied by researchers for many years.Molecular analyses of the evolution in the genus Paramecium indicate that, since their divergence from other, closely related ciliates, paramecia have undergone at least three cycles of complete duplication of the genome, each followed by a period of genetic sequence divergence and gene loss. These duplications and divergence/deletion cycles appear to be roughly coordinated with major evolutionary divergence events, including speciation within the genus. The significance of these processes to our general understanding of evolutionary mechanisms deserves much further study and analysis.

author list (cited authors)

  • Aufderheide, K. J.

citation count

  • 0

complete list of authors

  • Aufderheide, KJ

Book Title

  • Brenner's Encyclopedia of Genetics

publication date

  • February 2013