Jakob B. Butler
,
School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
Jules S. Freeman
,
School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
Brad M. Potts
,
School of Biological Sciences and ARC Training Centre for Forest Value, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
Rene E. Vaillancourt
,
School of Biological Sciences and ARC Training Centre for Forest Value, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
Dario Grattapaglia
,
Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasília-DF, Brazil
Orzenil B. da Silva Junior
,
Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasília-DF, Brazil
Blake Simmons
,
Joint Bioenergy Instutute, San Francisco, CA
Jeremy Schmutz
,
Hudson Alpha, Huntsville, AL
Kerrie W. Barry
,
DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA
David J. Lee
,
Forest Industries Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia
Adam Healey
,
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Agnelo Furtado
,
University of Queensland/QAAFI, Brisbane, Australia
Robert J. Henry
,
University of Queensland/QAAFI, Brisbane, Australia
Abdul Baten
,
Southern Cross Plant Science, Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW, Australia
Graham J. King
,
Southern Cross Plant Science, Southern Cross University, Lismore , NSW, Australia
Mervyn Shepherd
,
Southern Cross Plant Science, Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW, Australia
Plant terpenes are diverse compounds which mediate numerous ecological interactions and are of commercial value in many taxa. Eucalypts are characterised by especially high concentrations of foliar terpenes, and considerable variation in terpene profiles within and between species. The recent assembly of the
Eucalyptus grandis genome revealed the largest number of terpene synthase genes (TPS), responsible for the synthesis of terpenes from C
5 precursors, of any sequenced plant genome. While TPS number and subfamily representation are similar in the closely related
Eucalyptus globulus, the extent to which this gene family is conserved more broadly in eucalypts, including in
Corymbia, a sister eucalypt genus of growing economic importance, is unknown. We examine this issue by annotating the TPS family in the recently assembled
Corymbia citriodora subsp.
variegata genome and comparing with
E. grandis.
TPS from C. citriodora subsp. variegata were used in phylogenetic analysis together with those from several other species. The genomic location of TPS loci were compared with E. grandis and putative differences investigated using the genome assembly of a second C. citriodora genotype. Ninety putative functional TPS were discovered in C. citriodora subsp. variegata, compared to 113 reported in E. grandis. While specific genes appear to have been lost/gained in either lineage, the genomic placement of TPS loci was largely conserved between E. grandis and C. citriodora subsp. variegata. The representation of different TPS subfamilies in Eucalyptus, which is distinct from other plants, was also conserved in Corymbia suggesting they have evolved little since divergence of these lineages.
