Satellitome comparison of two oedipodine grasshoppers highlights the contingent nature of satellite DNA evolution.
Juan Pedro M CamachoJosefa CabreroMaría Dolores López-LeónMaría Martín-PeciñaFrancisco PerfecttiManuel A Garrido-RamosFrancisco J Ruiz-RuanoPublished in: BMC biology (2022)
Our analyses revealed that satDNA degenerates through point mutation and homogenizes through partial turnovers caused by massive tandem duplications (the so-called satDNA amplification). Remarkably, satDNA amplification increases homogenization, at intragenomic level, and diversification between species, thus constituting the basis for concerted evolution. We suggest a model of satDNA evolution by means of recursive cycles of amplification and degeneration, leading to mostly contingent evolutionary pathways where concerted evolution emerges promptly after lineages split.