Comai Luca
Department of Biology, Box 355325, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
Nat Rev Genet. 2005 Nov;6(11):836-46. doi: 10.1038/nrg1711.
Polyploids - organisms that have multiple sets of chromosomes - are common in certain plant and animal taxa, and can be surprisingly stable. The evidence that has emerged from genome analyses also indicates that many other eukaryotic genomes have a polyploid ancestry, suggesting that both humans and most other eukaryotes have either benefited from or endured polyploidy. Studies of polyploids soon after their formation have revealed genetic and epigenetic interactions between redundant genes. These interactions can be related to the phenotypes and evolutionary fates of polyploids. Here, I consider the advantages and challenges of polyploidy, and its evolutionary potential.
多倍体——拥有多套染色体的生物体——在某些植物和动物分类群中很常见，而且可能惊人地稳定。基因组分析得出的证据还表明，许多其他真核生物基因组都有多倍体祖先，这表明人类和大多数其他真核生物要么受益于多倍体，要么经历过它。对多倍体形成后不久的研究揭示了冗余基因之间的遗传和表观遗传相互作用。这些相互作用可能与多倍体的表型和进化命运有关。在此，我探讨了多倍体的优势与挑战及其进化潜力。
