Analysis of the Constancy of DNA Sequences during Development and Evolution of the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

In order to test for the occurrence of rearrangements in DNA during development and to assess the rate of DNA divergence during evolution, we have compared restriction fragments derived from DNA from four sources: sperm cells and somatic tissues of one strain of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1979-03, Vol.76 (3), p.1333-1337
Main Authors: Emmons, Scott W., Klass, Michael R., Hirsh, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Base Sequence
Biological Evolution
Caenorhabditis - physiology
Developmental biology
DNA
DNA - metabolism
DNA probes
DNA Restriction Enzymes
Larva
Larval development
Nematode larvae
Nematodes
Nucleic Acid Hybridization
Nucleotide sequences
Plasmids
Species Specificity
Spermatozoa
Worms
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Summary:In order to test for the occurrence of rearrangements in DNA during development and to assess the rate of DNA divergence during evolution, we have compared restriction fragments derived from DNA from four sources: sperm cells and somatic tissues of one strain of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, somatic tissues of a second strain of the same species, and whole animals of a closely related species. Restriction fragments were detected by hybridizing radioactive cloned fragments to restriction digests that had been fractionated by size on agarose gels and transferred to nitrocellulose sheets. In this way, approximately 50 BamHI restriction fragments were visualized and compared. Fragments from sperm and somatic DNAs were found to be identical; 15% differed in size between the two strains. Little cross homology was found between the two species. We conclude that, if rearrangements occur in C. elegans DNA during development, they must affect fewer than a few percent of the restriction fragments or restriction sites. The difference found between the two strains and the two species is surprisingly great.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.76.3.1333