The chromosomal distributions of Ty1-copia group retrotransposable elements in higher plants and their implications for genome evolution

摘要: Retrotransposons make up a major fraction – sometimes more than 40% – of all plant genomes investigated so far. We have isolated the reverse transcriptase domains of the Ty1-copia group elements from several species, ranging in genome size from some 100 Mbp to 23 000 Mbp, and determined the distribution patterns of these retrotransposons on metaphase chromosomes and within interphase nuclei by DNA:DNA in situ hybridization. With some exceptions, the reverse transcriptase domains were distributed over the length of the chromosomes. Exclusion from rDNA sites and some centromeres (e.g., slash pine, 23 000 Mbp, or barley, 5500 Mbp) is frequent, whereas many species exclude retrotransposons from other sites of heterochromatin (e.g., intercalary and centromeric sites in broad bean). In contrast, in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, widely used for plant molecular genetic studies because of its …