The relative organization of genes and repetitive DNAs in complex eukaryotic genomes is not well understood. Diagnostic sequencing indicated that a 280-kilobase region containing the maize Adh1-F and u22 genes is composed primarily of retrotransposons inserted within each other. Ten retroelement families were discovered, with reiteration frequencies ranging from 10 to 30,000 copies per haploid genome. These retrotransposons accounted for more than 60 percent of the Adh1-F region and at least 50 percent of the nuclear DNA of maize. These elements were largely intact and are dispersed throughout the gene-containing regions of the maize genome.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/274/5288/765.full.pdf

Nested Retrotransposons in the Intergenic Regions of the Maize Genome

Cereal grasses of the Triticeae tribe have been the major food source in temperate regions since the dawn of agriculture. Their large genomes are characterized by a high content of repetitive elements and large pericentromeric regions that are virtually devoid of meiotic recombination. Here we present a high-quality reference genome assembly for barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). We use chromosome conformation capture mapping to derive the linear order of sequences across the pericentromeric space and to investigate the spatial organization of chromatin in the nucleus at megabase resolution. The composition of genes and repetitive elements differs between distal and proximal regions. Gene family analyses reveal lineage-specific duplications of genes involved in the transport of nutrients to developing seeds and the mobilization of carbohydrates in grains. We demonstrate the importance of the barley reference sequence for breeding by inspecting the genomic partitioning of sequence variation in modern elite germplasm, highlighting regions vulnerable to genetic erosion.

/pdf/a-chromosome-conformation-capture-ordered-sequence-of-the-5e0naoyasa.pdf

A chromosome conformation capture ordered sequence of the barley genome

Retrotransposons, transposable elements related to animal retroviruses, are found in all eukaryotes investigated and make up the majority of many plant genomes Their ubiquity points to their importance, especially in their contribution to the large-scale structure of complex genomes The nature and frequency of retro-element appearance, activation and amplification are poorly understood in all higher eukaryotes Here we employ a novel approach to determine the insertion dates for 17 of 23 retrotransposons found near the maize adh1 gene, and two others from unlinked sites in the maize genome, by comparison of long terminal repeat (LTR) divergences with the sequence divergence between adh1 in maize and sorghum All retrotransposons examined have inserted within the last six million years, most in the last three million years The structure of the adh1 region appears to be standard relative to the other gene-containing regions of the maize genome, thus suggesting that retrotransposon insertions have increased the size of the maize genome from approximately 1200 Mb to 2400 Mb in the last three million years Furthermore, the results indicate an increased mutation rate in retrotransposons compared with genes

The paleontology of intergene retrotransposons of maize

Wheat was domesticated about 10,000 years ago and has since spread worldwide to become one of the major crops. Its adaptability to diverse environments and end uses is surprising given the diversity bottlenecks expected from recent domestication and polyploid speciation events. Wheat compensates for these bottlenecks by capturing part of the genetic diversity of its progenitors and by generating new diversity at a relatively fast pace. Frequent gene deletions and disruptions generated by a fast replacement rate of repetitive sequences are buffered by the polyploid nature of wheat, resulting in subtle dosage effects on which selection can operate.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/316/5833/1862.full.pdf

Genome Plasticity a Key Factor in the Success of Polyploid Wheat Under Domestication

Transposable elements were first discovered in plants because they can have tremendous effects on genome structure and gene function. Although only a few or no elements may be active within a genome at any time in any individual, the genomic alterations they cause can have major outcomes for a species. All major element types appear to be present in all plant species, but their quantitative and qualitative contributions are enormously variable even between closely related lineages. In some large-genome plants, mobile DNAs make up the majority of the nuclear genome. They can rearrange genomes and alter individual gene structure and regulation through any of the activities they promote: transposition, insertion, excision, chromosome breakage, and ectopic recombination. Many genes may have been assembled or amplified through the action of transposable elements, and it is likely that most plant genes contain legacies of multiple transposable element insertions into promoters. Because chromosomal rearrangements can lead to speciating infertility in heterozygous progeny, transposable elements may be responsible for the rate at which such incompatibility is generated in separated populations. For these reasons, understanding plant gene and genome evolution is only possible if we comprehend the contributions of transposable elements.

/pdf/transposable-element-contributions-to-plant-gene-and-genome-4lye5xxawf.pdf

Transposable element contributions to plant gene and genome evolution.

The reannealing kinetics of denatured DNA fragments from 23 species of higher plants have been studied, using hydroxylapatite chromatography to distinguish reannealed from single-stranded DNA. The 2C nuclear DNA contents of the species varied between 1.7 and 98 pg. The proportions of DNA in species with a nuclear DNA mass above 5 pg that reannealed with the kinetics of sequences present in more than 100 copies were high (69–92% with a mean of 80±2.0%). For species with less than 4 pg of DNA, the mean proportion of repeated-sequence DNA was 62±2.9%. It is concluded that most of the variation in nuclear DNA mass in higher plant chromosomes can be accounted for by variation in repeated-sequence DNA. The consequences of altering the adapted DNA content of a species by the addition of families of repeated sequences are discussed in relation to the proportion of repeated-sequence DNA.

R. B. Flavell

Papers

Genome size and the proportion of repeated nucleotide sequence DNA in plants.