Origin and Fates of <i>TERT</i> Gene Copies in Polyploid Plants
The gene coding for the telomerase reverse transcriptase (<i>TERT</i>) is essential for the maintenance of telomeres. Previously we described the presence of three <i>TERT</i> paralogs in the allotetraploid plant <i>Nicotiana tabacum,</i> while a single <i>T...
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doaj-322aafadd6ae4f1aa35ceb144fc1c9ff2021-02-12T00:00:42ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672021-02-01221783178310.3390/ijms22041783Origin and Fates of <i>TERT</i> Gene Copies in Polyploid PlantsPetr Fajkus0Vratislav Peška1Jiří Fajkus2Eva Sýkorová3Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, CZ-61265 Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, CZ-61265 Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, CZ-61265 Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, CZ-61265 Brno, Czech RepublicThe gene coding for the telomerase reverse transcriptase (<i>TERT</i>) is essential for the maintenance of telomeres. Previously we described the presence of three <i>TERT</i> paralogs in the allotetraploid plant <i>Nicotiana tabacum,</i> while a single <i>TERT</i> copy was identified in the paleopolyploid model plant <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>. Here we examine the presence, origin and functional status of <i>TERT</i> variants in allotetraploid <i>Nicotiana</i> species of diverse evolutionary ages and their parental genome donors, as well as in other diploid and polyploid plant species. A combination of experimental and in silico bottom-up analyses of <i>TERT</i> gene copies in <i>Nicotiana</i> polyploids revealed various patterns of retention or loss of parental <i>TERT</i> variants and divergence in their functions. RT–qPCR results confirmed the expression of all the identified <i>TERT</i> variants. In representative plant and green algal genomes, our synteny analyses show that their <i>TERT</i> genes were located in a conserved locus that became advantageous after the divergence of eudicots, and the gene was later translocated in several plant groups. In various diploid and polyploid species, translocation of <i>TERT</i> became fixed in target loci that show ancient synapomorphy.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/4/1783polyploidyNicotianatelomerasegene evolutionsynteny |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Petr Fajkus Vratislav Peška Jiří Fajkus Eva Sýkorová |
spellingShingle |
Petr Fajkus Vratislav Peška Jiří Fajkus Eva Sýkorová Origin and Fates of <i>TERT</i> Gene Copies in Polyploid Plants International Journal of Molecular Sciences polyploidy Nicotiana telomerase gene evolution synteny |
author_facet |
Petr Fajkus Vratislav Peška Jiří Fajkus Eva Sýkorová |
author_sort |
Petr Fajkus |
title |
Origin and Fates of <i>TERT</i> Gene Copies in Polyploid Plants |
title_short |
Origin and Fates of <i>TERT</i> Gene Copies in Polyploid Plants |
title_full |
Origin and Fates of <i>TERT</i> Gene Copies in Polyploid Plants |
title_fullStr |
Origin and Fates of <i>TERT</i> Gene Copies in Polyploid Plants |
title_full_unstemmed |
Origin and Fates of <i>TERT</i> Gene Copies in Polyploid Plants |
title_sort |
origin and fates of <i>tert</i> gene copies in polyploid plants |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
issn |
1661-6596 1422-0067 |
publishDate |
2021-02-01 |
description |
The gene coding for the telomerase reverse transcriptase (<i>TERT</i>) is essential for the maintenance of telomeres. Previously we described the presence of three <i>TERT</i> paralogs in the allotetraploid plant <i>Nicotiana tabacum,</i> while a single <i>TERT</i> copy was identified in the paleopolyploid model plant <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>. Here we examine the presence, origin and functional status of <i>TERT</i> variants in allotetraploid <i>Nicotiana</i> species of diverse evolutionary ages and their parental genome donors, as well as in other diploid and polyploid plant species. A combination of experimental and in silico bottom-up analyses of <i>TERT</i> gene copies in <i>Nicotiana</i> polyploids revealed various patterns of retention or loss of parental <i>TERT</i> variants and divergence in their functions. RT–qPCR results confirmed the expression of all the identified <i>TERT</i> variants. In representative plant and green algal genomes, our synteny analyses show that their <i>TERT</i> genes were located in a conserved locus that became advantageous after the divergence of eudicots, and the gene was later translocated in several plant groups. In various diploid and polyploid species, translocation of <i>TERT</i> became fixed in target loci that show ancient synapomorphy. |
topic |
polyploidy Nicotiana telomerase gene evolution synteny |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/4/1783 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT petrfajkus originandfatesofitertigenecopiesinpolyploidplants AT vratislavpeska originandfatesofitertigenecopiesinpolyploidplants AT jirifajkus originandfatesofitertigenecopiesinpolyploidplants AT evasykorova originandfatesofitertigenecopiesinpolyploidplants |
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