Evolutionary rate differences in trypanosomes

✍ Scribed by Jamie Stevens; Andrew Rambaut

• Book ID: 104443423
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 98 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1567-1348
• DOI: 10.1016/s1567-1348(01)00018-1

✦ Synopsis

Ribosomal RNA-based studies of trypanosome phylogenies have highlighted considerable differences in genetic diversity within clades in the genus Trypanosoma and several-fold substitution rate differences between clades have been identified. While early 18S rRNA-based studies were hampered by highly variable substitution rates and long-branch attraction, it is apparent that genuine differences in evolution rates within localized clades do exist and questions remain regarding what rate or rates such clades are evolving at and why is the application of a single clock to trypanosome evolution so inappropriate? In this study, we explore rate heterogeneity in the commonly used 18S rRNA gene across genus Trypanosoma, using a maximum likelihood (ML) approach to explore local rate variations in clades of biological interest.