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Updated: Apr 26, 2026

Polysome Profiling in Leishmania, Human Cells and Mouse Testis
Published on: April 8, 2018
Parasexuality and mosaic aneuploidy in Leishmania: alternative genetics
Yvon Sterkers1, Lucien Crobu1, Laurence Lachaud2
1Université Montpellier 1, Unité de Formation et de Recherche Médecine, Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Montpellier, France; Unité Mixte de Recherche 'Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle' (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 5290 - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement 224 - Université Montpellier 1), Montpellier, France; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
Abstract:
Reproduction as identical or similar organisms in most biological systems depends on the extreme accuracy of the mitotic (and meiotic) mechanisms involved in the transmission of the genetic material to the two daughter cells. Character recombination and genotype diversification are ensured by the alternation between haploidy and diploidy, which corresponds to the most predominant model in sexually reproducing organisms. In Leishmania, the unique association of high levels of automixis and of constitutive 'mosaic aneuploidy' unexpectedly does not lead to loss of heterozygosity but constitutes an alternative for genotype recombination, hence a source of adaptability.
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