Recombination and retroprocessing in broomrapes reveal a universal roadmap for mitochondrial evolution in heterotrophic plants.

ABSTRACT: The altered life history strategies of heterotrophic organisms often leave a profound genetic footprint on energy metabolism related functions. In parasitic plants, the reliance on host-derived nutrients and loss of photosynthesis in holoparasites have led to highly degraded to absent plastid genomes, but its impact on mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) evolution has remained controversial. By examining mitogenomes from 45 Orobanchaceae species including three independent transitions to holoparasitism and key evolutionary intermediates, we identified measurable and predictable genetic alterations in genomic shuffling, RNA editing, and intracellular (IGT) and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) en route to a nonphotosynthetic lifestyle. In-depth comparative analyses revealed DNA recombination and

SUBMITTER: Cai L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11844532 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature