The Evolutionary Consequences of Transposon-Related Pericentromer Expansion in Melon.

ABSTRACT: Transposable elements (TEs) are a major driver of plant genome evolution. A part from being a rich source of new genes and regulatory sequences, TEs can also affect plant genome evolution by modifying genome size and shaping chromosome structure. TEs tend to concentrate in heterochromatic pericentromeric regions and their proliferation may expand these regions. Here, we show that after the split of melon and cucumber, TEs have expanded the pericentromeric regions of melon chromosomes that, probably as a consequence, show a very low recombination frequency. In contrast, TEs have not proliferated to a high extent in cucumber, which has small TE-dense pericentromeric regions and shows a relatively constant recombination rate along chromosomes. These differences in chromosome structure also tr

SUBMITTER: Morata J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6009578 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature