Brassicaceae phylogeny and trichome evolution

Polyploid evolution of the Brassicaceae during the Cenozoic era

The Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) family, owing to its remarkable species, genetic, and physiological diversity as well as its significant economic potential, has become a model for polyploidy and evolutionary studies. Utilizing extensive transcriptome pyrosequencing of diverse taxa, we established a resolved phylogeny of a subset of crucifer species. We elucidated the frequency, age, and phylogenetic position of polyploidy and lineage separation events that have marked the evolutionary history of the Brassicaceae. Besides the well-known ancient α (47 million years ago [Mya]) and β (124 Mya) paleopolyploidy events, several species were shown to have undergone a further more recent (∼7 to 12 Mya) round of genome multiplication. We identified eight whole-genome duplications corresponding to at least five independent neo/mesopolyploidy events. Although the Brassicaceae family evolved from other eudicots at the beginning of the Cenozoic era of the Earth (60 Mya), major diversification occurred only during the Neogene period (0 to 23 Mya). Remarkably, the widespread species divergence, major polyploidy, and lineage separation events during Brassicaceae evolution are clustered in time around epoch transitions characterized by prolonged unstable climatic conditions. The synchronized diversification of Brassicaceae species suggests that polyploid events may have conferred higher adaptability and increased tolerance toward the drastically changing global environment, thus facilitating species radiation.

Intra-individual variation and evolution of modular structure in Draba plants

We studied the evolution of quantitative traits related to shoot system architecture in a large genus Draba (Brassicaceae) making emphasis on the dynamics of relationship between individual and intra-individual variation. The results suggest that selection leading to origin of different life forms arises mainly from a necessity of moderation of the non-adaptive contest between the egoistic plant modules, taking care of self-reproduction of their own. We separated two evolutionary trends, one leading to the formation of short-lived monocarpic, and the other to long-lived polycarpic forms from the short-lived polycarpic plants. The first trend concerns with transformation of the innovation shoots into the axillary inflorescences by shortening of their vegetative developmental phase, while the second one - with individuation of the plant modules owing to acquisition of the capacity of rooting and separating from the mother plant. In both trends, the turning points of the evolution are those of originating of the negative for individual plants interactions between the plant modules being indirect non-adaptive consequences of the previous adaptive evolution and initiating selection for rebuilding of the plant modular structure. The difference between selection operating on intra-individual and individual variations is that, in the first case, combining of the characters of different individuals is infeasible. This leaves no choice for the evolution but to change the developmental mechanisms. In the case considered in this work, this is a change in shoot architecture using the material afforded by the natural variability of developmental pathways of the plant modules.

Genome survey sequencing provides clues into glucosinolate biosynthesis and flowering pathway evolution in allotetrapolyploid Brassica juncea

BACKGROUND

Brassica juncea is an economically important vegetable crop in China, oil crop in India, condiment crop in Europe and selected for canola quality recently in Canada and Australia. B. juncea (2n = 36, AABB) is an allotetraploid derived from interspecific hybridization between B. rapa (2n = 20, AA) and B. nigra (2n = 16, BB), followed by spontaneous chromosome doubling.

RESULTS

Comparative genome analysis by genome survey sequence (GSS) of allopolyploid B. juncea with B. rapa was carried out based on high-throughput sequencing approaches. Over 28.35 Gb of GSS data were used for comparative analysis of B. juncea and B. rapa, producing 45.93% reads mapping to the B. rapa genome with a high ratio of single-end reads. Mapping data suggested more structure variation (SV) in the B. juncea genome than in B. rapa. We detected 2,921,310 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with high heterozygosity and 113,368 SVs, including 1-3 bp Indels, between B. juncea and B. rapa. Non-synonymous polymorphisms in glucosinolate biosynthesis genes may account for differences in glucosinolate biosynthesis and glucosinolate components between B. juncea and B. rapa. Furthermore, we identified distinctive vernalization-dependent and photoperiod-dependent flowering pathways coexisting in allopolyploid B. juncea, suggesting contribution of these pathways to adaptation for survival during polyploidization.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, we proposed that polyploidization has allowed for accelerated evolution of the glucosinolate biosynthesis and flowering pathways in B. juncea that likely permit the phenotypic variation observed in the crop.

Analysis of TTG1 function in Arabis alpina

BACKGROUND

In Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) the WD40 protein TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA1 (TTG1) controls five traits relevant for the adaptation of plants to environmental changes including the production of proanthocyanidin, anthocyanidin, seed coat mucilage, trichomes and root hairs. The analysis of different Brassicaceae species suggests that the function of TTG1 is conserved within the family.

RESULTS

In this work, we studied the function of TTG1 in Arabis alpina (A. alpina). A comparison of wild type and two Aattg1 alleles revealed that AaTTG1 is involved in the regulation of all five traits. A detailed analysis of the five traits showed striking phenotypic differences between A. alpina and A. thaliana such that trichome formation occurs also at later stages of leaf development and that root hairs form at non-root hair positions.

CONCLUSIONS

The evolutionary conservation of the regulation of the five traits by TTG1 on the one hand and the striking phenotypic differences make A. alpina a very interesting genetic model system to study the evolution of TTG1-dependent gene regulatory networks at a functional level.

Commonalities and differences between Brassica and Arabidopsis self-incompatibility

In higher plants, the self-incompatibility mechanism is important for inhibition of self-fertilization and facilitation of out-crossing. In Brassicaceae, the self-incompatibility response is mediated by allele-specific interaction of the stigma-localized S-locus receptor kinase (SRK) with the pollen coat-localized ligand (SCR/SP11). All self-incompatible Brassicaceae plants analyzed have been found to have the SRK and SCR/SP11 genes in the S-locus region. Although Arabidopsis thaliana is self-compatible, transformation with functional SRK-SCR genes from self-incompatible Arabidopsis species confers the self-incompatibility phenotype to A. thaliana. The allele-specific interaction between SRK and SCR activates the downstream signaling cascade of self-incompatibility. Yeast two-hybrid analysis with a kinase domain of SRK as bait and genetic analysis suggested several candidate components of self-incompatibility signaling in Brassica. Recently, A. thaliana genes orthologous to the identified genes for Brassica self-incompatibility signaling were evaluated by using a self-incompatible transgenic A. thaliana plant and these orthologous genes were found not to be involved in self-incompatibility signaling in the transgenic A. thaliana. In this review, we describe common and different aspects of S-locus genomic regions and self-incompatibility signaling between Brassica and Arabidopsis.

Evolutionary pattern of the FAE1 gene in brassicaceae and its correlation with the erucic acid trait

The fatty acid elongase 1 (FAE1) gene catalyzes the initial condensation step in the elongation pathway of VLCFA (very long chain fatty acid) biosynthesis and is thus a key gene in erucic acid biosynthesis. Based on a worldwide collection of 62 accessions representing 14 tribes, 31 genera, 51 species, 4 subspecies and 7 varieties, we conducted a phylogenetic reconstruction and correlation analysis between genetic variations in the FAE1 gene and the erucic acid trait, attempting to gain insight into the evolutionary patterns and the correlations between genetic variations in FAE1 and trait variations. The five clear, deeply diverged clades detected in the phylogenetic reconstruction are largely congruent with a previous multiple gene-derived phylogeny. The Ka/Ks ratio (<1) and overall low level of nucleotide diversity in the FAE1 gene suggest that purifying selection is the major evolutionary force acting on this gene. Sequence variations in FAE1 show a strong correlation with the content of erucic acid in seeds, suggesting a causal link between the two. Furthermore, we detected 16 mutations that were fixed between the low and high phenotypes of the FAE1 gene, which constitute candidate active sites in this gene for altering the content of erucic acid in seeds. Our findings begin to shed light on the evolutionary pattern of this important gene and represent the first step in elucidating how the sequence variations impact the production of erucic acid in plants.

Trichome structure and evolution in Neotropical lianas

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Trichomes are epidermal outgrowths generally associated with protection against herbivores and/or desiccation that are widely distributed from ferns to angiosperms. Patterns of topological variation and morphological evolution of trichomes are still scarce in the literature, preventing valid comparisons across taxa. This study integrates detailed morphoanatomical data and the evolutionary history of the tribe Bignonieae (Bignoniaceae) in order to gain a better understanding of current diversity and evolution of trichome types.

METHODS

Two sampling schemes were used to characterize trichome types: (1) macromorphological characterization of all 105 species currently included in Bignonieae; and (2) micromorphological characterization of 16 selected species. Individual trichome morphotypes were coded as binary in each vegetative plant part, and trichome density and size were coded as multistate. Ancestral character state reconstructions were conducted using maximum likelihood (ML) assumptions.

KEY RESULTS

Two main functional trichome categories were found: non-glandular and glandular. In glandular trichomes, three morphotypes were recognized: peltate (Pg), stipitate (Sg) and patelliform/cupular (P/Cg) trichomes. Non-glandular trichomes were uniseriate, uni- or multicellular and simple or branched. Pg and P/Cg trichomes were multicellular and non-vascularized with three clearly distinct cell layers. Sg trichomes were multicellular, uniseriate and long-stalked. ML ancestral character state reconstructions suggested that the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of Bignonieae probably had non-glandular, Pg and P/Cg trichomes, with each trichome type presenting alternative histories of appearance on the different plant parts. For example, the MRCA of Bignonieae probably had non-glandular trichomes on the stems, prophylls, petiole, petiolule and leaflet veins while P/Cg trichomes were restricted to leaflet blades. Sg trichomes were not present in the MRCA of Bignonieae independently of the position of these trichomes. These trichomes had at least eight independent origins in tribe.

CONCLUSIONS

The patterns of trichome evolution indicate that most morphotypes are probably homologous in Bignonieae and could be treated under the same name based on its morphological similarity and common evolutionary history, in spite of the plethora of names that have been previously designated in the literature. The trichome descriptions presented here will facilitate comparisons across taxa, allowing inferences on the relationsthips between trichome variants and future studies about their functional properties.

A world-wide perspective on crucifer speciation and evolution: phylogenetics, biogeography and trait evolution in tribe Arabideae

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Tribe Arabideae are the most species-rich monophyletic lineage in Brassicaceae. More than 500 species are distributed in the majority of mountain and alpine regions worldwide. This study provides the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for the species assemblage and tests for association of trait and characters, providing the first explanations for the enormous species radiation since the mid Miocene.

METHODS

Phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence variation of nuclear encoded loci and plastid DNA are used to unravel a reliable phylogenetic tree. Trait and ancestral area reconstructions were performed and lineage-specific diversification rates were calculated to explain various radiations in the last 15 Myr in space and time.

KEY RESULTS

A well-resolved phylogenetic tree demonstrates the paraphyly of the genus Arabis and a new systematic concept is established. Initially, multiple radiations involved a split between lowland annuals and mountain/alpine perennial sister species. Subsequently, increased speciation rates occur in the perennial lineages. The centre of origin of tribe Arabideae is most likely the Irano-Turanian region from which the various clades colonized the temperate mountain and alpine regions of the world.

CONCLUSIONS

Mid Miocene early diversification started with increased speciation rates due to the emergence of various annual lineages. Subsequent radiations were mostly driven by diversification within perennial species during the Pliocene, but increased speciation rates also occurred during that epoch. Taxonomic concepts in Arabis are still in need of a major taxonomic revision to define monophyletic groups.

Shifts in the evolutionary rate and intensity of purifying selection between two Brassica genomes revealed by analyses of orthologous transposons and relics of a whole genome triplication

Recent sequencing of the Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea genomes revealed extremely contrasting genomic features such as the abundance and distribution of transposable elements between the two genomes. However, whether and how these structural differentiations may have influenced the evolutionary rates of the two genomes since their split from a common ancestor are unknown. Here, we investigated and compared the rates of nucleotide substitution between two long terminal repeats (LTRs) of individual orthologous LTR-retrotransposons, the rates of synonymous and non-synonymous substitution among triplicated genes retained in both genomes from a shared whole genome triplication event, and the rates of genetic recombination estimated/deduced by the comparison of physical and genetic distances along chromosomes and ratios of solo LTRs to intact elements. Overall, LTR sequences and genic sequences showed more rapid nucleotide substitution in B. rapa than in B. oleracea. Synonymous substitution of triplicated genes retained from a shared whole genome triplication was detected at higher rates in B. rapa than in B. oleracea. Interestingly, non-synonymous substitution was observed at lower rates in the former than in the latter, indicating shifted densities of purifying selection between the two genomes. In addition to evolutionary asymmetry, orthologous genes differentially regulated and/or disrupted by transposable elements between the two genomes were also characterized. Our analyses suggest that local genomic and epigenomic features, such as recombination rates and chromatin dynamics reshaped by independent proliferation of transposable elements and elimination between the two genomes, are perhaps partially the causes and partially the outcomes of the observed inter-specific asymmetric evolution.

Evaluation of the potential for interspecific hybridization between Camelina sativa and related wild Brassicaceae in anticipation of field trials of GM camelina

Camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz) is a re-emergent oilseed crop that is also becoming important as a model for applied projects based on studies in Arabidopsis thaliana, since the two species are closely related members of the tribe Camelineae of the Brassicaeae. Since camelina can be transformed genetically by floral dip, genetically modified (GM) camelina is being created in many laboratories, and small-scale field trials are already being conducted in the US and Canada. Although camelina does not cross-fertilize Brassica crop species, such as oilseed rape, nothing was known about its ability to cross with other members of the tribe Camelineae, which in addition to arabidopsis includes the widespread weed, shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris). We have tested the ability of camelina to cross with arabidopsis and C. bursa-pastoris, as well as with the more distantly related Cardamine hirsuta, tribe cardamineae. No seeds were produced in crosses with arabidopsis, and a few seeds were obtained in crosses with C. hirsuta, but the embryos aborted at an early stage of development. A few seeds were also obtained in crosses with C. bursa-pastoris, which germinated to produce plants of a phenotype intermediate to that of the parents, but the hybrids were both male and female sterile. Therefore, the likelihood of pollen-mediated gene flow from camelina to these related species is low.

Reprint of: using nuclear gene data for plant phylogenetics: progress and prospects

The paper reviews the current state of low and single copy nuclear markers that have been applied successfully in plant phylogenetics to date, and discusses case studies highlighting the potential of massively parallel high throughput or next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches for molecular phylogenetic and evolutionary investigations. The current state, prospects and challenges of specific single- or low-copy plant nuclear markers as well as phylogenomic case studies are presented and evaluated.

Deciphering the diploid ancestral genome of the Mesohexaploid Brassica rapa

The genus Brassica includes several important agricultural and horticultural crops. Their current genome structures were shaped by whole-genome triplication followed by extensive diploidization. The availability of several crucifer genome sequences, especially that of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa), enables study of the evolution of the mesohexaploid Brassica genomes from their diploid progenitors. We reconstructed three ancestral subgenomes of B. rapa (n = 10) by comparing its whole-genome sequence to ancestral and extant Brassicaceae genomes. All three B. rapa paleogenomes apparently consisted of seven chromosomes, similar to the ancestral translocation Proto-Calepineae Karyotype (tPCK; n = 7), which is the evolutionarily younger variant of the Proto-Calepineae Karyotype (n = 7). Based on comparative analysis of genome sequences or linkage maps of Brassica oleracea, Brassica nigra, radish (Raphanus sativus), and other closely related species, we propose a two-step merging of three tPCK-like genomes to form the hexaploid ancestor of the tribe Brassiceae with 42 chromosomes. Subsequent diversification of the Brassiceae was marked by extensive genome reshuffling and chromosome number reduction mediated by translocation events and followed by loss and/or inactivation of centromeres. Furthermore, via interspecies genome comparison, we refined intervals for seven of the genomic blocks of the Ancestral Crucifer Karyotype (n = 8), thus revising the key reference genome for evolutionary genomics of crucifers.

Conserved microstructure of the Brassica B Genome of Brassica nigra in relation to homologous regions of Arabidopsis thaliana, B. rapa and B. oleracea

BACKGROUND

The Brassica B genome is known to carry several important traits, yet there has been limited analyses of its underlying genome structure, especially in comparison to the closely related A and C genomes. A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library of Brassica nigra was developed and screened with 17 genes from a 222 kb region of A. thaliana that had been well characterised in both the Brassica A and C genomes.

RESULTS

Fingerprinting of 483 apparently non-redundant clones defined physical contigs for the corresponding regions in B. nigra. The target region is duplicated in A. thaliana and six homologous contigs were found in B. nigra resulting from the whole genome triplication event shared by the Brassiceae tribe. BACs representative of each region were sequenced to elucidate the level of microscale rearrangements across the Brassica species divide.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the B genome species separated from the A/C lineage some 6 Mya, comparisons between the three paleopolyploid Brassica genomes revealed extensive conservation of gene content and sequence identity. The level of fractionation or gene loss varied across genomes and genomic regions; however, the greatest loss of genes was observed to be common to all three genomes. One large-scale chromosomal rearrangement differentiated the B genome suggesting such events could contribute to the lack of recombination observed between B genome species and those of the closely related A/C lineage.

Development of chloroplast microsatellite markers for phylogenetic analysis in Brassicaceae

By employing in silico tools, we devised new chloroplast microsatellite primers for inferring phylogenetic relationships within Brassicaceae. Microsatellite repeats were scanned in 12 chloroplast genomes of Brassicaceae, regions flanking these repeats were aligned and 19 universal primers were designed. Fifteen of these primer pairs are predicted to yield polymorphic amplicons, that are more or less evenly distributed throughout the chloroplast genomes. Finally, using PCR, we have validated three primer pairs on a limited 'test set' of plants, different from those used in computational analysis.

Evolution of the Arabidopsis telomerase RNA

The telomerase reverse transcriptase promotes genome integrity by continually synthesizing a short telomere repeat sequence on chromosome ends. Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein complex whose integral RNA subunit TER contains a template domain with a sequence complementary to the telomere repeat that is reiteratively copied by the catalytic subunit. Although TER harbors well-conserved secondary structure elements, its nucleotide sequence is highly divergent, even among closely related organisms. Thus, it has been extremely challenging to identify TER orthologs by bioinformatics strategies. Recently, TER was reported in the flowering plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. In contrast to other model organisms, A. thaliana encodes two TER subunits, only one of which is required to maintain telomere tracts in vivo. Here we investigate the evolution of the loci that encode TER in Arabidopsis by comparison to the same locus in its close relatives. We employ a combination of PCR and bioinformatics approaches to identify putative TER loci based on syntenic regions flanking the TER1 and TER2 loci of A. thaliana. Unexpectedly, we discovered that the genomic regions encoding the two A. thaliana TERs occur as a single locus in other Brassicaceae. Moreover, we find striking sequence divergence within the telomere template domain of putative TERs from Brassicaceae, including some orthologous loci that completely lack a template domain. Finally, evolution of the locus is characterized by lineage-specific events rather than changes shared among closely related species. We conclude that the Arabidopsis TER duplication occurred very recently, and further that changes at this locus in other Brassicaceae indicate the process of TER evolution may be different in plants compared with vertebrates and yeast.

Phylogeny and colonization history of Pringlea antiscorbutica (Brassicaceae), an emblematic endemic from the South Indian Ocean Province

The origins and evolution of sub-Antarctic island floras are not well understood. In particular there is uncertainty about the ages of the contemporary floras and the ultimate origins of the lineages they contain. Pringlea R. Br. (Brassicaceae) is a monotypic genus endemic to four sub-Antarctic island groups in the southern Indian Ocean. Here we used sequences from both the chloroplast and nuclear genomes to examine the phylogenetic position of this enigmatic genus. Our analyses confirm that Pringlea falls within the tribe Thelypodieae and provide a preliminary view of its relationships within the group. Divergence time estimates and ancestral area reconstructions imply Pringlea diverged from a South American ancestor ~5 Myr ago. It remains unclear whether the ancestor of Pringlea dispersed directly to the South Indian Ocean Province (SIOP) or used Antarctica as a stepping-stone; what is clear, however, is that following arrival in the SIOP several additional long-distance dispersal events must be inferred to explain the current distribution of this species. Our analyses also suggest that although Pringlea is likely to have inherited cold tolerance from its closest relatives, the distinctive morphology of this species evolved only after it split from the South American lineage. More generally, our results lend support to the hypothesis that angiosperms persisted on the sub-Antarctic islands throughout the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Taken together with evidence from other sub-Antarctic island plant groups, they suggest the extant flora of sub-Antarctic is likely to have been assembled over a broad time period and from lineages with distinctive biogeographic histories.

Morphogenesis of active shells

We consider the active shell as a single-cell or epithelial sheet surface that, sharing basic properties of stretched elastic shells, is capable of active planar movement owing to recruiting of the new surface elements. As model examples of their morphogenesis, we consider the growth and differentiation of single-cell hairs (trichomes) in plants of the genus Draba, and the epiboly and formation of the dorsoventral polarity in loach. The essential feature of the active shell behavior at both cellular and supracellular levels is regular deviating from the spatially homogeneous form, which is a primary cause of originating of the active mechanical stresses inside the shell in addition to its passive stretching by the intrinsic forces. Analyzing the quantitative morphological data, we derive the equations in which the temporal self-oscillations and spatial differentiation are distinguishable only at the parametric level depending on the proportion of active to passive stresses. In contrast to the ordinary activator-inhibitor systems, the self-oscillation dynamics is principally non-local and, consequently, one-parametric, the shell surface curvature being an analog of the inhibitor, while its spatial variance being an analog of the activator of shaping. Analyzing variability and evolution of the hair cell branching, we argue that the linear ontogeny (succession of the developmental stages) is a secondary evolutionary phenomenon originating from cyclic self-organizing algorithms of the active shell shaping.

Expression of the central growth regulator BIG BROTHER is regulated by multiple cis-elements

BACKGROUND

Much of the organismal variation we observe in nature is due to differences in organ size. The observation that even closely related species can show large, stably inherited differences in organ size indicates a strong genetic component to the control of organ size. Despite recent progress in identifying factors controlling organ growth in plants, our overall understanding of this process remains limited, partly because the individual factors have not yet been connected into larger regulatory pathways or networks. To begin addressing this aim, we have studied the upstream regulation of expression of BIG BROTHER (BB), a central growth-control gene in Arabidopsis thaliana that prevents overgrowth of organs. Final organ size and BB expression levels are tightly correlated, implying the need for precise control of its expression. BB expression mirrors proliferative activity, yet the gene functions to limit proliferation, suggesting that it acts in an incoherent feedforward loop downstream of growth activators to prevent over-proliferation.

RESULTS

To investigate the upstream regulation of BB we combined a promoter deletion analysis with a phylogenetic footprinting approach. We were able to narrow down important, highly conserved, cis-regulatory elements within the BB promoter. Promoter sequences of other Brassicaceae species were able to partially complement the A. thaliana bb-1 mutant, suggesting that at least within the Brassicaceae family the regulatory pathways are conserved.

CONCLUSIONS

This work underlines the complexity involved in precise quantitative control of gene expression and lays the foundation for identifying important upstream regulators that determine BB expression levels and thus final organ size.

'Missing link' species Capsella orientalis and Capsella thracica elucidate evolution of model plant genus Capsella (Brassicaceae)

To elucidate the evolutionary history of the genus Capsella, we included the hitherto poorly known species C. orientalis and C. thracica into our studies together with C. grandiflora, C. rubella and C. bursa-pastoris. We sequenced the ITS and four loci of noncoding cpDNA regions (trnL - F, rps16, trnH -psbA and trnQ -rps16). Sequence data were evaluated with parsimony and Bayesian analyses. Divergence time estimates were carried out with the software package BEAST. We also performed isozyme, cytological, morphological and biogeographic studies. Capsella orientalis (self-compatible, SC; 2n = 16) forms a clade (eastern lineage) with C. bursa-pastoris (SC; 2n = 32), which is a sister clade (western lineage) to C. grandiflora (self-incompatible, SI; 2n = 16) and C. rubella (SC; 2n = 16). Capsella bursa-pastoris is an autopolyploid species of multiple origin, whereas the Bulgarian endemic C. thracica (SC; 2n = 32) is allopolyploid and emerged from interspecific hybridization between C. bursa-pastoris and C. grandiflora. The common ancestor of the two lineages was diploid and SI, and its distribution ranged from eastern Europe to central Asia, predominantly confined to steppe-like habitats. Biogeographic dynamics during the Pleistocene caused geographic and genetic subdivisions within the common ancestor giving rise to the two extant lineages.

An assessment of transgenomics as a tool for identifying genes involved in the evolutionary differentiation of closely related plant species

• Transgenomics is the process of introducing genomic clones from a donor species into a recipient species and then screening the resultant transgenic lines for phenotypes of interest. This method might allow us to find genes involved in the evolution of phenotypic differences between species as well as genes that have the potential to contribute to reproductive isolation: potential speciation genes. • More than 1100 20-kbp genomic clones from Leavenworthia alabamica were moved into Arabidopsis thaliana by transformation. After screening a single primary transformant for each line, clones associated with mutant phenotypes were tested for repeatability and co-segregation. • We found 84 clones with possible phenotypic effects, of which eight were repeatedly associated with the same phenotype. One clone, 11_11B, co-segregated with a short fruit phenotype. Further study showed that 11_11B affects seed development, with as much as one-third of the seeds aborted in some fruit. • Transgenomics is a viable strategy for discovering genes of evolutionary interest. We identify methods to reduce false positives and false negatives in the future. 11_11B can be viewed as a potential speciation gene, illustrating the value of transgenomics for studying the molecular basis of reproductive isolation.

Convergent evolution of a complex fruit structure in the tribe Brassiceae (Brassicaceae)

PREMISE OF STUDY

Many angiosperms have fruit morphologies that result in seeds from the same plant having different dispersal capabilities. A prime example is found in the Brassiceae (Brassicaceae), which has many members with segmented or heteroarthrocarpic fruits. Since only 40% of the genera are heteroarthrocarpic, this tribe provides an opportunity to study the evolution of an ecologically significant novelty and its variants.

METHODS

We analyzed nuclear (PHYA) and plastid (matK) sequences from 66 accessions using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference approaches. The evolution of heteroarthrocarpy and its variants was evaluated using maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood ancestral state reconstructions.

KEY RESULTS

Although nuclear and plastid phylogenies are incongruent with each other, the following findings are consistent: (1) Cakile, Crambe, Vella, and Zilla lineages are monophyletic; (2) the Nigra lineage is not monophyletic; and (3) within the Cakile clade, Cakile, Didesmus, and Erucaria are paraphyletic. Despite differences in the matK and PHYA topologies at both deep and shallow nodes, similar patterns of morphological evolution emerge. Heteroarthrocarpy, a complex morphological trait, has evolved multiple times across the tribe. Moreover, there are convergent transitions in dehiscence capabilities and fruit disarticulation across the tribe.

CONCLUSIONS

We present the first explicit analysis of fruit evolution within the Brassiceae, which exemplifies evolutionary lability. The repeated loss and gain of segment dehiscence and disarticulation suggests conservation in the genetic pathway controlling abscission with differential expression across taxa. This study provides a strong foundation for future studies of mechanisms underlying variation in dispersal capabilities of Brassiceae.

Sulfinylated azadecalins act as functional mimics of a pollen germination stimulant in Arabidopsis pistils

Polarized cell elongation is triggered by small molecule cues during development of diverse organisms. During plant reproduction, pollen interactions with the stigma result in the polar outgrowth of a pollen tube, which delivers sperm cells to the female gametophyte to effect double fertilization. In many plants, pistils stimulate pollen germination. However, in Arabidopsis, the effect of pistils on pollen germination and the pistil factors that stimulate pollen germination remain poorly characterized. Here, we demonstrate that stigma, style, and ovules in Arabidopsis pistils stimulate pollen germination. We isolated an Arabidopsis pistil extract fraction that stimulates Arabidopsis pollen germination, and employed ultra-high resolution electrospray ionization (ESI), Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) and MS/MS techniques to accurately determine the mass (202.126 Da) of a compound that is specifically present in this pistil extract fraction. Using the molecular formula (C10H19NOS) and tandem mass spectral fragmentation patterns of the m/z (mass to charge ratio) 202.126 ion, we postulated chemical structures, devised protocols, synthesized N-methanesulfinyl 1- and 2-azadecalins that are close structural mimics of the m/z 202.126 ion, and showed that they are sufficient to stimulate Arabidopsis pollen germination in vitro (30 μm stimulated approximately 50% germination) and elicit accession-specific response. Although N-methanesulfinyl 2-azadecalin stimulated pollen germination in three species of Lineage I of Brassicaceae, it did not induce a germination response in Sisymbrium irio (Lineage II of Brassicaceae) and tobacco, indicating that activity of the compound is not random. Our results show that Arabidopsis pistils promote germination by producing azadecalin-like molecules to ensure rapid fertilization by the appropriate pollen.

Boechera, a model system for ecological genomics

The selection and development of a study system for evolutionary and ecological functional genomics (EEFG) depend on a variety of factors. Here, we present the genus Boechera as an exemplary system with which to address ecological and evolutionary questions. Our focus on Boechera is based on several characteristics as follows: (i) native populations in undisturbed habitats where current environments reflect historical conditions over several thousand years; (ii) functional genomics benefitting from its close relationship to Arabidopsis thaliana; (iii) inbreeding tolerance enabling development of recombinant inbred lines, near-isogenic lines and positional cloning; (iv) interspecific crosses permitting mapping for genetic analysis of speciation; (v) apomixis (asexual reproduction by seeds) in a genetically tractable diploid; and (vi) broad geographic distribution in North America, permitting ecological genetics for a large research community. These characteristics, along with the current sequencing of three Boechera species by the Joint Genome Institute, position Boechera as a rapidly advancing system for EEFG studies.

BRAD, the genetics and genomics database for Brassica plants

BACKGROUND

Brassica species include both vegetable and oilseed crops, which are very important to the daily life of common human beings. Meanwhile, the Brassica species represent an excellent system for studying numerous aspects of plant biology, specifically for the analysis of genome evolution following polyploidy, so it is also very important for scientific research. Now, the genome of Brassica rapa has already been assembled, it is the time to do deep mining of the genome data.

DESCRIPTION

BRAD, the Brassica database, is a web-based resource focusing on genome scale genetic and genomic data for important Brassica crops. BRAD was built based on the first whole genome sequence and on further data analysis of the Brassica A genome species, Brassica rapa (Chiifu-401-42). It provides datasets, such as the complete genome sequence of B. rapa, which was de novo assembled from Illumina GA II short reads and from BAC clone sequences, predicted genes and associated annotations, non coding RNAs, transposable elements (TE), B. rapa genes' orthologous to those in A. thaliana, as well as genetic markers and linkage maps. BRAD offers useful searching and data mining tools, including search across annotation datasets, search for syntenic or non-syntenic orthologs, and to search the flanking regions of a certain target, as well as the tools of BLAST and Gbrowse. BRAD allows users to enter almost any kind of information, such as a B. rapa or A. thaliana gene ID, physical position or genetic marker.

CONCLUSION

BRAD, a new database which focuses on the genetics and genomics of the Brassica plants has been developed, it aims at helping scientists and breeders to fully and efficiently use the information of genome data of Brassica plants. BRAD will be continuously updated and can be accessed through http://brassicadb.org.

Context-dependent codon partition models provide significant increases in model fit in atpB and rbcL protein-coding genes

BACKGROUND

Accurate modelling of substitution processes in protein-coding sequences is often hampered by the computational burdens associated with full codon models. Lately, codon partition models have been proposed as a viable alternative, mimicking the substitution behaviour of codon models at a low computational cost. Such codon partition models however impose independent evolution of the different codon positions, which is overly restrictive from a biological point of view. Given that empirical research has provided indications of context-dependent substitution patterns at four-fold degenerate sites, we take those indications into account in this paper.

RESULTS

We present so-called context-dependent codon partition models to assess previous empirical claims that the evolution of four-fold degenerate sites is strongly dependent on the composition of its two flanking bases. To this end, we have estimated and compared various existing independent models, codon models, codon partition models and context-dependent codon partition models for the atpB and rbcL genes of the chloroplast genome, which are frequently used in plant systematics. Such context-dependent codon partition models employ a full dependency scheme for four-fold degenerate sites, whilst maintaining the independence assumption for the first and second codon positions.

CONCLUSIONS

We show that, both in the atpB and rbcL alignments of a collection of land plants, these context-dependent codon partition models significantly improve model fit over existing codon partition models. Using Bayes factors based on thermodynamic integration, we show that in both datasets the same context-dependent codon partition model yields the largest increase in model fit compared to an independent evolutionary model. Context-dependent codon partition models hence perform closer to codon models, which remain the best performing models at a drastically increased computational cost, compared to codon partition models, but remain computationally interesting alternatives to codon models. Finally, we observe that the substitution patterns in both datasets are drastically different, leading to the conclusion that combined analysis of these two genes using a single model may not be advisable from a context-dependent point of view.

Mining the plant-herbivore interface with a leafmining Drosophila of Arabidopsis

Experimental infections of Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) with genomically characterized plant pathogens such as Pseudomonas syringae have facilitated the dissection of canonical eukaryotic defence pathways and parasite virulence factors. Plants are also attacked by herbivorous insects, and the development of an ecologically relevant genetic model herbivore that feeds on Arabidopsis will enable the parallel dissection of host defence and reciprocal resistance pathways such as those involved in xenobiotic metabolism. An ideal candidate is Scaptomyza flava, a drosophilid fly whose leafmining larvae are true herbivores that can be found in nature feeding on Arabidopsis and other crucifers. Here, we describe the life cycle of S. flava on Arabidopsis and use multiple approaches to characterize the response of Arabidopsis to S. flava attack. Oviposition choice tests and growth performance assays on different Arabidopsis ecotypes, defence-related mutants, and hormone and chitin-treated plants revealed significant differences in host preference and variation in larval performance across Arabidopsis accessions. The jasmonate and glucosinolate pathways in Arabidopsis are important in mediating quantitative resistance against S. flava, and priming with jasmonate or chitin resulted in increased resistance. Expression of xenobiotic detoxification genes was reduced in S. flava larvae reared on Arabidopsis jasmonate signalling mutants and increased in plants pretreated with chitin. These results and future research directions are discussed in the context of developing a genetic model system to analyse insect-plant interactions.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle: developmental evolution of trait diversification

A major focus of evolutionary developmental (evo-devo) studies is to determine the genetic basis of variation in organismal form and function, both of which are fundamental to biological diversification. Pioneering work on metazoan and flowering plant systems has revealed conserved sets of genes that underlie the bauplan of organisms derived from a common ancestor. However, the extent to which variation in the developmental genetic toolkit mirrors variation at the phenotypic level is an active area of research. Here we explore evidence from the angiosperm evo-devo literature supporting the frugal use of genes and genetic pathways in the evolution of developmental patterning. In particular, these examples highlight the importance of genetic pleiotropy in different developmental modules, thus reducing the number of genes required in growth and development, and the reuse of particular genes in the parallel evolution of ecologically important traits.

Identification of three genes encoding microsomal oleate desaturases (FAD2) from the oilseed crop Camelina sativa

Camelina sativa is a re-emerging low-input oilseed crop that may provide economical vegetable oils for industrial applications. It is desirable to increase the monounsaturated oleic acid (cis-9-octadecenoic acid, 18:1), and to decrease polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), linoleic (cis, cis-9,12-octadecadienoic acid, 18:2) and α-linolenic (all-cis-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, 18:3) acids, in camelina oils to improve oxidative stability. 18:1 desaturation is mainly controlled by the microsomal oleate desaturase (FAD2; EC 1.3.1.35) encoded by the FAD2 gene. Three FAD2 genes, designated CsFAD2-1 to 3, were identified in camelina. Functional expression of these genes in yeast confirmed that they all encode microsomal oleate desaturases. Although the three CsFAD2 genes share very high sequence similarity, they showed different expression patterns. Expression of CsFAD2-1 was detected in all tissues examined, including developing seed, flower, as well as in vegetable tissues such as leaf, root, and stem. Transcripts of CsFAD2-2 and CsFAD2-3 were mainly detected in developing seeds, suggesting their major roles in storage oil desaturation in seed. The introns of the three CsFAD2 genes, which showed greater sequence variations, may provide additional resources for designing molecular markers in breeding. Furthermore, the roles of CsFAD2 in PUFA synthesis were demonstrated by mutant analysis and by antisense gene expression in camelina seed.

Cabbage family affairs: the evolutionary history of Brassicaceae

Life without the mustard family (Brassicaceae) would be a world without many crop species and the model organism Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) that has revolutionized our knowledge in almost every field of modern plant biology. Despite this importance, research breakthroughs in understanding family-wide evolutionary patterns and processes within this flowering plant family were not achieved until the past few years. In this review, we examine recent outcomes from diverse botanical disciplines (taxonomy, systematics, genomics, paleobotany and other fields) to synthesize for the first time a holistic view on the evolutionary history of the mustard family.

Arabidopsis thaliana leaf form evolved via loss of KNOX expression in leaves in association with a selective sweep

Morphological diversity is often caused by altered gene expression of key developmental regulators. However, the precise developmental trajectories through which morphologies evolved remain poorly understood. It is also unclear to what degree genetic changes contributing to morphological divergence were fixed by natural selection. Here we investigate these problems in the context of evolutionary developmental transitions that produced the simple unlobed leaf of the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. We demonstrate that A. thaliana leaf shape likely derived from a more complex lobed ancestral state that persists in extant Arabidopsis species. We also show that evolution of the unlobed leaf form in A. thaliana involved loss of expression of the knotted1-like homeobox gene SHOOTMERISTEMLESS (STM) in leaves and that cis-regulatory divergence contributed to this process. Further, we provide evidence for a selective sweep at the A. thaliana STM locus, indicating that loss of STM expression in A. thaliana leaves may have been fixed by positive selection. In summary, our data provide key information as to when and how the characteristic leaf form of A. thaliana evolved.

Evolutionary lineages of nickel hyperaccumulation and systematics in European Alysseae (Brassicaceae): evidence from nrDNA sequence data

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Nickel (Ni) hyperaccumulation is a rare form of physiological specialization shared by a small number of angiosperms growing on ultramafic soils. The evolutionary patterns of this feature among European members of tribe Alysseae (Brassicaceae) are investigated using a phylogenetic approach to assess relationships among Ni hyperaccumulators at the genus, species and below-species level.

METHODS

Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences were generated for multiple accessions of Alysseae. Phylogenetic trees were obtained for the genera of the tribe and Alyssum sect. Odontarrhena. All accessions and additional herbarium material were tested for Ni hyperaccumulation with the dimethylglyoxime colorimetric method.

KEY RESULTS

Molecular data strongly support the poorly known hyperaccumulator endemic Leptoplax (Peltaria) emarginata as sister to hyperaccumulator species of Bornmuellera within Alysseae. This is contrary to current assumptions of affinity between L. emarginata and the non-hyperaccumulator Peltaria in Thlaspideae. The lineage Bornmuellera-Leptoplax is, in turn, sister to the two non-hyperaccumulator Mediterranean endemics Ptilotrichum rupestre and P. cyclocarpum. Low ITS sequence variation was found within the monophyletic Alyssum sect. Odontarrhena and especially in A. murale sensu lato. Nickel hyperaccumulation was not monophyletic in any of three main clades retrieved, each consisting of hyperaccumulators and non-hyperaccumulators of different geographical origin.

CONCLUSIONS

Nickel hyperaccumulation in Alysseae has a double origin, but it did not evolve in Thlaspideae. In Bornmuellera-Leptoplax it represents an early synapomorphy inherited from an ancestor shared with the calcicolous, sister clade of Mediterranean Ptilotrichum. In Alyssum sect. Odontarrhena it has multiple origins even within the three European clades recognized. Lack of geographical cohesion suggests that accumulation ability has been lost or gained over the different serpentine areas of south Europe through independent events of microevolutionary adaptation and selection. Genetic continuity and strong phenotypic plasticity in the A. murale complex call for a reduction of the number of Ni hyperaccumulator taxa formally recognized.

Polyploid genome of Camelina sativa revealed by isolation of fatty acid synthesis genes

BACKGROUND

Camelina sativa, an oilseed crop in the Brassicaceae family, has inspired renewed interest due to its potential for biofuels applications. Little is understood of the nature of the C. sativa genome, however. A study was undertaken to characterize two genes in the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway, fatty acid desaturase (FAD) 2 and fatty acid elongase (FAE) 1, which revealed unexpected complexity in the C. sativa genome.

RESULTS

In C. sativa, Southern analysis indicates the presence of three copies of both FAD2 and FAE1 as well as LFY, a known single copy gene in other species. All three copies of both CsFAD2 and CsFAE1 are expressed in developing seeds, and sequence alignments show that previously described conserved sites are present, suggesting that all three copies of both genes could be functional. The regions downstream of CsFAD2 and upstream of CsFAE1 demonstrate co-linearity with the Arabidopsis genome. In addition, three expressed haplotypes were observed for six predicted single-copy genes in 454 sequencing analysis and results from flow cytometry indicate that the DNA content of C. sativa is approximately three-fold that of diploid Camelina relatives. Phylogenetic analyses further support a history of duplication and indicate that C. sativa and C. microcarpa might share a parental genome.

CONCLUSIONS

There is compelling evidence for triplication of the C. sativa genome, including a larger chromosome number and three-fold larger measured genome size than other Camelina relatives, three isolated copies of FAD2, FAE1, and the KCS17-FAE1 intergenic region, and three expressed haplotypes observed for six predicted single-copy genes. Based on these results, we propose that C. sativa be considered an allohexaploid. The characterization of fatty acid synthesis pathway genes will allow for the future manipulation of oil composition of this emerging biofuel crop; however, targeted manipulations of oil composition and general development of C. sativa should consider and, when possible take advantage of, the implications of polyploidy.

Dated molecular phylogenies indicate a Miocene origin for Arabidopsis thaliana

Dated molecular phylogenies are the basis for understanding species diversity and for linking changes in rates of diversification with historical events such as restructuring in developmental pathways, genome doubling, or dispersal onto a new continent. Valid fossil calibration points are essential to the accurate estimation of divergence dates, but for many groups of flowering plants fossil evidence is unavailable or limited. Arabidopsis thaliana, the primary genetic model in plant biology and the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced, belongs to one such group, the plant family Brassicaceae. Thus, the timing of A. thaliana evolution and the history of its genome have been controversial. We bring previously overlooked fossil evidence to bear on these questions and find the split between A. thaliana and Arabidopsis lyrata occurred about 13 Mya, and that the split between Arabidopsis and the Brassica complex (broccoli, cabbage, canola) occurred about 43 Mya. These estimates, which are two- to threefold older than previous estimates, indicate that gene, genomic, and developmental evolution occurred much more slowly than previously hypothesized and that Arabidopsis evolved during a period of warming rather than of cooling. We detected a 2- to 10-fold shift in species diversification rates on the branch uniting Brassicaceae with its sister families. The timing of this shift suggests a possible impact of the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction on their radiation and that Brassicales codiversified with pierid butterflies that specialize on mustard-oil-producing plants.

Sequence and structure of Brassica rapa chromosome A3

BACKGROUND

The species Brassica rapa includes important vegetable and oil crops. It also serves as an excellent model system to study polyploidy-related genome evolution because of its paleohexaploid ancestry and its close evolutionary relationships with Arabidopsis thaliana and other Brassica species with larger genomes. Therefore, its genome sequence will be used to accelerate both basic research on genome evolution and applied research across the cultivated Brassica species.

RESULTS

We have determined and analyzed the sequence of B. rapa chromosome A3. We obtained 31.9 Mb of sequences, organized into nine contigs, which incorporated 348 overlapping BAC clones. Annotation revealed 7,058 protein-coding genes, with an average gene density of 4.6 kb per gene. Analysis of chromosome collinearity with the A. thaliana genome identified conserved synteny blocks encompassing the whole of the B. rapa chromosome A3 and sections of four A. thaliana chromosomes. The frequency of tandem duplication of genes differed between the conserved genome segments in B. rapa and A. thaliana, indicating differential rates of occurrence/retention of such duplicate copies of genes. Analysis of 'ancestral karyotype' genome building blocks enabled the development of a hypothetical model for the derivation of the B. rapa chromosome A3.

CONCLUSIONS

We report the near-complete chromosome sequence from a dicotyledonous crop species. This provides an example of the complexity of genome evolution following polyploidy. The high degree of contiguity afforded by the clone-by-clone approach provides a benchmark for the performance of whole genome shotgun approaches presently being applied in B. rapa and other species with complex genomes.

Colonizing the American continent: Systematics of the genus Arabis in North America (Brassicaceae)

The circumscription of the genus Arabis underwent many and drastic changes within the past. Using DNA sequence information from the nuclear ribosomal RNA and parts of the plastid genome (trnL-trnLF), as well as a critical evaluation of herbarium material from East Asia and North America, we circumscribe the various Arabis taxa of North America. The American and East Asian Arabis species are closely related and, contrary to what was previously believed, they are not closely related to the Eurasian A. hirsuta. Using cpDNA, we found five North American lineages of Arabis with distinct distribution patterns, of which only the purple/red-flowered lineage consists of proven diploids that evolved directly from East Asian progenitors. All other four lineages evolved via ancient hybridization either on the Asian continent prior to migration to North America or showed significant evidence for hybridization and reticulation while diversifying on the American continent. We also provide the first evidence for the systematic circumscription of East Asian Arabis taxa, which together with the North American taxa, form one clade distantly related to European A. ciliata and Eurasian A. hirsuta. The findings also represent the first record of A. pycnocarpa for the floras of China, Japan, and Russian Far East.

Molecular phylogenetics, temporal diversification, and principles of evolution in the mustard family (Brassicaceae)

Brassicaceae is an important family at both the agronomic and scientific level. The family not only includes several model species, but it is also becoming an evolutionary model at the family level. However, resolving the phylogenetic relationships within the family has been problematic, and a large-scale molecular phylogeny in terms of generic sampling and number of genes is still lacking. In particular, the deeper relationships within the family, for example between the three major recognized lineages, prove particularly hard to resolve. Using a slow-evolving mitochondrial marker (nad4 intron 1), we reconstructed a comprehensive phylogeny in generic representation for the family. In addition, and because resolution was very low in previous single marker phylogenies, we adopted a supermatrix approach by concatenating all checked and reliable sequences available on GenBank as well as new sequences for a total 207 currently recognized genera and eight molecular markers representing a comprehensive coverage of all three genomes. The supermatrix was dated under an uncorrelated relaxed molecular clock using a direct fossil calibration approach. Finally, a lineage-through-time-plot and rates of diversification for the family were generated. The resulting tree, the largest in number of genera and markers sampled to date and covering the whole family in a representative way, provides important insights into the evolution of the family on a broad scale. The backbone of the tree remained largely unresolved and is interpreted as the consequence of early rapid radiation within the family. The age of the family was inferred to be 37.6 (24.2-49.4) Ma, which largely agrees with previous studies. The ages of all major lineages and tribes are also reported. Analysis of diversification suggests that Brassicaceae underwent a rapid period of diversification, after the split with the early diverging tribe Aethionemeae. Given the dates found here, the family appears to have originated under a warm and humid climate approximately 37 Ma. We suggest that the rapid radiation detected was caused by a global cooling during the Oligocene coupled with a genome duplication event. This duplication could have allowed the family to rapidly adapt to the changing climate.

Identification of shared single copy nuclear genes in Arabidopsis, Populus, Vitis and Oryza and their phylogenetic utility across various taxonomic levels

BACKGROUND

Although the overwhelming majority of genes found in angiosperms are members of gene families, and both gene- and genome-duplication are pervasive forces in plant genomes, some genes are sufficiently distinct from all other genes in a genome that they can be operationally defined as 'single copy'. Using the gene clustering algorithm MCL-tribe, we have identified a set of 959 single copy genes that are shared single copy genes in the genomes of Arabidopsis thaliana, Populus trichocarpa, Vitis vinifera and Oryza sativa. To characterize these genes, we have performed a number of analyses examining GO annotations, coding sequence length, number of exons, number of domains, presence in distant lineages, such as Selaginella and Physcomitrella, and phylogenetic analysis to estimate copy number in other seed plants and to demonstrate their phylogenetic utility. We then provide examples of how these genes may be used in phylogenetic analyses to reconstruct organismal history, both by using extant coverage in EST databases for seed plants and de novo amplification via RT-PCR in the family Brassicaceae.

RESULTS

There are 959 single copy nuclear genes shared in Arabidopsis, Populus, Vitis and Oryza ["APVO SSC genes"]. The majority of these genes are also present in the Selaginella and Physcomitrella genomes. Public EST sets for 197 species suggest that most of these genes are present across a diverse collection of seed plants, and appear to exist as single or very low copy genes, though exceptions are seen in recently polyploid taxa and in lineages where there is significant evidence for a shared large-scale duplication event. Genes encoding proteins localized in organelles are more commonly single copy than expected by chance, but the evolutionary forces responsible for this bias are unknown.Regardless of the evolutionary mechanisms responsible for the large number of shared single copy genes in diverse flowering plant lineages, these genes are valuable for phylogenetic and comparative analyses. Eighteen of the APVO SSC single copy genes were amplified in the Brassicaceae using RT-PCR and directly sequenced. Alignments of these sequences provide improved resolution of Brassicaceae phylogeny compared to recent studies using plastid and ITS sequences. An analysis of sequences from 13 APVO SSC genes from 69 species of seed plants, derived mainly from public EST databases, yielded a phylogeny that was largely congruent with prior hypotheses based on multiple plastid sequences. Whereas single gene phylogenies that rely on EST sequences have limited bootstrap support as the result of limited sequence information, concatenated alignments result in phylogenetic trees with strong bootstrap support for already established relationships. Overall, these single copy nuclear genes are promising markers for phylogenetics, and contain a greater proportion of phylogenetically-informative sites than commonly used protein-coding sequences from the plastid or mitochondrial genomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Putatively orthologous, shared single copy nuclear genes provide a vast source of new evidence for plant phylogenetics, genome mapping, and other applications, as well as a substantial class of genes for which functional characterization is needed. Preliminary evidence indicates that many of the shared single copy nuclear genes identified in this study may be well suited as markers for addressing phylogenetic hypotheses at a variety of taxonomic levels.