TY - JOUR
T1 - Caenorhabditis evolution
T2 - if they all look alike, you aren't looking hard enough
AU - Haag, Eric S.
AU - Chamberlin, Helen
AU - Coghlan, Avril
AU - Fitch, David H A
AU - Peters, Andrew D.
AU - Schulenburg, Hinrich
N1 - Funding Information:
The phylogenetic relationships of C. elegans to its rhabditid relatives, which are being determined as part of the Assembling the Tree of Life program (funded by the National Science Foundation), were presented by Karin Kiontke and David Fitch (New York University). The newly refined phylogenetic tree places C. elegans in the middle of a large and diverse group of rhabditid nematodes and demonstrates that several features have evolved convergently [5] . For example, hermaphroditism has evolved at least nine times from gonochoristic ancestors (i.e. from ancestors with separate male and female sexes), but there is only one probable case of hermaphroditism reverting to gonochorism. Certain features of male tail anatomy have altered in a convergent manner, and studies are underway to determine whether the underlying mechanisms are similarly convergent. Ultimately, study of these replicated evolutionary events should provide insight into the extent to which genetic, genomic and developmental systems constrain evolution.
PY - 2007/3
Y1 - 2007/3
N2 - Caenorhabditis elegans is widely known as a model organism for cell, molecular, developmental and neural biology, but it is also being used for evolutionary studies. A recent meeting of researchers in Portugal covered topics as diverse as phylogenetics, genetic mapping of quantitative and qualitative intraspecific variation, evolutionary developmental biology and population genetics. Here, we summarize the main findings of the meeting, which marks the formal birth of a research community dedicated to Caenorhabditis species evolution.
AB - Caenorhabditis elegans is widely known as a model organism for cell, molecular, developmental and neural biology, but it is also being used for evolutionary studies. A recent meeting of researchers in Portugal covered topics as diverse as phylogenetics, genetic mapping of quantitative and qualitative intraspecific variation, evolutionary developmental biology and population genetics. Here, we summarize the main findings of the meeting, which marks the formal birth of a research community dedicated to Caenorhabditis species evolution.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.tig.2007.01.002
DO - 10.1016/j.tig.2007.01.002
M3 - Short survey
C2 - 17275130
AN - SCOPUS:33847177337
SN - 0168-9525
VL - 23
SP - 101
EP - 104
JO - Trends in Genetics
JF - Trends in Genetics
IS - 3
ER -