Comparative genome analysis reveals extensive conservation of genome organisation for Arabidopsis thaliana and Capsella rubella

Genome colinearity has been studied for two closely related diploid species of the Brassicaceae family, Arabidopsis thaliana and Capsella rubella. Markers mapping to chromosome 4 of A. thaliana were found on two linkage groups in Capsella and colinear segments spanning more than 10 cM were revealed. Detailed analysis of a 60 kbp region in A. thaliana and its counterpart in C. rubella showed virtually complete conservation of gene repertoire, order and orientation. The comparison of orthologous genes revealed very similar exon-intron structures and sequence identities of 90% or more were found for exon sequences. This extensive genome colinearity at the genetic and molecular level allows the efficient transfer of data from the well-studied A. thaliana genome to other species in the Brassicaceae family, substantially facilitating genome analysis studies for species of this family.     

Genome evolution among cruciferous plants: a lecture from the comparison of the genetic maps of three diploid species--Capsella rubella, Arabidopsis lyrata subsp. petraea, and A. thaliana

Comparative mapping in cruciferous plants is ongoing, and recently two additional genetic maps of diploid Capsella and Arabidopsis lyrata subsp. petraea have been presented. We compared both maps with each other using the sequence map and genomic data resources from Arabidopsis thaliana as a reference. The ancestors of the species pair Capsella-Arabidopsis diverged from one another approximately 10-14 million years ago (mya), whereas Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabidopsis lyrata have been separated since roughly 5-6 mya. Our analysis indicated that among diploid Capsella and Arabidopsis lyrata all eight genetic linkage groups are totally colinear to each other, with only two inversions significantly differentiating these two species.By minimizing the number of chromosomal rearrangements during genome evolution, we presented a model of chromosome evolution involving all three species. From this scenario, it is obvious that Arabidopsis thaliana underwent a dramatic genome reconstruction, with a base chromosome number reduction from five to eight and with approximately 1.3 chromosomal rearrangements per million years. In contrast, the terminal lineage leading to Capsella has only undergone less than 0.09 rearrangements per million years. This is the same rate as calculated for Arabidopsis lyrata since its separation from the Capsella lineage 10-14 mya. These results are in strong contrast to all overestimated rates calculated from comparisons of the systems Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica, and our data demonstrate the problematic nature of both model systems.     

Comparative mapping between potato (Solanum tuberosum) and Arabidopsis thaliana reveals structurally conserved domains and ancient duplications in the potato genome

A genetic map of potato (Solanum tuberosum) was constructed based on 293 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers including 31 EST markers of Arabidopsis. The in silico comparison of all marker sequences with the Arabidopsis genomic sequence resulted in 189 markers that detected in Arabidopsis 787 loci with sequence conservation. Based on conserved linkage between groups of at least three different markers on the genetic map of potato and the physical map of Arabidopsis, 90 putative syntenic blocks were identified covering 41% of the potato genetic map and 50% of the Arabidopsis physical map. The existence and distribution of syntenic blocks suggested a higher degree of structural conservation in some parts of the potato genome when compared to others. Syntenic blocks were redundant: most potato syntenic blocks were related to several Arabidopsis genome segments and vice versa. Some duplicated potato syntenic blocks correlated well with ancient segmental duplications in Arabidopsis. Syntenic relationships between different genomic segments of potato and the same segment of the Arabidopsis genome indicated that potato genome evolution included ancient intra- and interchromosomal duplications. The partial genome coveridge and the redundancy of syntenic blocks limits the use of synteny for functional comparisons between the crop species potato and the model plant Arabidopsis.     

Plant genome archaeology: evidence for conserved ancestral chromosome segments in dicotyledonous plant species

We have developed genetic maps, based on expressed sequence tags (ESTs) that are homologous to Arabidopsis genes, in four dicotyledonous crop plant species from different families. A comparison of these maps with the physical map of Arabidopsis reveals common genome segments that appear to have been conserved throughout the evolution of the dicots. In the four crop species analysed these segments comprise between 16 and 33% of the Arabidopsis genome. Our findings extend the synteny patterns previously observed only within plant families, and indicate that structural and functional information from the model species will be, at least in part, applicable in crop plants with large genomes.     

An integrated and comparative genetic map of the turkey genome

An integrated genetic linkage map was developed for the turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) that combines the genetic markers from the three previous mapping efforts. The UMN integrated map includes 613 loci arranged into 41 linkage groups. An additional 105 markers are tentatively placed within linkage groups based on two-point LOD scores and 19 markers remain unlinked. A total of 210 previously unmapped markers has been added to the UMN turkey genetic map. Markers from each of the 20 linkage groups identified in the Roslin map and the 22 linkage groups of the Nte map are incorporated into the new integrated map. Overall map distance contained within the 41 linkage groups is 3,365 cM (sex-averaged) with the largest linkage group (94 loci) measuring 533.1 cM. Average marker interval for the map was 7.86 cM. Sequences of markers included in the new map were compared to the chicken genome sequence by 'BLASTN'. Significant similarity scores were obtained for 95.6% of the turkey sequences encompassing an estimated 91% of the chicken genome. A physical map of the chicken genome based on positions of the turkey sequences was built and 36 of the 41 turkey linkage groups were aligned with the physical map, five linkage groups remain unassigned. Given the close similarities between the turkey and chicken genomes, the chicken genome sequence could serve as a scaffold for a genome sequencing effort in the turkey.     

A comparative genetic map of the turkey genome

Genetic markers (microsatellites and SNPs) were used to create and compare maps of the turkey and chicken genomes. A physical map of the chicken genome was built by comparing sequences of turkey markers with the chicken whole-genome sequence by BLAST analysis. A genetic linkage map of the turkey genome (Meleagris gallopavo) was developed by segregation analysis of genetic markers within the University of Minnesota/Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms (UMN/NTBF) resource population. This linkage map of the turkey genome includes 314 loci arranged into 29 linkage groups. An additional 40 markers are tentatively placed within linkage groups based on two-point LOD scores and 16 markers remain unlinked. Total map distance contained within linkage groups is 2,011 cM with the longest linkage group (47 loci) measuring 413.3 cM. Average marker interval over the 29 linkage groups was 6.4 cM. All but one turkey linkage group could be aligned with the physical map of the chicken genome. The present genetic map of the turkey provides a comparative framework for future genomic studies.     

Evolution of genome size in Brassicaceae

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Brassicaceae, with nearly 340 genera and more than 3350 species, anchors the low range of angiosperm genome sizes. The relatively narrow range of DNA content (0.16 pg < 1C < 1.95 pg) was maintained in spite of extensive chromosomal change. The aim of this study was to erect a cytological and molecular phylogenetic framework for a selected subset of the Brassicacae, and use this as a template to examine genome size evolution in Brassicaceae. METHODS: DNA contents were determined by flow cytometry and chromosomes were counted for 34 species of the family Brassicaceae and for ten Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes. The amplified and sequenced ITS region for 23 taxa (plus six other taxa with known ITS sequences) were aligned and used to infer evolutionary relationship by parsimony analysis. KEY RESULTS: DNA content in the species studied ranged over 8-fold (1C = 0.16-1.31 pg), and 4.4-fold (1C = 0.16-0.71 pg) excluding allotetraploid Brassica species. The 1C DNA contents of ten Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes showed little variation, ranging from 0.16 pg to 0.17 pg. CONCLUSIONS: The tree roots at an ancestral genome size of approximately 1x = 0.2 pg. Arabidopsis thaliana (1C = 0.16 pg; approximately 157 Mbp) has the smallest genome size in Brassicaceae studied here and apparently represents an evolutionary decrease in genome size. Two other branches that represent probable evolutionary decreases in genome size terminate in Lepidium virginicum and Brassica rapa. Branches in the phylogenetic tree that represent probable evolutionary increases in genome size terminate in Arabidopsis halleri, A. lyrata, Arabis hirsuta, Capsella rubella, Caulanthus heterophyllus, Crucihimalaya, Lepidium sativum, Sisymbrium and Thlaspi arvense. Branches within one clade containing Brassica were identified that represent two ancient ploidy events (2x to 4x and 4x to 6x) that were predicted from published comparative mapping studies.     

Refined annotation of the Arabidopsis genome by complete expressed sequence tag mapping

Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) currently encompass more entries in the public databases than any other form of sequence data. Thus, EST data sets provide a vast resource for gene identification and expression profiling. We have mapped the complete set of 176,915 publicly available Arabidopsis EST sequences onto the Arabidopsis genome using GeneSeqer, a spliced alignment program incorporating sequence similarity and splice site scoring. About 96% of the available ESTs could be properly aligned with a genomic locus, with the remaining ESTs deriving from organelle genomes and non-Arabidopsis sources or displaying insufficient sequence quality for alignment. The mapping provides verified sets of EST clusters for evaluation of EST clustering programs. Analysis of the spliced alignments suggests corrections to current gene structure annotation and provides examples of alternative and non-canonical pre-mRNA splicing. All results of this study were parsed into a database and are accessible via a flexible Web interface at http://www.plantgdb.org/AtGDB/.     

Linkage maps for Arabidopsis lyrata subsp. lyrata and Arabidopsis lyrata subsp. petraea combining anonymous and Arabidopsis thaliana-derived markers.

Arabidopsis lyrata, a close relative of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, is 1 of a few plant species for which the genome is to be entirely sequenced, which promises to yield important insights into genome evolution. Only 2 sparse linkage maps have been published, and these were based solely on markers derived from the A. thaliana genome. Because the genome of A. lyrata is practically twice as large as that of A. thaliana, the extent of map coverage of the A. lyrata genome remains uncertain. In this study, a 2-way pseudo-testcross strategy was used to construct genetic linkage maps of A. lyrata subsp. petraea and A. lyrata subsp. lyrata, using simple sequence repeat (SSR) and cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers from the A. thaliana genome, and anonymous amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers that could potentially uncover regions unique to the A. lyrata genome. The SSR and CAPS markers largely confirmed the relationships between linkage groups in A. lyrata and A. thaliana. AFLP markers slightly increased the coverage of the A. lyrata maps, but mostly increased marker density on the linkage groups. We noted a much lower level of polymorphism and a greater segregation distortion in A. lyrata subsp. lyrata markers. The implications of these findings for the sequencing of the A. lyrata genome are discussed.     

Comparative sequence analysis reveals extensive microcolinearity in the lateral suppressor regions of the tomato, Arabidopsis, and Capsella genomes

A 57-kb region of tomato chromosome 7 harboring five different genes was compared with the sequence of the Arabidopsis genome to search for microsynteny between the genomes of these two species. For all five genes, homologous sequences could be identified in a 30-kb region located on Arabidopsis chromosome 1. Only two inversion events distinguish the arrangement of the five genes in tomato from that in Arabidopsis. Inversions were not detected when the arrangement of the five Arabidopsis genes was compared with the arrangement in the orthologous region of Capsella, a plant closely related to Arabidopsis. These results provide evidence for microcolinearity between closely and distantly related dicotyledonous species. The degree of microcolinearity found can be exploited to localize orthologous genes in Arabidopsis and tomato in an unambiguous way.     

Evolution of the S-locus region in Arabidopsis relatives

The S locus, a single polymorphic locus, is responsible for self-incompatibility (SI) in the Brassicaceae family and many related plant families. Despite its importance, our knowledge of S-locus evolution is largely restricted to the causal genes encoding the S-locus receptor kinase (SRK) receptor and S-locus cysteine-rich protein (SCR) ligand of the SI system. Here, we present high-quality sequences of the genomic region of six S-locus haplotypes: Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana; one haplotype), Arabidopsis lyrata (four haplotypes), and Capsella rubella (one haplotype). We compared these with reference S-locus haplotypes of the self-compatible Arabidopsis and its SI congener A. lyrata. We subsequently reconstructed the likely genomic organization of the S locus in the most recent common ancestor of Arabidopsis and Capsella. As previously reported, the two SI-determining genes, SCR and SRK, showed a pattern of coevolution. In addition, consistent with previous studies, we found that duplication, gene conversion, and positive selection have been important factors in the evolution of these two genes and appear to contribute to the generation of new recognition specificities. Intriguingly, the inactive pseudo-S-locus haplotype in the self-compatible species C. rubella is likely to be an old S-locus haplotype that only very recently became fixed when C. rubella split off from its SI ancestor, Capsella grandiflora.     

Segmental structure of the Brassica napus genome based on comparative analysis with Arabidopsis thaliana

Over 1000 genetically linked RFLP loci in Brassica napus were mapped to homologous positions in the Arabidopsis genome on the basis of sequence similarity. Blocks of genetically linked loci in B. napus frequently corresponded to physically linked markers in Arabidopsis. This comparative analysis allowed the identification of a minimum of 21 conserved genomic units within the Arabidopsis genome, which can be duplicated and rearranged to generate the present-day B. napus genome. The conserved regions extended over lengths as great as 50 cM in the B. napus genetic map, equivalent to approximately 9 Mb of contiguous sequence in the Arabidopsis genome. There was also evidence for conservation of chromosome landmarks, particularly centromeric regions, between the two species. The observed segmental structure of the Brassica genome strongly suggests that the extant Brassica diploid species evolved from a hexaploid ancestor. The comparative map assists in exploiting the Arabidopsis genomic sequence for marker and candidate gene identification within the larger, intractable genomes of the Brassica polyploids.     

Sequence and Analysis of the Tomato JOINTLESS Locus

A 119-kb bacterial artificial chromosome from the JOINTLESS locus on the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) chromosome 11 contained 15 putative genes. Repetitive sequences in this region include one copia-like LTR retrotransposon, 13 simple sequence repeats, three copies of a novel type III foldback transposon, and four putative short DNA repeats. Database searches showed that the foldback transposon and the short DNA repeats seemed to be associated preferably with genes. The predicted tomato genes were compared with the complete Arabidopsis genome. Eleven out of 15 tomato open reading frames were found to be colinear with segments on five Arabidopsis bacterial artificial chromosome/P1-derived artificial chromosome clones. The synteny patterns, however, did not reveal duplicated segments in Arabidopsis, where over half of the genome is duplicated. Our analysis indicated that the microsynteny between the tomato and Arabidopsis genomes was still conserved at a very small scale but was complicated by the large number of gene families in the Arabidopsis genome.     

A physical map of the highly heterozygous Populus genome: integration with the genome sequence and genetic map and analysis of haplotype variation

As part of a larger project to sequence the Populus genome and generate genomic resources for this emerging model tree, we constructed a physical map of the Populus genome, representing one of the few such maps of an undomesticated, highly heterozygous plant species. The physical map, consisting of 2802 contigs, was constructed from fingerprinted bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones. The map represents approximately 9.4-fold coverage of the Populus genome, which has been estimated from the genome sequence assembly to be 485 ± 10 Mb in size. BAC ends were sequenced to assist long-range assembly of whole-genome shotgun sequence scaffolds and to anchor the physical map to the genome sequence. Simple sequence repeat-based markers were derived from the end sequences and used to initiate integration of the BAC and genetic maps. A total of 2411 physical map contigs, representing 97% of all clones assigned to contigs, were aligned to the sequence assembly (JGI Populus trichocarpa , version 1.0). These alignments represent a total coverage of 384 Mb (79%) of the entire poplar sequence assembly and 295 Mb (96%) of linkage group sequence assemblies. A striking result of the physical map contig alignments to the sequence assembly was the co-localization of multiple contigs across numerous regions of the 19 linkage groups. Targeted sequencing of BAC clones and genetic analysis in a small number of representative regions showed that these co-aligning contigs represent distinct haplotypes in the heterozygous individual sequenced, and revealed the nature of these haplotype sequence differences.     

Construction of a composite sorghum genome map and comparison with sugarcane, a related complex polyploid

 A sorghum composite linkage map was constructed with two recombinant inbred line populations using heterologous probes already mapped on maize and sugarcane. This map includes 199 loci revealed by 188 probes and distributed on 13 linkage groups. A comparison based on 84 common probes was performed between the sorghum composite map and a map of a sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) cultivar being developed and presently comprising 10 tentative linkage groups. A straight synteny was observed for 2 pairs of linkage groups; in two cases, 1 sorghum linkage group corresponded to 2 or 3 sugarcane linkage groups, respectively; in two cases 1 sugarcane link- age group corresponded to 2 separate sorghum linkage groups; for 2 sorghum linkage groups, no complete correspondance was found in the sugarcane genome. In most cases loci appeared to be colinear between homoeologous chromosomal segments in sorghum and sugarcane. These results are discussed in relation to published data on sorghum genomic maps, with specific reference to the genetic organization of sugarcane cultivars, and they, illustrate how investigations on relatively simple diploid genomes as sorghum will facilitate the mapping of related polyploid species such as sugarcane. Received: 12 August 1996 / Accepted: 30 August 1996     

Comparing Arabidopsis to other flowering plants

Comparisons of the Arabidopsis genomic sequence with sequences from other flowering plants have revealed that substantial colinearity exists between species in the arrangement of genes within chromosomal blocks. Although seen most clearly in short sequences (at the Megabase scale), this colinearity can also be found using dense genetic maps that are based on expressed sequence tags. The genomes of most diploid Angiosperms show evidence of polyploid ancestry, and the resulting duplicated blocks, which have been subject to deletion and rearrangements during evolution, form complex networks of homology both within and between species. These homologies should prove to be of value in exploiting the Arabidopsis sequence to identify candidate genes in defined chromosomal regions within genomes that are less well characterised.     

Comparison of a Brassica oleracea genetic map with the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana

Brassica oleracea is closely related to the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. Despite this relationship, it has been difficult to both identify the most closely related segments between the genomes and determine the degree of genome replication within B. oleracea relative to A. thaliana. These difficulties have arisen in part because both species have replicated genomes, and the criteria used to identify orthologous regions between the genomes are often ambiguous. In this report, we compare the positions of sequenced Brassica loci with a known position on a B. oleracea genetic map to the positions of their putative orthologs within the A. thaliana genome. We use explicit criteria to distinguish orthologous from paralogous loci. In addition, we develop a conservative algorithm to identify collinear loci between the genomes and a permutation test to evaluate the significance of these regions. The algorithm identified 34 significant A. thaliana regions that are collinear with >28% of the B. oleracea genetic map. These regions have a mean of 3.3 markers spanning 2.1 Mbp of the A. thaliana genome and 2.5 cM of the B. oleracea genetic map. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the B. oleracea genome has been highly rearranged since divergence from A. thaliana, likely as a result of polyploidization.     

Towards construction of a high resolution map of the mouse genome using PCR-analysed microsatellites.

Fifty sequences from the mouse genome database containing simple sequence repeats or microsatellites have been analysed for size variation using the polymerase chain reaction and gel electrophoresis. 88% of the sequences, most of which contain the dinucleotide repeat, CA/GT, showed size variations between different inbred strains of mice and the wild mouse, Mus spretus. 62% of sequences had 3 or more alleles. GA/CT and AT/TA-containing sequences were also variable. About half of these size variants were detectable by agarose gel electrophoresis. This simple approach is extremely useful in linkage and genome mapping studies and will facilitate construction of high resolution maps of both the mouse and human genomes.     

Chromosomal mapping of <Emphasis Type="Italic"> Brassica oleracea </Emphasis>based on ESTs from <Emphasis Type="Italic"> Arabidopsis thaliana</Emphasis>: complexity of the comparative map

Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the Arabidopsis thaliana sequencing project were used to construct a genetic RFLP map for Brassica oleracea. Of the 110 A. thaliana ESTs tested, 95 were found to be informative RFLP probes in map construction. In total, 212 new loci corresponding to the 95 ESTs were added to the existing genetic map of B. oleracea. The enriched map covers all nine basic linkage groups and confirms that the chromosomes of B. oleracea and A. thaliana are similar in linear organization. However, varying levels of sequence conservation between the chromosomes of B. oleracea and A. thaliana were detected in different regions of the genomes. Long conserved regions encompassing entire chromosome arms in both genomes were identified; these are probably shared by descent. On the other hand, extensive rearrangements were observed in numerous chromosome regions, producing a mosaic of A. thaliana-like segments in the genome of Brassica. The presence of extensive chromosome duplication in A. thaliana was taken into consideration in the construction of the comparative maps of B. oleracea and A. thaliana.