Cross-Genome Map Based Dissection of Nitrogen Use Efficiency Unravels Concerted Cereal Genome Evolution

During the last decade, technological improvements led to the development of large sets of plant genomic resources permitting the emergence of high-resolution comparative genomic studies. In an attempt to unravel the structure and evolution of the plant ancestor genome we have re-assed the synteny and duplications of Angiosperm genomes to identify and characterize shared duplications. By conducting detailed analysis of the length, composition, and divergence time of the conserved duplications, we identified common and lineage-specific patterns of conservation between the different plant genomes that allowed us to propose a model in which the plants have evolved from common ancestors with a basic number of five/seven chromosomes (90 MYA) through whole genome duplications (i.e. paleopolyploidization) and translocations followed by lineage specific segmental duplications, chromosome fusions and translocations (Salse 2012).

The established plant ancestor genome structures, in term of chromosome structure and gene content, offer the opportunity to perform high resolution translational genomics in grasses, from model (i.e. sequenced) species to complex ones for trait dissection, such as Nitrogen Use Efficiency, that will be discussed in details in the current presentation (Quraishi et al 2011b).

 

Quraishi UM, Abrouk M, Murat F, Pont C, Foucrier S, Desmaizieres G, Confolent C, Rivière N, Charmet G, Paux E, Murigneux A, Guerreiro L, Lafarge S, Le Gouis J, Feuillet C and Salse J (2011b) Cross-Genome Map Based Dissection of a Nitrogen Use Efficiency Ortho-metaQTL in Bread Wheat Unravels Concerted Cereal Genome Evolution. Plant Journal. 65(5):745-56.

Salse J (2012) In silico archeogenomics unveils modern plant genome organization, regulation and evolution. Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 15(2):122-30.