Prokopowich Cheryl D, Gregory T Ryan, Crease Teresa J
Department of Zoology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
Genome. 2003 Feb;46(1):48-50. doi: 10.1139/g02-103.
Both rDNA gene multiplicity and genome size vary widely among eukaryotes. For some time, there has been debate regarding any possible relationship between these two parameters. The present study uses data on genome size and rDNA copy number for 162 species of plants and animals to test the association between genome size and rDNA copy number, and provides the first convincing evidence of a strong positive relationship between the two within and among these two groups of organisms. No simple explanations exist for this relationship, but it is nevertheless of clear relevance from both practical and theoretical perspectives.
核糖体DNA（rDNA）基因的多样性和基因组大小在真核生物中差异很大。一段时间以来，关于这两个参数之间是否存在任何可能的关系一直存在争论。本研究使用了162种动植物的基因组大小和rDNA拷贝数的数据，来测试基因组大小与rDNA拷贝数之间的关联，并首次提供了令人信服的证据，证明在这两组生物内部和之间，二者存在着强烈的正相关关系。对于这种关系不存在简单的解释，但从实际和理论角度来看，它都具有明显的相关性。
