Genome evolution

Genome evolution is the process by which a genome changes in structure over time, through mutation, horizontal gene transfer, and sexual reproduction. The study of genome evolution involves multiple fields including structural analysis of the genome, genomic parasites, gene and ancient genome duplications, polyploidy, and comparative genomics.

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News and Comment

  • News & Views |

    By sequencing and analyzing the genomes of the partially and fully mycoheterotrophic orchids Platanthera zijinensis and P. guangdongensis, respectively, we reveal not only the potential molecular basis underlying important mycoheterotrophic traits, but also nutrient supplement mechanisms in the early and later stage of mycoheterotrophic growth, illuminating the evolution of mycoheterotrophic plants.

    Nature Plants 8, 328-329

  • Research Highlights |

    Using whole-genome sequencing and haplotype tracking, Viluma et al. show that the small, highly inbred Scandinavian wolf population has lost substantial genetic diversity over a 30-year period. Their findings have important implications for the management and conservation of endangered species.

    • Dorothy Clyde
    Nature Reviews Genetics 23, 197

  • Research Highlights |

    A paper in Cell reports a chromosome-level genome assembly and methylome for the conifer Pinus tabuliformis. At 25.4 Gb, it the largest gymnosperm genome available to date and provides insight into conifer adaptation.

    • Dorothy Clyde
    Nature Reviews Genetics 23, 136

  • Research Highlights |

    A study in Nature Communications shows that horizontal transfer of bacterial chromosomes by phage-mediated lateral transduction renders them more mobile than many classically defined mobile genetic elements, including plasmids and transposons.

    • Dorothy Clyde
    Nature Reviews Genetics 23, 3

  • News & Views |

    The genome of a magnoliid, Aristolochia fimbriata, shows no evidence of whole-genome duplication, a feature uniquely shared with Amborella trichopoda, the sister species to all other angiosperms. This ancestral structure of the Aristolochia genome offers great opportunities for comparative genomics.

    • Zhen Li
    •  & Yves Van de Peer
    Nature Plants 7, 1162-1163
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