Bennett M D, Leitch I J
Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, UK.
Ann Bot. 2005 Jan;95(1):1-6. doi: 10.1093/aob/mci001.
This Special Issue contains 18 papers arising from presentations at the Second Plant Genome Size Workshop and Discussion Meeting (hosted by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 8-12 September, 2003). This preface provides an overview of these papers, setting their key contents in the broad framework of this highly active field. It also highlights a few overarching issues with wide biological impact or interest, including (1) the need to unify terminology relating to C-value and genome size, (2) the ongoing quest for accurate gold standards for accurate plant genome size estimation, (3) how knowledge of species' DNA amounts has increased in recent years, (4) the existence, causes and significance of intraspecific variation, (5) recent progress in understanding the mechanisms and evolutionary patterns of genome size change, and (6) the impact of genome size knowledge on related biological activities such as genetic fingerprinting and quantitative genetics. The paper offers a vision of how increased knowledge and understanding of genome size will contribute to holisitic genomic studies in both plants and animals in the next decade.
本期特刊包含18篇论文，这些论文源自于第二次植物基因组大小研讨会及讨论会（由英国皇家植物园邱园主办，2003年9月8日至12日）上的发言。这篇前言对这些论文进行了概述，将其关键内容置于这个高度活跃领域的广阔框架之中。它还突出了一些具有广泛生物学影响或关注度的首要问题，包括：（1）统一与C值和基因组大小相关术语的必要性；（2）持续寻求准确估计植物基因组大小的精确黄金标准；（3）近年来关于物种DNA含量的知识是如何增加的；（4）种内变异的存在、原因及意义；（5）在理解基因组大小变化的机制和进化模式方面的最新进展；（6）基因组大小知识对相关生物学活动（如基因指纹识别和数量遗传学）的影响。本文展望了在未来十年，对基因组大小的更多了解将如何促进植物和动物的整体基因组研究。
