The emergence of evolutionary novelties:testing genetic and environmental effects using the ciliate Paramecium

阐明导致进化新事物出现的过程是生物学家面临的最大挑战之一。我们的目标是通过开展一个项目来提高我们对这些过程的理解，其中纤毛虫草履虫的生物学特征与其独特的基因组结构相结合。该项目的重点是RNA和DNA剪接，这是创造遗传变异的绝佳选择。这些过程的不准确性产生了不同的同种异构体，通过偶尔影响表型，可以成为自然选择的基础。剪接事件受DNA甲基化模式的影响，而DNA甲基化模式本身易受环境变化的影响。因此，考虑基因组和周围环境对于完全理解剪接在功能性遗传新特性的出现和建立中的作用是必要的。

The elucidation of the processes that contribute to the emergence of evolutionary novelties is one of the greatest challenges facing biologists. We aim to enhance our understanding of these processes by undertaking a project wherein the biological features of the ciliate Paramecium are integrated with its peculiar genomic architecture. The focus of the project is on RNA and DNA splicing, which are excellent candidates for creating genetic variants. The inaccuracy of these processes generates distinct isoforms that, by occasionally affecting the phenotype, can become substrates of natural selection. Splicing events are influenced by patterns of DNA methylation, which are themselves susceptible to environmental variations. It follows that accounting for both the genomic and the surrounding environment is necessary to gain a complete understanding of the role of splicing in the emergence and establishment of functional genetic novelties.