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Two-phased evolution: Genome chaos-mediated information creation and maintenance
1Harvard College, 86 Brattle Street Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology
|May 16, 2021
Summary
Cancer evolution is a macroevolutionary process, not just cellular growth. New Genome Architecture Theory explains how genome reorganization and chromosome changes drive cancer development, redefining cancer as an evolutionary issue.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genomics
- Cancer Biology
Background:
- Cancer is often viewed as a cellular growth problem.
- This perspective overlooks its fundamental nature as a macroevolutionary process.
- Understanding cancer's evolutionary dynamics is crucial for developing new theories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cancer as a macroevolutionary process.
- To develop the Genome Architecture Theory based on experimental evolution.
- To redefine the relationship between macroevolution and microevolution in cancer.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal comparison of karyotypes, transcriptomes, and cellular phenotypes.
- Utilizing experimental evolution platforms to observe cancer development.
- Analyzing four case studies of genome-based cancer evolution.
Main Results:
- Identified the significance of non-clonal chromosome aberrations (NCCAs).
- Described two-phased cancer evolution: punctuated (karyotype changes) and gradual (gene alterations).
- Established that karyotypes code system inheritance and stress-induced genome chaos drives macroevolution.
Conclusions:
- Macroevolution in cancer is not simply microevolution over time.
- Genome reorganization creates new karyotype coding, followed by gene mutations promoting tumor growth.
- Called for validation of the Genome Architecture Theory for cancer and organismal evolution.
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