Network analysis provides insights into evolution of 5S rDNA arrays in Triticum and Aegilops.

We have used network analysis to study gene sequences of the Triticum and Aegilops 5S rDNA arrays, as well as the spacers of the 5S-DNA-A1 and 5S-DNA-2 loci. Network analysis describes relationships between 5S rDNA sequences in a more realistic fashion than conventional tree building because it makes fewer assumptions about the direction of evolution, the extent of sexual isolation, and the pattern of ancestry and descent. The networks show that the 5S rDNA sequences of Triticum and Aegilops species are related in a reticulate manner around principal nodal sequences. The spacer networks have multiple principal nodes of considerable antiquity but the gene network has just one principal node, corresponding to the correct gene sequence. The networks enable orthologous groups of spacer sequences to be identified. When orthologs are compared it is seen that the patterns of intra- and interspecific diversity are similar for both genes and spacers. We propose that 5S rDNA arrays combine sequence conservation with a large store of mutant variations, the number of correct gene copies within an array being the result of neutral processes that act on gene and spacer regions together.