Change of gene structure and function by non-homologous end-joining, homologous recombination, and transposition of DNA.

ABSTRACT: An important objective in genome research is to relate genome structure to gene function. Sequence comparisons among orthologous and paralogous genes and their allelic variants can reveal sequences of functional significance. Here, we describe a 379-kb region on chromosome 1 of maize that enables us to reconstruct chromosome breakage, transposition, non-homologous end-joining, and homologous recombination events. Such a high-density composition of various mechanisms in a small chromosomal interval exemplifies the evolution of gene regulation and allelic diversity in general. It also illustrates the evolutionary pace of changes in plants, where many of the above mechanisms are of somatic origin. In contrast to animals, somatic alterations can easily be transmitted through meiosis because th

SUBMITTER: Goettel W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2686159 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature