Retrotransposons comprise of a major fraction of higher plant genomes, and their proliferation and elimination have profound effects on genome evolution and gene functions as well. Previously we found a D-genome-originated Ty1/Copia-type LTR (DOCL) retrotransposon in the chromosome A08 of upland cotton. To further characterize the DOCL retrotransposon family, a total of 342 DOCL retrotransposons were identified in the sequenced cotton genomes, including 73, 157, and 112 from Gossypium raimondii, G. hirsutum, and G. barbadense, respectively. According to phylogenetic analysis, the DOCL family was divided into nine groups (G1-G9), among which five groups (G1-G4 and G9, including 292 members) were proliferated after the formation of tetraploid cottons. It was found that the majority of DOCL retrotransposons (especially those in G2, G3 and G9) inserted in non-allelic loci in G. hirsutum and G. barbadense, suggesting that their proliferations were relatively independent in different tetraploid cottons. Furthermore, DOCL retrotransposons inserted in coding regions largely eliminated expression of the targeted genes in G. hirsutum or G. barbadense. Our data suggested that recent proliferation of retrotransposon families like DOCL was one of important evolutionary forces driving diversification and evolution of tetraploid cottons.
Keywords: Evolution; Gossypium; LTR; Polyploidization; Retrotransponson.