TY - JOUR
T1 - Is gc bias in the nuclear genome of the carnivorous plant utricularia driven by ros-based mutation and biased gene conversion?
AU - Ibarra-Laclette, Enrique
AU - Albert, Victor A.
AU - Herrera-Estrella, Alfredo
AU - Herrera-Estrella, Luis
N1 - Funding Information:
1Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad; Centro de investigación y de Estudios avanzados del instituto Politécnico Nacional; irapuato, Guanajuato méxico; 2Department of Biological Sciences; university at Buffalo; Buffalo, NY uSa
PY - 2011/11
Y1 - 2011/11
N2 - At less than 90 mbp, the tiny nuclear genome of the carnivorous bladderwort plant utricularia is an attractive model system for studying molecular evolutionary processes leading to genome miniaturization. Recently, we reported that expression of genes encoding DNa repair and reactive oxygen species (roS) detoxification enzymes is highest in utricularia traps, and we argued that roS mutagenic action correlates with the high nucleotide substitution rates observed in the utricularia plastid, mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Here, we extend our analysis of 100 nuclear genes from utricularia and related asterid eudicots to examine nucleotide substitution biases and their potential correlation with roS-induced DNa lesions. We discovered an unusual bias toward GC nucleotides, most prominently in transition substitutions at the third position of codons, which are presumably silent with respect to adaptation. Given the general tendency of biased gene conversion to drive GC bias, and of roS to induce double strand breaks requiring recombinational repair, we propose that some of the unusual features of the bladderwort and its genome may be more reflective of these no adaptive processes than of natural selection.
AB - At less than 90 mbp, the tiny nuclear genome of the carnivorous bladderwort plant utricularia is an attractive model system for studying molecular evolutionary processes leading to genome miniaturization. Recently, we reported that expression of genes encoding DNa repair and reactive oxygen species (roS) detoxification enzymes is highest in utricularia traps, and we argued that roS mutagenic action correlates with the high nucleotide substitution rates observed in the utricularia plastid, mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Here, we extend our analysis of 100 nuclear genes from utricularia and related asterid eudicots to examine nucleotide substitution biases and their potential correlation with roS-induced DNa lesions. We discovered an unusual bias toward GC nucleotides, most prominently in transition substitutions at the third position of codons, which are presumably silent with respect to adaptation. Given the general tendency of biased gene conversion to drive GC bias, and of roS to induce double strand breaks requiring recombinational repair, we propose that some of the unusual features of the bladderwort and its genome may be more reflective of these no adaptive processes than of natural selection.
KW - Carnivorous plant
KW - DNA mutation
KW - GC bias
KW - Gene conversion
KW - Transcriptome
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=81255151204&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4161/psb.6.11.17657
DO - 10.4161/psb.6.11.17657
M3 - Article
C2 - 22057327
AN - SCOPUS:81255151204
SN - 1559-2316
VL - 6
SP - 1631
EP - 1634
JO - Plant Signaling and Behavior
JF - Plant Signaling and Behavior
IS - 11
ER -