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

PLoS One. 2016 Dec 9;11(12):e0167795. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167795. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

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.

MeSH terms

  • Biological Evolution
  • Chloroplasts / genetics*
  • DNA, Chloroplast / genetics
  • DNA, Plant / genetics
  • Diploidy
  • Elymus / genetics*
  • Elymus / physiology
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Genetic Variation*
  • Genome, Plant
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Proteins / genetics
  • Polyploidy
  • RNA Polymerase II / genetics

Substances

  • DNA, Chloroplast
  • DNA, Plant
  • Plant Proteins
  • RNA Polymerase II

Grants and funding

This project was supported in part by a Research Foundation for Talented Scholars from Anhui Agricultural University and the introduced leading talent research team for Universities in Anhui Province, a discovery development grants DDG-2015-00039 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.