The ribosomal DNA of Luzula pilosa (L.) Willd, a plant with holocentric chromosomes

Genome ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 915-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Bowen ◽  
D. Lee ◽  
G. P. Creissen ◽  
G. E. Marks ◽  
C. A. Cullis

The ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of Luzula pilosa (L.) Willd, a plant with holocentric chromosomes, has been cloned and characterized by restriction mapping. The major variant is present in about 730 tandemly arranged copies per haploid genome which occupy nearly an entire chromosome. We propose that much of the rDNA is flanked or interspersed by kinetochores, so that reciprocal interchromatid exchanges in this region would lead to chromosome breakage. Homogenization and amplification of rDNA spacer length variants may occur largely by intrachromatid exchanges and gene conversion. By trying to isolate rDNA junction fragments which might be closely linked to centromeric DNA, we have isolated three minor rDNA variants whose spacer regions do not cross-hybridize with one another or with the major variant. The possibility that these minor variants may be rRNA pseudogenes is discussed.Key words: centromere, holocentric, Luzula, rDNA, recombination.

Genome ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Sardana ◽  
R. B. Flavell

An allelic rDNA variant from the Nor-B2 locus of 'Bezostaya' wheat that forms an especially active nucleolus was cloned and characterized. It carries an unusually large intergenic spacer compared with rDNA units in most other wheat genotypes. The additional intergenic length is in the array of 135-bp A repeats and not in other internal repeats. These A repeats have sequences nearly identical to other A repeats described for other alleles. It is suggested therefore that the more active Nor-B2 locus of 'Bezostaya' may be due to the constituent rDNA units possessing a larger array of A repeats. Key words : ribosomal DNA, nucleolar organizer region, A and B repeats, allelic, spacer length variants.


1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeyanthi Ramamoorthy ◽  
Daniel K. Chong ◽  
C.C. Chinnappa

Ribosomal DNA spacer length variants (slv) were used to compare the genetic diversity between Hordeum spontaneum, the supposed progenitor of cultivated barley, and landraces of barley, H. vulgare, collected from three countries in the eastern Mediterranean region. A total of six rDNA slv and six slv phenotypes were observed. All six slv and phenotypes were found in both species. Nei's heterozygosity index was higher for landraces in all three countries. Landraces possessed slightly higher diversity than H. spontaneum. Slv phenotype 1 (112, 104) was the most predominant type in both species, and the frequency distributions for the two species were similar. This suggests that H. vulgare and H. spontaneum belong to the same polymorphic species. Furthermore, H. spontaneum seen today in the eastern Mediterranean region might have been derived from an extinct two-rowed ancestor.


Genome ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Sano ◽  
R. Sano

Spacer-length variation in ribosomal DNA (rDNA) was surveyed in two cultivated rice species and their wild relatives. Among 243 accessions observed, 18 different spacer-length variants were detected. Length heterogeneity was found within and among species as well as within individuals. Conventional genetic analysis revealed that two spacer-length variants were located at two unlinked loci. Restriction enzyme maps showed that length heterogeneity resulted from repetition of short repeated sequences in the intergenic spacer region in the Asian cultivar and its progenitor; however, the spacer region greatly differed from those of reproductively isolated taxa with respect to the length and the sequence. Furthermore, the Asian cultivated species and its progenitor were highly polymorphic for rDNA spacer-length variation and they were differentiated in frequencies of spacer-length variants as well as varietal groups within the cultivated species. Asian cultivars tended to carry homogeneous repeats of rDNA compared with their progenitor, suggesting different forms of homogenization occurring in Asian cultivars.Key words: ribosomal DNA, intergenic spacer, polymorphism, inheritance, Oryza.


Genome ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1049-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Besse ◽  
Marc Seguin ◽  
Patricia Lebrun ◽  
Claire Lanaud

Ribosomal DNA variations were surveyed to assess the genetic variability among Hevea brasiliensis genetic resources. One hundred and sixty-eight individuals, including 73 cultivated Wickham clones and 95 wild clones from a prospection, were analyzed. Restriction mapping of rDNA units showed that RFLP variations are the result of both length and site (EcoRI) variations in the intergenic spacer (IGS). These variations can be revealed between as well as within individuals. A total of 12 spacer length variants is scored in the whole population, as well as two different ribosomal units (refered as type I and type II), defined by the presence or absence of an EcoRI site. Particular associations between spacer length variants and unit types can be revealed, leading to complex RFLP patterns. Cultivated clones appear to be less variable than prospections but show, however, a relatively high level of variability despite their narrow genetic base. Furthermore, IGS variations allowed a structuring within wild clones to be drawn, based mainly on their geographical origin. Some interesting discrepancies with previous work on isozyme variations are discussed and show the interest of surveying different genetic markers for diversity studies.Key words: Hevea brasiliensis, RFLP, rDNA, genetic diversity.


Yeast ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randy Shen ◽  
Marc-André Lachance

Genome ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 1109-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. D. Liu ◽  
Qifa Zhang ◽  
G. P. Yang ◽  
M. A. Saghai Maroof ◽  
S. H. Zhu ◽  
...  

A collection of 481 rice accessions was surveyed for ribosomal DNA (rDNA) intergenic spacer length polymorphism to assess the extent of genetic diversity in Chinese and Asian rice germplasm. The materials included 83 accessions of common wild rice, Oryza rufipogon, 75 of which were from China; 348 entries of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa), representing almost all the rice growing areas in China; and 50 cultivars from South and East Asia. A total of 42 spacer length variants (SLVs) were detected. The size differences between adjacent SLVs in the series were very heterogeneous, ranging from ca. 21 to 311 bp. The 42 SLVs formed 80 different rDNA phenotypic combinations. Wild rice displayed a much greater number of rDNA SLVs than cultivated rice, while cultivated rice showed a larger number of rDNA phenotypes. Indica and japonica groups of O. sativa contained about equal numbers of SLVs, but the SLV distribution was significantly differentiated: indica rice was preferentially associated with longer SLVs and japonica rice with shorter ones. The results may have significant implications regarding the origin and evolution of cultivated rice, as well as the inheritance and molecular evolution of rDNA intergenic spacers in rice. Key words : rDNA, Oryza rufipogon, Oryza sativa, germplasm diversity, evolution.


Genome ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 631-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qifa Zhang ◽  
G. P. Yang ◽  
Xiankai Dai ◽  
J. Z. Sun

This study was conducted to address some of the issues concerning the possible significance of Tibet in the origin and evolution of cultivated barley. A total of 1757 barley accessions from Tibet, including 1496 entries of Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare (HV), 229 entries of the six-rowed wild barley H. vulgare ssp. agriocrithon (HA), and 32 entries of the two-rowed wild barley H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum (HS), were assayed for allozymes at four esterase loci. A subsample of 491 accessions was surveyed for spacer-length polymorphism at two ribosomal DNA loci. Genetic variation is extensive in these barley groups, and the amount of genetic diversity in cultivated barley of this region is comparable with that of cultivated barley worldwide. The level of genetic variation of HA is significantly lower than the other two barley groups, and there is also substantial heterogeneity in the level of polymorphism among different agrigeographical subregions. However, little genetic differentiation was detected among the three barley groups (HV, HA, and HS), as well as among different agrigeographical subregions. Comparison of the results from this and previous studies indicated a strong differentiation between Oriental and Occidental barley, thus favoring the hypothesis of a diphyletic origin of cultivated barley.Key words: Hordeum, allozyme, rDNA spacer-length variation, centre of diversity, phylogeny.


Genome ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisca Robles ◽  
Roberto de la Herrán ◽  
Arne Ludwig ◽  
Carmelo Ruiz Rejón ◽  
Manuel Ruiz Rejón ◽  
...  

Ribosomal DNA in sturgeon is informative when analyzed at the molecular level because it bears unique characteristics that are, to a certain extent, ancestral within vertebrates. In this paper, we examine the structure and the molecular evolution of the 5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) region in 13 sturgeon species, comparing both the 5S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes and the non-transcribed spacer (NTS) sequences between the coding regions. We have found that different NTS and 5S gene variants are intermixed in the 5S rDNA arrays of the different sturgeon species and that all variants are ancestral, having been maintained over many millions of years. Using predictive models, we have found similar levels of sequence diversity in the coding regions, as well as in the non-coding region, but fixed interspecific differences are underrepresented for 5S genes. However, contrary to the expectations, we have not found fixed differences between NTS sequences when comparing many pairs of species. Specifically, when they belong to the same phylogeographic clade of the four into which the sturgeon is divided, but fixation of mutations and divergence is found between species belonging to different phylogeographic clades. Our results suggest that the evolution of the two parts of the 5S rDNA region cannot be explained exclusively as the outcome of a balance between mutational, homogenizing (i.e., gene conversion as a predominant force in sturgeon), and selective forces. Rather, they suggest that other factors (i.e., hybridization) might be superimposed over those forces and thus could to some extent be masking their effects.Key words: sturgeon, 5S rDNA, NTS sequence, 5S gene, concerted evolution, sequence homogenization, gene conversion, hybridization.


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