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Meiosis and beyond – understanding the mechanistic and evolutionary processes shaping the germline genome

Bergero, Roberta, Ellis, Peter, Haerty, Wilfried, Larcombe, Lee, Macaulay, Iain, Mehta, Tarang, Mogensen, Mette, Murray, David, Nash, Will, Neale, Matthew J., and others. (2021) Meiosis and beyond – understanding the mechanistic and evolutionary processes shaping the germline genome. Biological Reviews, . ISSN 1464-7931. E-ISSN 1469-185X. (doi:10.1111/brv.12680) (KAR id:85309)

Abstract

The separation of germ cell populations from the soma is part of the evolutionary transition to multicellularity. Only genetic information present in the germ cells will be inherited by future generations, and any molecular processes affecting the germline genome are therefore likely to be passed on. Despite its prevalence across taxonomic kingdoms, we are only starting to understand details of the underlying micro‐evolutionary processes occurring at the germline genome level. These include segregation, recombination, mutation and selection and can occur at any stage during germline differentiation and mitotic germline proliferation to meiosis and post‐meiotic gamete maturation. Selection acting on germ cells at any stage from the diploid germ cell to the haploid gametes may cause significant deviations from Mendelian inheritance and may be more widespread than previously assumed. The mechanisms that affect and potentially alter the genomic sequence and allele frequencies in the germline are pivotal to our understanding of heritability. With the rise of new sequencing technologies, we are now able to address some of these unanswered questions. In this review, we comment on the most recent developments in this field and identify current gaps in our knowledge.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/brv.12680
Uncontrolled keywords: Review, meiosis, germline, evolution, mutation
Subjects: Q Science > QH Natural history > QH426 Genetics
Q Science > QH Natural history > QH581.2 Cell Biology
Q Science > QP Physiology (Living systems) > QP506 Molecular biology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Biosciences
Depositing User: Peter Ellis
Date Deposited: 04 Jan 2021 15:08 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2022 08:22 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/85309 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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