Chromosomal size variation in Trypanosoma cruzi is mainly progressive and is evolutionarily informative

• Published in: Parasitology 2002-03, Vol.124 (3), p.277-286
• Main Authors: HENRIKSSON, J., DUJARDIN, J. C., BARNABÉ, C., BRISSE, S., TIMPERMAN, G., VENEGAS, J., PETTERSSON, U., TIBAYRENC, M., SOLARI, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Biological evolution; Chromosomes; Chromosomes - chemistry; Chromosomes - genetics; DNA, Protozoan - chemistry; DNA, Protozoan - genetics; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; Evolution, Molecular; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; isoenzymes; Models, Genetic; molecular karyotype; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Parasites; phenetic analysis; Phylogeny; Population genetics, reproduction patterns; Protozoa; RAPD; Statistics, Nonparametric; Trypanosoma cruzi; Trypanosoma cruzi - chemistry; Trypanosoma cruzi - classification; Trypanosoma cruzi - genetics
• ISSN: 0031-1820; 1469-8161
• DOI: 10.1017/S0031182001001093

The evolutionary significance of chromosome size polymorphism was explored in a representative panel of 26 Trypanosoma cruzi stocks. We tested a progressive model (aCSDI) assuming that the larger the size difference between homologous chromosomes, the more divergent the parasites are. This was contrasted with a non-progressive model (Jaccard's distance), in which any chromosome size difference has the same weight. ACSDI-based dendrograms were very similar to those built-up from multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) data: structuring in 2 major lineages (T. cruzi I and T. cruzi II) and 5 small subdivisions within T. cruzi II was identical, and branching was very similar. Furthermore, a significant correlation (P