Evolution of the rpoB-psbZ region in fern plastid genomes: notable structural rearrangements and highly variable intergenic spacers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The rpoB-psbZ (BZ) region of some fern plastid genomes (plastomes) has been noted to go through considerable genomic changes. Unraveling its evolutionary dynamics across all fern lineages will lead to clarify the fundamental process shaping fern plastome structure and organization.

Results

A total of 24 fern BZ sequences were investigated with taxon sampling covering all the extant fern orders. We found that: (i) a tree fern Plagiogyria japonica contained a novel gene order that can be generated from either the ancestral Angiopteris type or the derived Adiantum type via a single inversion; (ii) the trnY-trnE intergenic spacer (IGS) of the filmy fern Vandenboschia radicans was expanded 3-fold due to the tandem 27-bp repeats which showed strong sequence similarity w

SUBMITTER: Gao L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3098776 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature