Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, 50829 Köln, Germany.
Plant Genome and Systems Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
Nat Plants. 2016 Oct 31;2(11):16167. doi: 10.1038/nplants.2016.167.
Finding causal relationships between genotypic and phenotypic variation is a key focus of evolutionary biology, human genetics and plant breeding. To identify genome-wide patterns underlying trait diversity, we assembled a high-quality reference genome of Cardamine hirsuta, a close relative of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We combined comparative genome and transcriptome analyses with the experimental tools available in C. hirsuta to investigate gene function and phenotypic diversification. Our findings highlight the prevalent role of transcription factors and tandem gene duplications in morphological evolution. We identified a specific role for the transcriptional regulators PLETHORA5/7 in shaping leaf diversity and link tandem gene duplication with differential gene expression in the explosive seed pod of C. hirsuta. Our work highlights the value of comparative approaches in genetically tractable species to understand the genetic basis for evolutionary change.
在进化生物学、人类遗传学和植物育种中，寻找基因型和表型变异之间的因果关系是一个重点。为了确定性状多样性的全基因组模式，我们组装了密穗碎米荠（Cardamine hirsuta）的高质量参考基因组，密穗碎米荠是拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana）的近亲。我们将比较基因组和转录组分析与密穗碎米荠可用的实验工具相结合，以研究基因功能和表型多样化。我们的研究结果强调了转录因子和串联基因重复在形态进化中的普遍作用。我们发现转录调节因子 PLETHORA5/7 在塑造叶片多样性方面具有特定作用，并将串联基因重复与密穗碎米荠爆炸式种荚中的差异基因表达联系起来。我们的工作强调了在遗传上可处理的物种中进行比较方法的价值，以了解进化变化的遗传基础。
