Origin and Evolution of Allopolyploid Wheatgrass Elymus fibrosus (Schrenk) Tzvelev (Poaceae: Triticeae) Reveals the Effect of Its Origination on Genetic Diversity

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 11; no. 12; p. e0167795
• Main Authors: Wu, De-Chuan, He, Deng-Min, Gu, Hai-Lan, Wu, Pan-Pan, Yi, Xu, Wang, Wei-Jie, Shi, Han-Feng, Wu, De-Xiang, Sun, Genlou
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 01.12.2016; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Agronomy; Biological Evolution; Biology and Life Sciences; Brassica napus; Breeding; Chloroplasts; Chloroplasts - genetics; Constitution; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diploidy; DNA; DNA, Chloroplast - genetics; DNA, Plant - genetics; DNA-directed RNA polymerase; Elymus; Elymus - genetics; Elymus - physiology; Elymus alaskanus; Elymus caninus; Elymus fibrosus; Elymus trachycaulus; Evolution; Evolution, Molecular; Evolutionary genetics; Gene expression; Gene pool; Genetic diversity; Genetic Variation; Genome, Plant; Genomes; Hordeum; Nucleotide sequence; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Plant Proteins - genetics; Poaceae; Polyploidy; Pseudoroegneria; Research and Analysis Methods; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA polymerase; RNA polymerase II; RNA Polymerase II - genetics; Spacer; Trachycaulus; Triticeae; tRNA Leu; tRNA Phe; Beijing China; United States > US; China
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167795

Origin and evolution of tetraploid Elymus fibrosus (Schrenk) Tzvelev were characterized using low-copy nuclear gene Rpb2 (the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II), and chloroplast region trnL-trnF (spacer between the tRNA Leu (UAA) gene and the tRNA-Phe (GAA) gene). Ten accessions of E. fibrosus along with 19 Elymus species with StH genomic constitution and diploid species in the tribe Triticeae were analyzed. Chloroplast trnL-trnF sequence data suggested that Pseudoroegneria (St genome) was the maternal donor of E. fibrosus. Rpb2 data confirmed the presence of StH genomes in E. fibrosus, and suggested that St and H genomes in E. fibrosus each is more likely originated from single gene pool. Single origin of E. fibrosus might be one of the reasons causing genetic diversity in E. fibrosus lower than those in E. caninus and E. trachycaulus, which have similar ecological preferences and breeding systems with E. fibrosus, and each was originated from multiple sources. Convergent evolution of St and H copy Rpb2 sequences in some accessions of E. fibrosus might have occurred during the evolutionary history of this allotetraploid.