Protistology 13 (3), 166–173 (2019) |
Amoeba proteus and ploidy cycles: from simple model to complex issues |
Mariia Berdieva, Sergei Demin and Andrew Goodkov Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg 194064, Russia | Submitted September 17, 2019 | Accepted November 5, 2019 | Summary This short topical review paper is inspired by recent study of Amoeba proteus cell cycle. These obligate agamic amoebae have a special type of cyclic polyploidy - an alternation of unproportional polyploidization and depolyploidization, with the latter provided by chromatin extrusion from the nucleus into the cytoplasm. Here we discuss possible significance and mechanisms of this phenomenon, similar strategies of life cycles in other unicellular eukaryotes, and debate provocatively the fundamental issues, which could be brought up during its study - from functions of meiotic genes and evolution of sexual process to survival strategy of cancer cells.
Key words: Amoeba proteus, atavistic theory of carcinogenesis, cell cycle, cyclic polyploidy, meiosis-specific genes, polyploid giant cancer cells
Address for correspondence: Mariia Berdieva Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Laboratory of Unicellular Organisms, Tikhoretsky Ave. 4, 194064 St. Petersburg, Russia; e-mail: maria.berd4@yandex.ru |
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