1996/02/01 by Fritz Müller, Vincent Bernard, Heinz Tobler · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Nematode management and characterization studies #Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms #Chromosomal and Genetic Variations #Chromatin #Somatic cell #Biology #Genome #Cell biology #DNA #Genetics #Gene duplication #Telomere #Gene
paper · doi:10.1002/bies.950180209
openalex publication_date 1996/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
The process of chromatin diminution in Parascaris and Ascaris is a developmentally controlled genome rearrangement, which results in quantitative and qualitative differences in DNA content between germ line and somatic cells. Chromatin diminution involves chromosomal breakage, new telomere formation and DNA degradation. The programmed elimination of chromatin in presomatic cells might serve as an alternative way of gene regulation. We put forward a new hypothesis of how an ancient partial genome duplication and chromatin diminution may have served to maintain the genetic balance in somatic cells and simultaneously endowed the germ line cells with a selective advantage.