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Science 12 October 2007:
Vol. 318. no. 5848, pp. 268 - 271
DOI: 10.1126/science.1144363
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Reports

Functional Divergence of Former Alleles in an Ancient Asexual Invertebrate

Natalia N. Pouchkina-Stantcheva,1* Brian M. McGee,1 Chiara Boschetti,1 Dimitri Tolleter,2 Sohini Chakrabortee,1 Antoaneta V. Popova,3{dagger} Filip Meersman,4{ddagger} David Macherel,2 Dirk K. Hincha,3 Alan Tunnacliffe1§

Theory suggests it should be difficult for asexual organisms to adapt to a changing environment because genetic diversity can only arise from mutations accumulating within direct antecedents and not through sexual exchange. In an asexual microinvertebrate, the bdelloid rotifer, we have observed a mechanism by which such organisms could acquire the diversity needed for adaptation. Gene copies most likely representing former alleles have diverged in function so that the proteins they encode play complementary roles in survival of dry conditions. One protein prevents desiccation-sensitive enzymes from aggregating during drying, whereas its counterpart does not have this activity, but is able to associate with phospholipid bilayers and is potentially involved in maintenance of membrane integrity. The functional divergence of former alleles observed here suggests that adoption of asexual reproduction could itself be an evolutionary mechanism for the generation of diversity.

1 Institute of Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QT, UK.
2 UMR 1191 Physiologie Moléculaire des Semences, Université d'Angers/INH/INRA, 49045 Angers, France.
3 Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany.
4 Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK.

* Present address: Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK.

{dagger} Present address: Institute of Biophysics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria.

{ddagger} Present address: Department of Chemistry, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.

§ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: at10004{at}biotech.cam.ac.uk

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)