Evolutionary Genetics: Sex Happens in Giardia
نویسنده
چکیده
Previous analyses of the Giardia genome exposed numerous genes required for meiosis, suggesting that sexual reproduction is occurring in this early-diverging eukaryote. A new study now uncovers direct genetic evidence for recombination in Giardia populations.
منابع مشابه
Sex: Is Giardia Doing It in the Dark?
The protist Giardia has long been considered strictly asexual. Now genes specific for meiotic recombination have been found in the Giardia genome, but their consequences for genetics, epidemiology and evolution remain unknown.
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Although Giardia is of practical importance as a pathogen and has theoretical importance in evolutionary biology, it is not known whether it ever reproduces sexually. Several recent papers have shed light on this problem, without completely solving it. One paper shows that nuclei in the encysted organism can temporarily fuse and exchange genes; this may explain the genetic similarity of the two...
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عنوان ژورنال:
- Current Biology
دوره 18 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2008