Caenorhabditis phylogeny predicts convergence of hermaphroditism and extensive intron loss.
Despite the prominence of Caenorhabditis elegans as a major developmental and genetic model system, its phylogenetic relationship to its closest relatives has not been resolved. Resolution of these relationships is necessary for studying the steps that underlie life history, genomic, and morphological evolution of this important system. By using data from five different nuclear genes from 10 Caenorhabditis species currently in culture, we find a well resolved phylogeny that reveals three striking patterns in the evolution of this animal group: (i) Hermaphroditism has evolved independently in C. elegans and its close relative Caenorhabditis briggsae; (ii) there is a large degree of intron turnover within Caenorhabditis, and intron losses are much more frequent than intron gains; and (iii) despite the lack of marked morphological diversity, more genetic disparity is present within this one genus than has occurred within all vertebrates.
Kiontke
Karin
K
Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, New York, NY 10003, USA.
Gavin
Nicholas P
NP
Raynes
Yevgeniy
Y
Roehrig
Casey
C
Piano
Fabio
F
Fitch
David H A
DH
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002107:Caenorhabditis / Q000235:genetics*; D012734:Disorders of Sex Development / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016678:Genome; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000235:genetics
D012319:RNA Polymerase II