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| A bird's-eye view of the C-value enigma: Genome size, cell size, and metabolic rate in the class aves |
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| Author(s): Gregory TR |
| Source: EVOLUTION Volume: 56 Issue: 1 Pages: 121-130 Published: JAN 2002 |
| Times Cited: 75 References: 89 |
| Abstract: For half a century, variation in genome size (C-value) has been an unresolved puzzle in evolutionary biology. While the initial "C-value paradox" was solved with the discovery of noncoding DNA, a much more complex "-C-value enigma'' remains. The present study focuses on one aspect of this puzzle, namely the small genome sizes of birds, Significant negative correlations are reported between testing metabolic rate and both C-value and erythrocyte size. Cell size is positively correlated with both nucleus size and C-value in birds. a, in other vertebrates. These findings shed light on the constraints acting on genome size in birds and illustrate the importance of interactions among various levels of the biological hierarchy, ranging from the subchromosomal to the ecological. Following from a discussion of the mechanistic bases of the correlations reported and the processes by which birds achieved and/or maintain small genomes, a pluralistic approach to the C-value enigma is recommended. |
| Document Type: Article |
| Language: English |
| Reprint Address: Gregory, TR (reprint author), Univ Guelph, Dept Zool, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1 Canada |
Addresses:
1. Univ Guelph, Dept Zool, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1 Canada |
| Publisher: SOC STUDY EVOLUTION, 810 E 10TH STREET, LAWRENCE, KS 66044 USA |
| Subject Category: Ecology; Evolutionary Biology; Genetics & Heredity |
| IDS Number: 528MU |
| ISSN: 0014-3820 |
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