Your browser version may not work well with NCBI's Web applications. More information here...
1: Mol Biol Evol. 2006 Dec;23(12):2474-9. Epub 2006 Sep 20.
Related Articles, Links
Click here to read
Large global effective population sizes in Paramecium.

Snoke MS, Berendonk TU, Barth D, Lynch M.

Department of Biology, Indiana University, IN, USA.

The genetic effective population size (N(e)) of a species is an important parameter for understanding evolutionary dynamics because it mediates the relative effects of selection. However, because most N(e) estimates for unicellular organisms are derived either from taxa with poorly understood species boundaries or from host-restricted pathogens and most unicellular species have prominent phases of clonal propagation potentially subject to strong selective sweeps, the hypothesis that N(e) is elevated in single-celled organisms remains controversial. Drawing from observations on well-defined species within the genus Paramecium, we report exceptionally high levels of silent-site polymorphism, which appear to be a reflection of large N(e).

Publication Types:
PMID: 16987953 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]