title: Molecular parasites that evolve longer genomes.
abstract: Molecular parasites that utilize the replication machinery of cells or of in vitro amplification reactions have previously been characterized. By and large, these parasites have been smaller than the viruses or amplicons that gave rise to them. This is likely because shorter genomes can be replicated more quickly. In contrast, we have identified and characterized parasites of an isothermal amplification reaction that are longer than their parental molecules yet replicate much more efficiently. These results raise interesting questions regarding whether the optimal size of replicators reflects a trade-off between the information encoded in a parasite and the information encoded in the machinery replicating that parasite.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Ellington
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005784:Gene Amplification; D016678:Genome; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000235:genetics*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics; D012641:Selection, Genetic
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D012313:RNA