Polyploidy as mechanism of speciation in plants

Abstract

Poliploidizacija je evolucijski proces u kom se dva genom spajaju u jednu jezgru, ovo predstavlja jednu od najdramatičnijih mutacija. Bez obzira, poliploidija je dobro toleriranu u mnogim grupama eukariota. Duplikacije genoma mogu smanjiti rizik izumiranje kroz nekoliko mehanizama: funkcionalna redundancija, povećana otpornost na mutacije, i povećana stopa evolucije i adaptacije. Duplikacije genoma je često praćena povećanom stopom evolucije i selekcije određenih gena. Usprkos svemu veza između bilo koje duplikacije genoma i povećane raznolikosti vrsta ostaje korelacijska a ne uzročna. Vjerovatno će biti teško dokazati da li poliploidija omogućava organizmima preživljenje izumiranja ili poliploidija ubrzava evoluciju i povećava biološku kompleksnost.Polyploidization is an evolutionary process where two genomes are combined in one nucleus, it represents one of the most dramatic mutations know to occur. Nevertheless, polyploidy is well tolerated in many groups of eukaryotes. Genome duplication can reduce the risk of extinction through several means: by functional redundancy, mutational robustness, and increased rates of evolution and adaptation. Genome duplication is often followed by increased rates of evolution and directional selection on some genes. Although a link between any specific genome duplication event and increased species diversity remains correlational rather than causal. It may prove difficult to determinate whether polyploidy enabled organisms to survive extinctions or whether polyploidy facilitated evolutionary transitions and increased biological complexity