A study by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the University of Kent (United Kingdom) has shown that Male germ cells, which give rise to the formation of sperm, play a key role in the evolution of the genome of species, a finding that can contribute to a better understanding of the origin of biodiversity.
All the animals that inhabit the planet share genes, which can be arranged differently in each species in the form of chromosomes.
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In addition to ordering, in nature, the diversity of species is also reflected in a different number of chromosomes, since humans have 46, but the mouse, on the other hand, has 40 and the rhinoceros, at the other extreme, reaches 86.
Thus, there is a great diversity of ways in which the genome – the set of genetic material contained in the chromosomes of an organism – can be packaged inside cells in different species.
Traditionally, the study of the genomes of different mammals has shown that, although all species have a similar catalog of genes, these can be ordered differently for each species and can be activated and deactivated differently.
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This is what is known as a chromosomal rearrangement, which can affect gene function and regulation and also contributes to defining the identity of species.
This chromosomal “puzzle” takes place in the germ line, that is, during the formation of eggs and sperm, and in the process of transferring genetic information to subsequent generations.
Until now, the origin of these chromosomal rearrangements was largely unknown, especially in what type of cells or at what specific time in the germ line they occurred.
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The study by the Spanish university UAB and the University of Kent, published this Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications, shows that the formation of male germ cells -which are the precursors of spermatozoa- is a key process to determine which regions of the genome they are rearranged between chromosomes during evolution.
Researchers from the UAB and Kent have compared the genomes of 13 different rodent species to decipher the rearrangements that distinguish them. “We have analyzed the structure of the chromosomes inside the nucleus of the different cell types that are going to give rise to spermatozoa and we have verified that the chromosomal regions that have been rearranged during the evolution of rodents are close to each other in the nucleus of spermatids,” Dr. Aurora Ruiz-Herrera, from the UAB’s Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, explained to Efe.
Spermatids are the male germ cells already developed in the later stages of spermatogenesis (the process of sperm formation), at which point researchers have found that genomic regions involved in rearrangements are often activated.
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The results thus indicate that the process of sperm formation is an important factor in the evolution of the genome of the species. In this way, determining which genomic regions are affected and at what time during sperm formation “is important to understand the origin of species diversity,” Ruiz-Herrera pointed out.
Research teams from the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute (IJC) and the biotechnological company Sequentia Biotech have also participated in the study led by the UAB and the University of Kent.
EFE
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