This is a post-print of an article published in Nature Reviews Genetics. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg.2017.26 The evolutionary significance of polyploidy Yves Van de Peer1,2,3,4, Eshchar Mizrachi4,5, and Kathleen Marchal1,3,5,6 1 Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium. 2 VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium 3 Bioinformatics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium 4 Genomics Research Institute (GRI), University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria, 0028, South Africa 5 Department of Genetics, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria, 0028, South Africa 6 Department of Information Technology, IDLab, imec, Ghent University, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium Correspondence to Y. V. d. P.
[email protected] Abstract Polyploidy, or the duplication of entire genomes, has been observed in both somatic and germ cells, and in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Although the consequences of polyploidization are complex and variable, and seem to differ greatly between systems (clonal and non-clonal) and species, there is growing evidence that polyploidization correlates with environmental change or stress. Consequently, although often considered an evolutionary dead end, the short-term adaptive potential of polyploidization is increasingly being acknowledged. Furthermore, once established, the unique retention profile of duplicated genes following whole-genome duplication might explain important longer-term key evolutionary transitions and a general increase in biological complexity. Introduction Polyploid species (BOX 1) have been known for a long time.