Multiple major increases and decreases in mitochondrial substitution rates in the plant family Geraniaceae.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Rates of synonymous nucleotide substitutions are, in general, exceptionally low in plant mitochondrial genomes, several times lower than in chloroplast genomes, 10-20 times lower than in plant nuclear genomes, and 50-100 times lower than in many animal mitochondrial genomes. Several cases of moderate variation in mitochondrial substitution rates have been reported in plants, but these mostly involve correlated changes in chloroplast and/or nuclear substitution rates and are therefore thought to reflect whole-organism forces rather than ones impinging directly on the mitochondrial mutation rate. Only a single case of extensive, mitochondrial-specific rate changes has been described, in the angiosperm genus Plantago.

Results

We explored a second potential case of hi

SUBMITTER: Parkinson CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1343592 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature