Deadly parasite juggles the number of its chromosomes
Friday, October 28, 2011 - 14:30
in Biology & Nature
Scientists have found a deadly parasite with some of its chromosomes in duplicate, others in triplicate, while still others are present four or even five times. Moreover, the copy number varies between individuals. Such a bizarre occurrence has never before been found in nature, in any organism. As a rule, chromosomes should come in couples. Scientists made the striking discovery while deciphering the genetic code of a series of Leishmania parasites.