Dresden 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 32: Statistical Physics of Biological Systems III (joint session BP/DY)
BP 32.11: Vortrag
Donnerstag, 12. März 2026, 17:45–18:00, BAR/SCHÖ
Binary karyotypes are universally selected for across cancers — •Lucija Tomašić1, Shane A. Fiorenza1, Hajime Okada2, Thomas W. van Ravesteyn3, Uri Ben-David2, Geert J.P.L. Kops3, and Nenad Pavin1 — 1Univ. of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia — 2Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel — 3Hubrecht Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Aneuploidy, an abnormal chromosome number, is a defining feature of most cancers, yet its vast diversity has made it difficult to identify universal evolutionary rules. By analyzing over 90,000 patient-derived cancer karyotypes using a new visualization approach and mathematical modeling, we uncover a simple organizing principle. Across cancer types, and even in yeast, aneuploid genomes overwhelmingly assemble into "binary karyotypes" composed of only two chromosome copy numbers. Despite the enormous space of theoretically possible chromosome configurations, these states dominate patient data, comprising more than three-quarters of observed karyotypes. Our model shows that this pattern arises from a modest but consistent fitness advantage of binary karyotypes over more complex configurations. This principle also provides insight into how aneuploid cells withstand stress responses, as binary karyotypes exhibit lower rates of tumor suppressor gene inactivation. Together, our results identify binary karyotypes as a conserved evolutionary class of aneuploidy, governed by global organizational rules that may reveal shared vulnerabilities across cancers.
Keywords: Cancer; Karyotype evolution; Tumor; Genome; Chromosome