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Genome Structure Drives Patterns Of Gene Family Evolution In Ciliates, A Case Study Using Chilodonella Uncinata (Protista, Ciliophora, Phyllopharyngea), Feng Gao, Weibo Song, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

In most lineages, diversity among gene family members results from gene duplication followed by sequence divergence. Because of the genome rearrangements during the development of somatic nuclei, gene family evolution in ciliates involves more complex processes. Previous work on the ciliate Chilodonella uncinata revealed that macronuclear β-tubulin gene family members are generated by alternative processing, in which germline regions are alternatively used in multiple macronuclear chromosomes. To further study genome evolution in this ciliate, we analyzed its transcriptome and found that (1) alternative processing is extensive among gene families; and (2) such gene families are likely to be C. uncinata …