Physical Address
IGBB
Portera HPC Building
2 Research Boulevard
Starkville, MS 39759
Mailing Address
IGBB
Portera HPC Building
Box 9627
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Phone/Fax
Phone: 662-325-8278
Fax: 662-325-7692
See Personnel for individual IGBB faculty and staff contact names/numbers/email addresses.

Evolution of genome size and complexity in Pinus
IGBB Authors:
Daniel G. Peterson, Zenaida V. MagbanuaPUBLICATION YEAR:
2009IMPACT FACTOR:
3.856CITATION COUNT:
131Morse AM, Peterson DG, Islam-Faridi MN, Smith KE, Magbanua ZV, Garcia SA, Kubisiak TL, Amerson HV, Carlson JE, Nelson CD, Davis JM (2009) Evolution of genome size and complexity in Pinus.
PLoS One 4(2): e4332.
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0004332EID:
2-s2.0-84887212567PMID: 19194510
DOWNLOAD PDFABSTRACTBACKGROUND: Genome evolution in the gymnosperm lineage of seed plants has given rise to many of the most complex and largest plant genomes, however the elements involved are poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Gymny is a previously undescribed retrotransposon family in Pinus that is related to Athila elements in Arabidopsis. Gymny elements are dispersed throughout the modern Pinus genome and occupy a physical space at least the size of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome. In contrast to previously described retroelements in Pinus, the Gymny family was amplified or introduced after the divergence of pine and spruce (Picea). If retrotransposon expansions are responsible for genome size differences within the Pinaceae, as they are in angiosperms, then they have yet to be identified. In contrast, molecular divergence of Gymny retrotransposons together with other families of retrotransposons can account for the large genome complexity of pines along with protein-coding genic DNA, as revealed by massively parallel DNA sequence analysis of Cot fractionated genomic DNA. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Most of the enormous genome complexity of pines can be explained by divergence of retrotransposons, however the elements responsible for genome size variation are yet to be identified. Genomic resources for Pinus including those reported here should assist in further defining whether and how the roles of retrotransposons differ in the evolution of angiosperm and gymnosperm genomes.


Dr. Florencia MeyerAssociate Professor
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology & Plant PathologyIGBB Affiliate
email(662) 325-7734
Dr. Keun-Seok SeoAssociate Professor
Comparative Biomedical SciencesIGBB Affiliate
email(662) 325-1419
The IGBB is supported, in part, by the following units:
The IGBB is an HPC² member center.