Diversity of 534 pairs of duplicated genes in allotetraploid Gossypium hirsutum

International audienc

Unequal Accumulation Of Nucleotide Diversity In The Two Co-Resident Genomes Of Allopolyploid Cotton

Rates of molecular evolution are highly variable within and among genes and among lineages. The forces responsible for this variation include a suite of internal genomic mechanisms (e.g., recombinational environment, repair efficiency) and external population level phenomena (e.g., selection, effective population size). A promising model for disentangling intrinsic and extrinsic forces are allopolyploid plants, which combine two (or more) set of homoeologous genes in a single nucleus and in the same ecological context. Thus, the null hypothesis may be tested that homoeologs will accumulate nucleotide diversity at equivalent rates in a set of populations within a species. Here we test this hypothesis using Gossypium hirsutum (cotton), a natural allopolyploid derived from the merger, 1-2 million years ago (MYA) of progenitor diploid genomes (A and D), which diverged from a common ancestor ~5-10 million years ago. Homoeologous chromosomes in the allopolyploid (AT and DtT remain highly similar to those of their diploid orthologs, with high synteny and colinearity. Using sequence capture and 454 sequencing, we screened 40 diverse G. hirsutum accessions, targeting exonic regions in ~400 homoeologous gene pairs. Analyzed sequences included approximately twice the target space, due to recovery of introns and flanking UTRs. Nucleotide diversity levels in G. hirsutum are low, consistent with earlier indications. Notwithstanding this low level of overall diversity, preliminary analyses suggest that diversity is higher in the At genome than the Dt genome, genome-wide. This enhanced diversity may reflect differences related to the two-fold difference in progenitor genome size. Our results demonstrate that genic environment plays a key role in the genesis of genetic novelty, and how allopolyploidy can create novel allelic combinations with the potential for adaptive traits

Unequal Accumulation Of Nucleotide Diversity In The Two Co-Resident Genomes Of Allopolyploid Cotton

Rates of molecular evolution are highly variable within and among genes and among lineages. The forces responsible for this variation include a suite of internal genomic mechanisms (e.g., recombinational environment, repair efficiency) and external population level phenomena (e.g., selection, effective population size). A promising model for disentangling intrinsic and extrinsic forces are allopolyploid plants, which combine two (or more) set of homoeologous genes in a single nucleus and in the same ecological context. Thus, the null hypothesis may be tested that homoeologs will accumulate nucleotide diversity at equivalent rates in a set of populations within a species. Here we test this hypothesis using Gossypium hirsutum (cotton), a natural allopolyploid derived from the merger, 1-2 million years ago (MYA) of progenitor diploid genomes (A and D), which diverged from a common ancestor ~5-10 million years ago. Homoeologous chromosomes in the allopolyploid (AT and DtT remain highly similar to those of their diploid orthologs, with high synteny and colinearity. Using sequence capture and 454 sequencing, we screened 40 diverse G. hirsutum accessions, targeting exonic regions in ~400 homoeologous gene pairs. Analyzed sequences included approximately twice the target space, due to recovery of introns and flanking UTRs. Nucleotide diversity levels in G. hirsutum are low, consistent with earlier indications. Notwithstanding this low level of overall diversity, preliminary analyses suggest that diversity is higher in the At genome than the Dt genome, genome-wide. This enhanced diversity may reflect differences related to the two-fold difference in progenitor genome size. Our results demonstrate that genic environment plays a key role in the genesis of genetic novelty, and how allopolyploidy can create novel allelic combinations with the potential for adaptive traits

The B73 Maize Genome: Complexity, Diversity, and Dynamics

We report an improved draft nucleotide sequence of the 2.3-gigabase genome of maize, an important crop plant and model for biological research. Over 32,000 genes were predicted, of which 99.8% were placed on reference chromosomes. Nearly 85% of the genome is composed of hundreds of families of transposable elements, dispersed nonuniformly across the genome. These were responsible for the capture and amplification of numerous gene fragments and affect the composition, sizes, and positions of centromeres. We also report on the correlation of methylation-poor regions with Mu transposon insertions and recombination, and copy number variants with insertions and/or deletions, as well as how uneven gene losses between duplicated regions were involved in returning an ancient allotetraploid to a genetically diploid state. These analyses inform and set the stage for further investigations to improve our understanding of the domestication and agricultural improvements of maize