Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Manipulation of Ploidy in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: March 15, 2018
Ploidy and the causes of genomic evolution
Aleeza C Gerstein1, Sarah P Otto
1Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada. gerstein@zoology.ubc.ca
Abstract:
Genomes vary dramatically in size and in content. This variation is driven in part by numerous polyploidization events that have happened over the course of eukaryotic evolution. Experimental evolution studies, primarily using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, provide insights into the immediate fitness effects of ploidy mutations, the ability of organisms of different ploidy levels to mask deleterious mutations, the impact of ploidy on rates of adaptation, and the relative roles of selection versus drift in shaping ploidy evolution. We review these experimental evolution studies and present new data on differences in maximal growth rate for cells of different ploidy levels.
Related Concept Videos
Gene Duplication and Divergence
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are characterized.
Nondisjunction
Nondisjunction
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
Formation of Species

