The Dynamics of Long Terminal Repeat Retrotransposon Proliferation and Decay Drive the Evolution of Genome Size Variation in Capsicum.

ABSTRACT: Capsicum (pepper) is an economically vital genus in the Solanaceae family, with most species possessing about 3 Gb genomes. However, the recently sequenced Capsicum rhomboideum (~1.7 Gb) represents the first reported case of an extremely compact genome in Capsicum, providing a unique and ideal model for studying genome size evolution. To elucidate the mechanisms driving this variation, we performed comparative genomic analyses between the compact Capsicum rhomboideum and the reference Capsicum annuum cv. CM334 (~2.9 Gb). Although their genome size differences initially suggested whole-genome duplication (WGD) as a potential driver, both species shared two ancient WGD events with identical timing, predating their divergence and thus ruling out WGD a

SUBMITTER: Liu Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12298681 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature