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The conundrum of multicellularity – one organism = 1014 cells = one genome?
Somatic mutation cancer
1014 cells
1 cell
= 1 x 2n genome
([1n+1n] genomes)
Lupski et al Cell 2011
‘Disposable soma’ Goriely NatGen2016
Only mutation occurring in the germline will be transmitted
 evolutionary pressure to keep germline mutation rate low and maintain genetic integrity
The female and male germlines have evolved different strategies to limit mutation rates across generations
Mitochondrial DNA
T21: ~1:2000
T21: ~1:100
Maternal age-effect
Paternal age-effect
‘Disposable soma’
Goriely NatGen 2016
Tuning mutation rates: maintaining genome integrity Providing genetic variation (evolution)
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