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The chromosomal distributions of Ty1-copia group retrotransposable elements in higher plants and their implications for genome evolution

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Abstract

Retrotransposons make up a major fraction – sometimes more than 40% – of all plant genomes investigated so far. We have isolated the reverse transcriptase domains of the Ty1-copia group elements from several species, ranging in genome size from some 100 Mbp to 23 000 Mbp, and determined the distribution patterns of these retrotransposons on metaphase chromosomes and within interphase nuclei by DNA:DNA in situ hybridization. With some exceptions, the reverse transcriptase domains were distributed over the length of the chromosomes. Exclusion from rDNA sites and some centromeres (e.g., slash pine, 23 000 Mbp, or barley, 5500 Mbp) is frequent, whereas many species exclude retrotransposons from other sites of heterochromatin (e.g., intercalary and centromeric sites in broad bean). In contrast, in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, widely used for plant molecular genetic studies because of its small genome (c. 100 Mbp), the Ty1-copia group reverse transcriptase gene domains are concentrated in the centromeric regions, collocalizing with the 180 bp satellite sequence pAL1. Unlike the pAL1 sequence, however, the Ty1-copia signal is also detectable as weaker, diffuse hybridization along the lengths of the chromosomes. Possible mechanisms for evolution of the contrasting distributions are discussed. Understanding the physical distribution of retrotransposons and comparisons of the distribution between species is critical to understanding their evolution and the significance for generation of the new patterns of variability and in speciation.

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Author notes

  1. Thomas Schmidt & Anette Kamm

    Present address: Institute of Crop Science and Plant Breeding, University of Kiel, Olshausenstrasse 40, D 24118, Kiel, Germany

  2. Andreas Katsiotis

    Present address: Lab. of Molecular Biology, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos, 75 118 55, Athens, Greece

Authors and Affiliations

  1. John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK

    J.S. (Pat) Heslop-Harrison, Andrea Brandes, Thomas Schmidt, Alexander V. Vershinin, Elena G. Alkhimova, Anette Kamm, Trude Schwarzacher, Sybille Kubis & Gill E. Harrison

  2. Research Institute for Bioresources, Okayama University, Chuo 2-20-1, Kurashiki Okayama, 710, Japan

    Shin Taketa

  3. Laboratory of Cell Population Genetics, Institute of Molecular Biology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Zabolotnogo St, 170, Kiev, Ukraine

    Elena G. Alkhimova

  4. Usda Forest Service, Southern Institute of Forest Genetics, Harrison Experimental Forest, 23332 Highway 67, Saucier, Mississippi, 39574, USA

    Robert L. Doudrick

  5. Norman Borlaug Institute, De Montfort University Scraptoft Campus, Leicester, LE7 9SU, UK

    Sybille Kubis

  6. Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowerie Dundee, DD2 5DA, Scotland

    Amar Kumar & Steven R. Pearce

  7. Medical Sciences Institute, The University Dundee, DD1 4HN, Scotland

    Steven R. Pearce & Andrew J. Flavell

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  1. J.S. (Pat) Heslop-Harrison
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Heslop-Harrison, J.(., Brandes, A., Taketa, S. et al. The chromosomal distributions of Ty1-copia group retrotransposable elements in higher plants and their implications for genome evolution. Genetica 100, 197–204 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018337831039

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