Genomes: Miniaturization Taken to Extremes

Gonzalo Giribet

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.02.044

Genomes: Miniaturization Taken to Extremes

Curr Biol. 2020 Apr 6;30(7):R314-R316. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.02.044.

Author

Gonzalo Giribet¹

Affiliation

¹ Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Electronic address: ggiribet@g.harvard.edu.

PMID: 32259505
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.02.044

Abstract

The genome of a second species of orthonectid, a small group of parasitic annelids that live in other invertebrates, is the smallest animal genome ever reported and the second smallest in number of genes. This drastic genome reduction has been achieved through massive gene loss and extreme compaction.

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MeSH terms

Animals
Invertebrates
Miniaturization
Nervous System
Parasites*
Phylogeny