Remarkable variation in maize genome structure inferred from haplotype diversity at the bz locus.

ABSTRACT: Maize is probably the most diverse of all crop species. Unexpectedly large differences among haplotypes were first revealed in a comparison of the bz genomic regions of two different inbred lines, McC and B73. Retrotransposon clusters, which comprise most of the repetitive DNA in maize, varied markedly in makeup, and location relative to the genes in the region and genic sequences, later shown to be carried by two helitron transposons, also differed between the inbreds. Thus, the allelic bz regions of these Corn Belt inbreds shared only a minority of the total sequence. To investigate further the variation caused by retrotransposons, helitrons, and other insertions, we have analyzed the organization of the bz genomic region in five additional cultivars selected because of their geographic

SUBMITTER: Wang Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1693800 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature