Programmed genome rearrangements in ciliates

• Published in: Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS Vol. 77; no. 22; pp. 4615 - 4629
• Main Authors: Rzeszutek, Iwona, Maurer-Alcalá, Xyrus X., Nowacki, Mariusz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.11.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cell Biology; Cell Nucleus - genetics; Chromosomes; Ciliates; Ciliophora - genetics; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA fragmentation; Eukaryotes; Gene Rearrangement - genetics; Genome, Protozoan - genetics; Genomes; Germ Cells - physiology; Humans; Life Sciences; Non-coding RNA; Nuclei; Review; DNA elimination; Ciliates; Small non-coding RNAs; Nuclear dimorphism; Genome rearrangement
• ISSN: 1420-682X; 1420-9071
• DOI: 10.1007/s00018-020-03555-2

Ciliates are a highly divergent group of unicellular eukaryotes with separate somatic and germline genomes found in distinct dimorphic nuclei. This characteristic feature is tightly linked to extremely laborious developmentally regulated genome rearrangements in the development of a new somatic genome/nuclei following sex. The transformation from germline to soma genome involves massive DNA elimination mediated by non-coding RNAs, chromosome fragmentation, as well as DNA amplification. In this review, we discuss the similarities and differences in the genome reorganization processes of the model ciliates Paramecium and Tetrahymena (class Oligohymenophorea), and the distantly related Euplotes , Stylonychia , and Oxytricha (class Spirotrichea).