Species that eliminate a third of their genome in somatic cells

Publication of the LBMC in the journal Current Biology, on August 21, 2023. Communication of CNRS-INSB on August 30, 2023. Some animal species systematically destroy part of their DNA in their somatic cells. Why do they do this? But how? This programmed elimination of the genome, discovered 150 years ago, remains mysterious in the absence of suitable means of study. A paper from the Laboratory of Biology and Modelling of the Cell (LBMC - CNRS/ENS de Lyon), in press and available online in the journal Current Biology , describes a group of genetically manipulable nematode species for which almost a third of the genome is eliminated, finally offering a model for studying this fascinating process. Some species undergo programmed DNA elimination (PDE), whereby portions of the genome are systematically destroyed in somatic cells. PDE has emerged independently in several phyla, but its function is unknown.