𝔖 Bobbio Scriptorium
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Evolution of genome size and DNA base composition in reptiles

✍ Scribed by E. Olmo

Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Year
1981
Tongue
English
Weight
917 KB
Volume
57
Category
Article
ISSN
0016-6707

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✦ Synopsis

The evolution of genome size and base composition of DNA from various reptiles has been studied. DNA amount was measured cytophotometrically and GC concentration estimated by thermal denaturation. The Reptilia appear to be a fairly homogeneous group with respect to DNA quantity, although chelonians stand out because of their higher inter-and intrafamilial variability and DNA content. Quantitative DNA variations do not show a single evolutionary trend, but rather seem to have followed different patterns within each group.

The differences in genome size between related species seem to be mainly the result of duplication or loss of DNA sequences characterized by a similar mean denaturation temperature. This agrees with observations of other authors that quantitative variations in reptiles are mainly due to differences in the amount of repetitive DNA.

Several hypotheses on the significance of quantitative DNA variations in reptiles are discussed.

πŸ“œ SIMILAR VOLUMES

Base composition of DNA from some reptil
Base composition of DNA from some reptiles
✍ Olmo, Ettore ;Odierna, Gaetano πŸ“‚ Article πŸ“… 1977 πŸ› John Wiley and Sons 🌐 English βš– 279 KB

## Abstract The DNA base composition was studied in 9 reptilian species (4 chelonians, 3 saurians, and 2 ophidians) by the thermal denaturation method. This preliminary investigation has brought to light differences in GC percentages and in the shape of melting curves between chelonian DNA and that