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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Main Authors: Petr Fajkus, Vratislav Peška, Jiří Fajkus, Eva Sýkorová
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/4/1783
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spelling 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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