All Eukaryotes Are Sexual, unless Proven Otherwise: Many So-Called Asexuals Present Meiotic Machinery and Might Be Able to Have Sex

Autor(es)

Hofstatter, Paulo G. ^[1] ; Lahr, Daniel J. G. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, Rua Matao, Travessa 14, 101, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: BIOESSAYS; v. 41, n. 6 JUN 2019.
• Citações Web of Science: 3

Resumo

Here a wide distribution of meiotic machinery is shown, indicating the occurrence of sexual processes in all major eukaryotic groups, without exceptions, including the putative asexuals. Meiotic machinery has evolved from archaeal DNA repair machinery by means of ancestral gene duplications. Sex is very conserved and widespread in eukaryotes, even though its evolutionary importance is still a matter of debate. The main processes in sex are plasmogamy, followed by karyogamy and meiosis. Meiosis is fundamentally a chromosomal process, which implies recombination and ploidy reduction. Several eukaryotic lineages are proposed to be asexual because their sexual processes are never observed, but presumed asexuality correlates with lack of study. The authors stress the complete lack of meiotic proteins in nucleomorphs and their almost complete loss in the fungus Malassezia. Inversely, complete sets of meiotic proteins are present in fungal groups Glomeromycotina, Trichophyton, and Cryptococcus. Endosymbiont Perkinsela and endoparasitic Microsporidia also present meiotic proteins. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 15/06306-0 - Evolução da meiose e sexo em Amoebozoa
• Beneficiário: Paulo Gonzalez Hofstatter
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 13/04585-3 - Decifrando as grandes tendências de evolução molecular e morfológica nos Amoebozoa
• Beneficiário: Daniel José Galafasse Lahr
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Jovens Pesquisadores
• Processo FAPESP: 17/04391-5 - Evolução da meiose em eucariotos
• Beneficiário: Paulo Gonzalez Hofstatter
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Exterior - Estágio de Pesquisa - Doutorado