The genetic mechanism of B chromosome drive in rye illuminated by chromosome-scale assembly
The genomes of many plants, animals, and fungi frequently comprise dispensable B chromosomes that rely upon various chromosomal drive mechanisms to counteract the tendency of non-essential genetic elements to be purged over time. The B chromosome of rye - a model system for nearly a century - undergoes targeted nondisjunction during first pollen mitosis, favouring segregation into the generative nucleus, thus increasing their numbers over generations. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying this process are poorly understood. Here, using a newly-assembled, ~430 Mb-long rye B chromosome pseudomolecule, we identify five candidate genes whose role as trans-acting moderators of the chromosomal drive is supported by karyotyping, chromosome drive analysis and comparative RNA-seq. Among them, we identify DCR28, coding a microtubule-associated protein related to cell division, and detect this gene also in the B chromosome of Aegilops speltoides. The DCR28 gene family is neo-functionalised and serially-duplicated with 15 B chromosome-located copies that are uniquely highly expressed in the first pollen mitosis of rye.
Authors
- Jonas Buhl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1620-4852)
- Axel Himmelbach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7338-0946)
- Thomas Schmutzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1073-6719)
- M. Timothy Rabanus‐Wallace (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4663-985X)
- Veit Schubert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3072-0485)
- Anastassia Boudichevskaia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6285-9986)
- Jörg Fuchs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4171-5371)
- Zuzana Tulpová (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4403-9367)
- Steven Dreißig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4766-9698)
- Jianyong Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6203-1254)
- Andreas Houben (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3419-239X)
- Anna Voigt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3970-6011)
- Gihwan Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4621-1570)
- Frank R. Blattner
- Jir̆ı́ Macas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0829-1570)
- Jan Bartoš (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4154-8895)
- Katharina Bürstenbinder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3493-4800)
- Hana Šimková (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4159-7619)
Institutions
- Philipps University of Marburg (DE)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (DE)
- KWS Saat (Germany) (DE)
- Leibniz-Institut für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung (IPK) (DE)
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Experimental Botany (CZ)
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre (CZ)
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-11-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53799-w
- Citations
- 12
- Primary Topic
- Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 7.20
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft