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Asexual Amoebae Escape Muller's Ratchet through Polyploidy

Sutherland K Maciver1

  • 1Centre for Integrative Physiology, Biomedical Sciences, Edinburgh Medical School, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK.

Trends in Parasitology
|September 8, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Many amoebae reproduce asexually, risking genetic mutation accumulation. Polyploidy, however, allows these organisms to correct mutations via gene conversion, enabling rapid asexual reproduction.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Asexual reproduction in amoebae, such as Acanthamoeba and Naegleria, is common.
  • Asexual reproduction is often considered genetically disadvantageous due to mutation accumulation (Muller's ratchet).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how polyploid amoebae avoid genetic disadvantage associated with asexual reproduction.
  • To propose a mechanism for mutation avoidance in asexual polyploid organisms.

Main Methods:

  • The study hypothesizes a mechanism based on existing evidence from polyploid organisms.
  • The proposed mechanism involves gene conversion in polyploid states.

Main Results:

  • Polyploidy in amoebae can mitigate spontaneous mutation accumulation.
  • Gene conversion, facilitated by multiple wild-type gene copies, corrects newly mutated alleles.
  • This mechanism supports the evolutionary advantage of rapid asexual reproduction.

Conclusions:

  • Polyploidy provides a strategy for asexual organisms to overcome genetic limitations.
  • Amoebae may utilize polyploidy to maintain genetic integrity during rapid asexual reproduction.
  • The findings extend to other polyploid organisms like plants, bacteria, and archaea.
Keywords:
AcanthamoebaEntamoebaHaldane's dilemmaNaegleriaevolutiongene conversionhomologous recombination

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