Journal article
An Expanded Inventory of Conserved Meiotic Genes Provides Evidence for Sex in Trichomonas vaginalis
PloS one, Vol.3(8), pp.e2879-e2879
08/06/2008
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002879
PMCID: PMC2488364
PMID: 18663385
Abstract
Meiosis is a defining feature of eukaryotes but its phylogenetic distribution has not been broadly determined, especially among eukaryotic microorganisms (
i.e.
protists)—which represent the majority of eukaryotic ‘supergroups’. We surveyed genomes of animals, fungi, plants and protists for meiotic genes, focusing on the evolutionarily divergent parasitic protist
Trichomonas vaginalis
. We identified homologs of 29 components of the meiotic recombination machinery, as well as the synaptonemal and meiotic sister chromatid cohesion complexes.
T. vaginalis
has orthologs of 27 of 29 meiotic genes, including eight of nine genes that encode meiosis-specific proteins in model organisms. Although meiosis has not been observed in
T. vaginalis
, our findings suggest it is either currently sexual or a recent asexual, consistent with observed, albeit unusual, sexual cycles in their distant parabasalid relatives, the hypermastigotes.
T. vaginalis
may use meiotic gene homologs to mediate homologous recombination and genetic exchange. Overall, this expanded inventory of meiotic genes forms a useful “meiosis detection toolkit”. Our analyses indicate that these meiotic genes arose, or were already present, early in eukaryotic evolution; thus, the eukaryotic cenancestor contained most or all components of this set and was likely capable of performing meiotic recombination using near-universal meiotic machinery.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- An Expanded Inventory of Conserved Meiotic Genes Provides Evidence for Sex in Trichomonas vaginalis
- Creators
- Shehre-Banoo Malik - Indiana University, United States of AmericaArthur W Pightling - Indiana University, United States of AmericaLauren M Stefaniak - Indiana University, United States of AmericaAndrew M Schurko - Indiana University, United States of AmericaJohn M Logsdon - Indiana University, United States of America
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- PloS one, Vol.3(8), pp.e2879-e2879
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0002879
- PMID
- 18663385
- PMCID
- PMC2488364
- NLM abbreviation
- PLoS One
- ISSN
- 1932-6203
- eISSN
- 1932-6203
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science
- Alternative title
- Meiosis Genes in Trichomonas
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 08/06/2008
- Academic Unit
- Biology
- Record Identifier
- 9984217535202771
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