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Updated: Nov 20, 2025

Genotyping Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Mitochondrial Genome by Pyrosequencing
Published on: February 10, 2023
Peculiarities within peculiarities - dinoflagellates and their mitochondrial genomes
Przemysław Gagat1, Dorota Mackiewicz1, Paweł Mackiewicz1
1Department of Genomics, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland.
Abstract:
After the establishment of an endosymbiotic relationship between a proto-mitochondrion and its probable archaeal host, mitochondrial genomes underwent a spectacular reductive evolution. An interesting pathway was chosen by mitogenomes of unicellular protists called dinoflagellates, which experienced an additional wave of reduction followed by amplification and rearrangement leading to their secondary complexity. The former resulted in a mitogenome consisting of only three protein-coding genes, the latter in their multiple copies being scattered across numerous chromosomes and the evolution of complex processes for their expression. These stunning features raise a question about the future of the dinoflagellate mitochondrial genome.
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