Transcriptomes of Plant Gametophytes Have a Higher Proportion of Rapidly Evolving and Young Genes than Sporophytes.

ABSTRACT: Reproductive traits in plants tend to evolve rapidly due to various causes that include plant-pollinator coevolution and pollen competition, but the genomic basis of reproductive trait evolution is still largely unknown. To characterize evolutionary patterns of genome wide gene expression in reproductive tissues in the gametophyte and to compare them to developmental stages of the sporophyte, we analyzed evolutionary conservation and genetic diversity of protein-coding genes using microarray-based transcriptome data from three plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana, rice (Oryza sativa), and soybean (Glycine max). In all three species a significant shift in gene expression occurs during gametogenesis in which genes of younger evolutionary age and higher genetic diversity contribute significant

SUBMITTER: Gossmann TI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4915351 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature