Causes and Consequences of Rapidly Evolving mtDNA in a Plant Lineage.

ABSTRACT: Understanding mechanisms of coevolution between nuclear and mitochondrial (mt) genomes is a defining challenge in eukaryotic genetics. The angiosperm genus Silene is a natural system to investigate the causes and consequences of mt mutation rate variation because closely related species have highly divergent rates. In Silene species with fast-evolving mtDNA, nuclear genes that encode mitochondrially targeted proteins (N-mt genes) are also fast-evolving. This correlation could indicate positive selection to compensate for mt mutations, but might also result from a recent relaxation of selection. To differentiate between these interpretations, we used phylogenetic and population-genetic methods to test for positive and relaxed selection in three classes of N-mt genes (oxidative phosphorylati

SUBMITTER: Havird JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5381668 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature