Wang Yi, Zhou Fang, Li Yangang, Yu Xiaqing, Wang Yuhui, Zhao Qinzheng, Feng Xianbo, Chen Jinfeng, Lou Qunfeng
State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang Street No.1, Xuanwu District, Nanjing 210095, China.
Hortic Res. 2024 May 7;11(7):uhae127. doi: 10.1093/hr/uhae127. eCollection 2024 Jul.
Centromeres in eukaryotes mediate the accurate segregation of chromosomes during cell division. They serve as essential functional units of chromosomes and play a core role in the process of genome evolution. Centromeres are composed of satellite repeats and highly repetitive centromeric retrotransposons (CRs), which vary greatly even among closely related species. Cucumber () is a globally cultivated and economically important vegetable and the only species in the genus with seven pairs of chromosomes. Therefore, studying the centromeres of the subgenus may yield valuable insights into its genome structure and evolution. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) techniques, we isolated centromeric DNA from cucumber reference line 9930. Our investigation into cucumber centromeres uncovered the centromeric satellite sequence, designated as CentCs, and the prevalence of Ty1/ long terminal repeat retrotransposons. In addition, active genes were identified in the CsCENH3 nucleosome regions with low transcription levels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that characterization of centromeres has been achieved in cucumber. Meanwhile, our results on the distribution of CentCs and CsCRs in the subgenus indicate that the content of centromeric repeats in the wild variants was significantly reduced compared with the cultivated cucumber. The results provide evidence for centromeric DNA amplification that occurred during the domestication process from wild to cultivated cucumber. Furthermore, these findings may offer new information for enhancing our understanding of phylogenetic relationships in the genus.
真核生物中的着丝粒在细胞分裂过程中介导染色体的精确分离。它们作为染色体的基本功能单位,在基因组进化过程中发挥核心作用。着丝粒由卫星重复序列和高度重复的着丝粒逆转座子(CRs)组成,即使在亲缘关系密切的物种之间也存在很大差异。黄瓜( )是一种全球广泛种植且具有重要经济价值的蔬菜,是 属中唯一具有七对染色体的物种。因此,研究 亚属的着丝粒可能会为其基因组结构和进化提供有价值的见解。我们使用染色质免疫沉淀(ChIP)技术,从黄瓜参考品系9930中分离出着丝粒DNA。我们对黄瓜着丝粒的研究发现了着丝粒卫星序列,命名为CentCs,以及Ty1/长末端重复逆转座子的普遍存在。此外,在转录水平较低的CsCENH3核小体区域鉴定出了活跃基因。据我们所知,这是首次在黄瓜中实现对着丝粒的表征。同时,我们关于CentCs和CsCRs在 亚属中分布的结果表明,与栽培黄瓜相比,野生变种中的着丝粒重复序列含量显著降低。这些结果为从野生黄瓜到栽培黄瓜驯化过程中发生的着丝粒DNA扩增提供了证据。此外,这些发现可能会为增进我们对 属系统发育关系的理解提供新信息。