Barow Martin
Institute of Plants Genetics and Crop Plant Research Gatersleben, Germany.
Bioessays. 2006 Mar;28(3):271-81. doi: 10.1002/bies.20371.
Two main attempts have been suggested for the biological significance of endopolyploidy: (i) provision of high DNA amounts to support high synthetic demands in certain cells and (ii) compensation for a lack of nuclear DNA in species with small genomes. However, in seed plants, the positive correlation between DNA content and cell volume of endopolyploid cells suggests other possibilities. Cell size paralleled by the endopolyploidy level has an impact on growth and development. Endopolyploidy levels in turn are characteristic for a given species and even families, reflecting the adaptation to certain habitats during phylogeny. Furthermore, endopolyploidy levels vary to some degree between individuals of one species in response to different environmental conditions. In addition, endopolyploidy differs between different tissues suggests that a certain cell size is advantageous for a given cell function. This article reviews these findings and discusses more conclusive possible functions of endopolyploidy.
关于内多倍体的生物学意义，主要有两种观点：（i）提供大量DNA以满足某些细胞对高合成量的需求；（ii）补偿小基因组物种中核DNA的不足。然而，在种子植物中，内多倍体细胞的DNA含量与细胞体积之间的正相关关系提示了其他可能性。与内多倍体水平平行的细胞大小对生长和发育有影响。内多倍体水平反过来又是特定物种甚至科的特征，反映了在系统发育过程中对特定栖息地的适应。此外，同一物种的不同个体之间，内多倍体水平会因不同环境条件而在一定程度上有所变化。此外，不同组织之间的内多倍体情况不同，这表明特定的细胞大小对特定的细胞功能是有利的。本文综述了这些发现，并讨论了内多倍体更具决定性的可能功能。
