Article Synopsis
- Eukaryotes have life cycles that switch between haploid and diploid phases, controlled by processes like meiosis and gamete fusion.
- In certain fungi and algae, a pair of related homeodomain protein-encoding genes regulate this haploid-to-diploid transition, indicating a common genetic program across different eukaryotic groups.
- Multicellularity has developed independently in many eukaryotes during these phases, with land plants showcasing multicellular forms in both, known as alternation of generations; research is ongoing to understand the genetic foundations of this process.
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Article Abstract
The life cycles of eukaryotes alternate between haploid and diploid phases, which are initiated by meiosis and gamete fusion, respectively. In both ascomycete and basidiomycete fungi and chlorophyte algae, the haploid-to-diploid transition is regulated by a pair of paralogous homeodomain protein encoding genes. That a common genetic program controls the haploid-to-diploid transition in phylogenetically disparate eukaryotic lineages suggests this may be the ancestral function for homeodomain proteins. Multicellularity has evolved independently in many eukaryotic lineages in either one or both phases of the life cycle. Organisms, such as land plants, exhibiting a life cycle whereby multicellular bodies develop in both the haploid and diploid phases are often referred to as possessing an alternation of generations. We review recent progress on understanding the genetic basis for the land plant alternation of generations and highlight the roles that homeodomain-encoding genes may have played in the evolution of complex multicellularity in this lineage.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-genet-120215-035227 | DOI Listing |
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