T. Ryan Gregory
Genome 43(5): 895-901.
Abstract
Previously reported haploid genome sizes
(C-values)
and erythrocyte sizes (measured as mean dry diameters) were compared
for
67 species of mammals representing 31 families and 16 orders.
Measurements
on erythrocytes of four species of bats were also included in the
study.
Erythrocyte size was significantly positively correlated with genome
size
at each of the specific, generic, familial, and ordinal levels, with
the
relationship becoming much stronger following the exclusion of the
Order
Artiodactyla, a group unique among mammals in terms of red blood cell
morphology.
Physiologically, these results are relevant in light of the known
relationship
between C-value and mass-corrected metabolic rate in homeotherms.
In evolutionary terms, they provide insights into the constraints on
genome
expansion among mammals and are therefore of interest in attempts to
solve
the long-standing ‘C-value enigma’ (also known as the ‘C-value
paradox’).