| Abstract Detail
Recent Topics Posters Markova, Dragomira [1], Mason-Gamer, Roberta [2]. The role of vertical and horizontal transfer in the evolutionary dynamics of PIF-like transposable elements in Triticeae. The PIF/Harbinger is a recently characterized and widespread superfamily of DNA transposons, which consists of PIF and Pong-like elements. PIF-like elements were first identified in maize and were later found in other plants, including both monocotyledons and dicotyledons. PIF-like elements contain two open reading frames (ORFs), one encoding a transposase (ORF2) responsible for the mobilization of the element, whereas the function of the other ORF is still not clear. ORF2 contains a “DDE” motif (DD(34/37)E), a signature consisting of an amino acid triad identified in the transposases of most DNA transposon superfamilies, surrounded by a relatively well-conserved amino acid sequences. In this study, we performed a phylogenetic analysis of 240 PIF sequences based in a nearly 400-bp region of the conserved transposase domain from 21 diploid Triticeae species. We identified 127 transposase sequences with no frameshift and/or stop codons, most revealing a dominant signal of negative selection, indicating that the ORF2 is under strong purifying selection consistent with a characteristic of a functional gene. Our results revealed complex evolutionary patterns of PIF elements that can be best explained by ancestral polymorphism, followed by differential evolutionary success of some transposase lineages, and by occasional horizontal transfer events between phylogenetically distant Triticeae genera. Here, we describe the diversity, structure, and evolutionary history of PIF-like elements in the wheat tribe and we present convincing evidence of two horizontal transfer events of nuclear-encoded PIF transposase fragments between distinct genera. Broader Impacts:
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1 - University of Illinois at Chicago, Biological Sciences (M/C 066), 845 W. Taylor street, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA
2 - University of Illinois Chicago, DEPT. OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES (M/C 066), 845 W. TAYLOR ST., CHICAGO, IL, 60607, USA
Keywords:
Triticeae
PIF-like
DNA transposons
phylogeny.
Presentation Type: Recent Topics Poster
Session: P
Location: Grand Salon A - D/Riverside Hilton
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PRT010
Abstract ID:1297
Candidate for Awards:None |
