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Andrew H Paterson

Publications and source records attributed to Andrew H Paterson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Diploids derived from polyploids: genetic characteristics of four novel interspecific Sorghum populations.

Polyploidy has repeatedly shaped grass evolution, yet direct observations of how polyploid-derived chromosomes behave when returned to diploidy remain rare. Interspecific crosses between diploid Sorghum bicolor and tetraploid hybrids derived from Sorghum halepense generate mixed-ploidy progeny, providing an opportunity to examine chromosome transmission during the early stages of diploidization. Using genome-wide SNP markers, we characterized chromosomal inheritance patterns in 2 diploid and 2 tetraploid families derived from these crosses. Genotype-dosage profiles alone distinguished diploids from tetraploids with complete accuracy, reflecting strong ploidy-dependent differences in dosage-class distributions. Although diploid progeny retained much of the halepense-derived genomic background, several genomic intervals exhibited extended, nonrandom runs of S. bicolor homozygosity that remained polymorphic in corresponding tetraploid populations. These patterns, together with recurrent segregation distortion across independent families, suggest that the transition from tetraploidy to diploidy can expose allelic combinations that differ in transmission or viability. Analyses of flowering time further indicated that diploid and tetraploid derivatives possess distinct genomic architectures, with major association peaks occurring in different chromosomal regions across ploidy levels. Collectively, these results indicate that early diploidization involves nonrandom retention and loss of parental haplotypes shaped by both selective and structural constraints. The diploid extractions characterized here provide a rare empirical system for investigating the early stages of diploidization and a practical framework for studying and eventually mobilizing polyploid-derived variation for sorghum germplasm development. However, broader integration into elite breeding programs will require additional evaluation of cross-fertility, meiotic behavior, and chromosomal stability across diverse breeding backgrounds.

Sorghum↗

Genetic basis and role of exotic accessions in cultivated cotton fiber quality improvement.

Exotic Gossypium accessions still harbor QTL&#x2011;validated alleles that, combined with CRISPR pyramiding and genomic selection, can break the entrenched fiber length-strength trade&#x2011;off. Cotton's four independent domestications twice in diploids and twice in allotetraploids offer a natural experiment in fiber improvement. Synthesizing three decades of data, we chart how polyploidy, selection and modern breeding have repeatedly reshaped the Gossypium genome. More than 15,000 quantitative trait locus (QTL) and genome wide association mapping studies (GWAS) hits converge on a handful of chromosomal "hotspots"; new MAGIC, NAM, NIL and long-read resources now narrow these peaks to&#x2009;<&#x2009;200&#xa0;kb, resolving causal genes such as GhHOX3, GhZF14 and GhMYB7. Multi-omics evidence links auxin, ethylene, gibberellin, brassinosteroid and strigolactone signaling to HDZIP IV, MYB, bHLH/HLH and ERF networks that drive fiber initiation, extreme cell elongation and cellulose deposition. Population genomics shows that&#x2009;~&#x2009;40% of favorable fiber alleles are fixed in elite Gossypium hirsutum, yet wild diploids and landraces still harbor variants that could break the length strength trade-off. We propose a three-step roadmap genomic selection, CRISPR gene pyramiding and accelerated introgression to expand cotton's genetic base and deliver fibers suited to sustainable textile demands.

Gossypium↗

Comparative transmission genetics of introgressed chromatin in reciprocal advanced backcross populations in Gossypium (cotton) polyploids.

Introgression is a potential source of valuable genetic variation and interspecific introgression lines are important resources for plant breeders to access novel alleles. Experimental advanced-generation backcross populations contain individuals with genomic compositions similar to those resulting from natural interspecific hybridization and provide opportunities to study the nature and transmission pattern of donor chromatin in recipient genomes. Here, we analyze transmission of donor chromatin in reciprocal backcrosses between G. hirsutum and G. barbadense. Across the genome, recurrent backcrossing in both backgrounds yielded donor chromatin at slightly higher frequencies than the Mendelian expectation in BC5F1 plants, while the average frequency of donor alleles in BC5F2 segregating families was less than expected. In the two subgenomes of polyploid cotton, the rate of donor chromatin introgression was similar. Although donor chromatin was tolerated over much of the recipient genomes, 21 regions recalcitrant to donor alleles were identified. Only limited correspondence is observed between the recalcitrant regions in the two backgrounds, suggesting the effect of species background on introgression of donor segments. Genetic breakdown was progressive, with floral abscission and seed inviability ongoing during backcrossing cycles. Regions of either high or low introgression tended to be in terminal chromosomal regions that are generally rich in both genes and crossover events, with long stretches around the centromere having limited crossover activity resulting in relatively constant low introgression frequencies. Constraints on fixation and selection of donor alleles highlights the challenges of utilizing introgression breeding in crop improvement.

Humans↗

Characterization of terminal-repeat retrotransposon in miniature (TRIM) in Brassica relatives.

We have newly identified five Terminal-repeat retrotransposon in miniature (TRIM) families, four from Brassica and one from Arabidopsis. A total of 146 elements, including three Arabidopsis families reported before, are extracted from genomics data of Brassica and Arabidopsis, and these are grouped into eight distinct lineages, Br1 to Br4 derived from Brassica and At1 to At4 derived from Arabidopsis. Based on the occurrence of TRIM elements in 434 Mb of B. oleracea shotgun sequences and 96 Mb of B. rapa BAC end sequences, total number of TRIM members of Br1, Br2, Br3, and Br4 families are roughly estimated to be present in 660 and 530 copies in B. oleracea and B. rapa genomes, respectively. Studies on insertion site polymorphisms of four elements across taxa in the tribe Brassiceae infer the taxonomic lineage and dating of the insertion time. Active roles of the TRIM elements for evolution of the duplicated genes are inferred in the highly replicated Brassica genome.

Base Sequence↗

Functional classification, genomic organization, putatively cis-acting regulatory elements, and relationship to quantitative trait loci, of sorghum genes with rhizome-enriched expression.

Rhizomes are organs of fundamental importance to plant competitiveness and invasiveness. We have identified genes expressed at substantially higher levels in rhizomes than other plant parts, and explored their functional categorization, genomic organization, regulatory motifs, and association with quantitative trait loci (QTLs) conferring rhizomatousness. The finding that genes with rhizome-enriched expression are distributed across a wide range of functional categories suggests some degree of specialization of individual members of many gene families in rhizomatous plants. A disproportionate share of genes with rhizome-enriched expression was implicated in secondary and hormone metabolism, and abiotic stimuli and development. A high frequency of unknown-function genes reflects our still limited knowledge of this plant organ. A putative oligosaccharyl transferase showed the highest degree of rhizome-specific expression, with several transcriptional or regulatory protein complex factors also showing high (but lesser) degrees of specificity. Inferred by the upstream sequences of their putative rice (Oryza sativa) homologs, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) genes that were relatively highly expressed in rhizome tip tissues were enriched for cis-element motifs, including the pyrimidine box, TATCCA box, and CAREs box, implicating the gibberellins in regulation of many rhizome-specific genes. From cDNA clones showing rhizome-enriched expression, expressed sequence tags forming 455 contigs were plotted on the rice genome and aligned to QTL likelihood intervals for ratooning and rhizomatous traits in rice and sorghum. Highly expressed rhizome genes were somewhat enriched in QTL likelihood intervals for rhizomatousness or ratooning, with specific candidates including some of the most rhizome-specific genes. Some rhizomatousness and ratooning QTLs were shown to be potentially related to one another as a result of ancient duplication, suggesting long-term functional conservation of the underlying genes. Insight into genes and pathways that influence rhizome growth set the stage for genetic and/or exogenous manipulation of rhizomatousness, and for further dissection of the molecular evolution of rhizomatousness.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Many gene and domain families have convergent fates following independent whole-genome duplication events in Arabidopsis, Oryza, Saccharomyces and Tetraodon.

Genome duplication is potentially a good source of new genes, but such genes take time to evolve. We have found a group of "duplication-resistant" genes, which have undergone convergent restoration to singleton status following several independent genome duplications. Restoration of duplication-resistant genes to singleton status could be important to long-term survival of a polyploid lineage. Angiosperms show more frequent polyploidization and a higher degree of duplicate gene preservation than other paleopolyploids, making them well-suited to further study of duplication-resistant genes.

Animals↗

Challenges of detecting directional selection after a bottleneck: lessons from Sorghum bicolor.

Multilocus surveys of sequence variation can be used to identify targets of directional selection, which are expected to have reduced levels of variation. Following a population bottleneck, the signal of directional selection may be hard to detect because many loci may have low variation by chance and the frequency spectrum of variation may be perturbed in ways that resemble the effects of selection. Cultivated Sorghum bicolor contains a subset of the genetic diversity found in its wild ancestor(s) due to the combined effects of a domestication bottleneck and human selection on traits associated with agriculture. As a framework for distinguishing between the effects of demography and selection, we sequenced 204 loci in a diverse panel of 17 cultivated S. bicolor accessions. Genomewide patterns of diversity depart strongly from equilibrium expectations with regard to the variance of the number of segregating sites, the site frequency spectrum, and haplotype configuration. Furthermore, gene genealogies of most loci with an excess of low frequency variants and/or an excess of segregating sites do not show the characteristic signatures of directional and diversifying selection, respectively. A simple bottleneck model provides an improved but inadequate fit to the data, suggesting the action of other population-level factors, such as population structure and migration. Despite a known history of recent selection, we find little evidence for directional selection, likely due to low statistical power and lack of an appropriate null model.

Agriculture↗

A global assembly of cotton ESTs.

Approximately 185,000 Gossypium EST sequences comprising >94,800,000 nucleotides were amassed from 30 cDNA libraries constructed from a variety of tissues and organs under a range of conditions, including drought stress and pathogen challenges. These libraries were derived from allopolyploid cotton (Gossypium hirsutum; A(T) and D(T) genomes) as well as its two diploid progenitors, Gossypium arboreum (A genome) and Gossypium raimondii (D genome). ESTs were assembled using the Program for Assembling and Viewing ESTs (PAVE), resulting in 22,030 contigs and 29,077 singletons (51,107 unigenes). Further comparisons among the singletons and contigs led to recognition of 33,665 exemplar sequences that represent a nonredundant set of putative Gossypium genes containing partial or full-length coding regions and usually one or two UTRs. The assembly, along with their UniProt BLASTX hits, GO annotation, and Pfam analysis results, are freely accessible as a public resource for cotton genomics. Because ESTs from diploid and allotetraploid Gossypium were combined in a single assembly, we were in many cases able to bioinformatically distinguish duplicated genes in allotetraploid cotton and assign them to either the A or D genome. The assembly and associated information provide a framework for future investigation of cotton functional and evolutionary genomics.

DNA, Complementary↗

Buffering of crucial functions by paleologous duplicated genes may contribute cyclicality to angiosperm genome duplication.

Genome duplication followed by massive gene loss has permanently shaped the genomes of many higher eukaryotes, particularly angiosperms. It has long been believed that a primary advantage of genome duplication is the opportunity for the evolution of genes with new functions by modification of duplicated genes. If so, then patterns of genetic diversity among strains within taxa might reveal footprints of selection that are consistent with this advantage. Contrary to classical predictions that duplicated genes may be relatively free to acquire unique functionality, we find among both Arabidopsis ecotypes and Oryza subspecies that SNPs encode less radical amino acid changes in genes for which there exists a duplicated copy at a "paleologous" locus than in "singleton" genes. Preferential retention of duplicated genes encoding long complex proteins and their unexpectedly slow divergence (perhaps because of homogenization) suggest that a primary advantage of retaining duplicated paleologs may be the buffering of crucial functions. Functional buffering and functional divergence may represent extremes in the spectrum of duplicated gene fates. Functional buffering may be especially important during "genomic turmoil" immediately after genome duplication but continues to act approximately 60 million years later, and its gradual deterioration may contribute cyclicality to genome duplication in some lineages.

Arabidopsis↗

Restriction landmark genome scanning method using isoschizomers (MspI/HpaII) for DNA methylation analysis.

Restriction landmark genome scanning (RLGS) is a 2-DE of genomic DNA, which visualizes thousands of loci. In a conventional RLGS method for methylation analysis, we have used a methylation sensitive restriction enzyme, NotI as a landmark. However, it was unable to discriminate methylation polymorphism from sequence polymorphism. Here, we report an improved RLGS method to detect methylated sites directly. We employed isoschizomers, MspI and HpaII, that recognize the same sequence (CCGG) but have different methylation sensitivity. We carried out the RLGS analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Columbia, and obtained a pair of spot patterns with MspI and HpaII. We detected 22 spots in both patterns. In comparison of them, 18% of the spots were polymorphic, which indicated the methylation of C(5m)CGG sites. Further analyses revealed an additional methylated site of NotI. Moreover, 52 and 54 restriction enzyme sites were also analyzed in two other ecotypes, Wassilewskija and Landsberg erecta, respectively. Consequently, 15% of the 52 common sites showed methylation polymorphism among the three ecotypes. The restriction sites analyzed in this study were located in or near genes, and contribute new data about the correlation between methylation status and gene expression. Therefore, this result strongly indicates that the improved RLGS method is readily applicable to practical analyses of methylation dynamics, and provides clues to the relationship between methylation and gene expression.

Arabidopsis↗

Leafing through the genomes of our major crop plants: strategies for capturing unique information.

Crop plants not only have economic significance, but also comprise important botanical models for evolution and development. This is reflected by the recent increase in the percentage of publicly available sequence data that are derived from angiosperms. Further genome sequencing of the major crop plants will offer new learning opportunities, but their large, repetitive, and often polyploid genomes present challenges. Reduced-representation approaches - such as EST sequencing, methyl filtration and Cot-based cloning and sequencing - provide increased efficiency in extracting key information from crop genomes without full-genome sequencing. Combining these methods with phylogenetically stratified sampling to allow comparative genomic approaches has the potential to further accelerate progress in angiosperm genomics.

Crops, Agricultural↗

Chromosome structural changes in diploid and tetraploid A genomes of Gossypium.

The genus Gossypium, which comprises a divergent group of diploid species and several recently formed allotetraploids, offers an excellent opportunity to study polyploid genome evolution. In this study, chromosome structural variation among the A, At, and D genomes of Gossypium was evaluated by comparative genetic linkage mapping. We constructed a fully resolved RFLP linkage map for the diploid A genome consisting of 275 loci using an F2 interspecific Gossypium arboreum x Gossypium herbaceum family. The 13 chromosomes of the A genome are represented by 12 large linkage groups in our map, reflecting an expected interchromosomal translocation between G. arboreum and G. herbaceum. The A-genome chromosomes are largely collinear with the D genomes, save for a few small inversions. Although the 2 diploid mapping parents represent the closest living relatives of the allotetraploid At-genome progenitor, 2 translocations and 7 inversions were observed between the A and At genomes. The recombination rates are similar between the 2 diploid genomes; however, the At genome shows a 93% increase in recombination relative to its diploid progenitors. Elevated recombination in the Dt genome was reported previously. These data on the At genome thus indicate that elevated recombination was a general property of allotetraploidy in cotton.

Chromosome Inversion↗

Organization and evolution of resistance gene analogs in peanut.

The scarcity of genetic polymorphism in Arachis hypogaea (peanut), as in other monophyletic polyploid species, makes it especially vulnerable to nematode, bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. Although no disease resistance genes have been cloned from peanut itself, the conserved motifs in cloned resistance genes from other plant species provide a means to isolate and analyze similar genes from peanut. To survey the number, diversity, evolutionary history, and genomic organization of resistance gene-like sequences in peanut, we isolated 234 resistance gene analogs (RGAs) by using primers designed from conserved regions of different classes of resistance genes including NBS-LRR, and LRR-TM classes. Phylogenetic and sequence analyses were performed to explore evolutionary relationships both among peanut RGAs and with orthologous genes from other plant taxa. Fifty-six overgos designed from the RGA sequences on the basis of their phyletic association were applied to a peanut BAC library; 736 hybridizing BAC clones were fingerprinted and contigs were formed in order to gain insights into the genomic organization of these genes. All the fingerprinting gels were blotted and screened with the respective overgos in order to verify the authenticity of the hits from initial screens, and to explore the physical organization of these genes in terms of both copy number and distribution in the genome. As a result, we identified 250 putative resistance gene loci. A correlation was found between the phyletic positions of the sequences and their physical locations. The BACs isolated here will serve as a valuable resource for future applications, such as map-based cloning, and will help improve our understanding of the evolution and organization of these genes in the peanut genome.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Chromosome evolution in eukaryotes: a multi-kingdom perspective.

In eukaryotes, chromosomal rearrangements, such as inversions, translocations and duplications, are common and range from part of a gene to hundreds of genes. Lineage-specific patterns are also seen: translocations are rare in dipteran flies, and angiosperm genomes seem prone to polyploidization. In most eukaryotes, there is a strong association between rearrangement breakpoints and repeat sequences. Current data suggest that some repeats promoted rearrangements via non-allelic homologous recombination, for others the association might not be causal but reflects the instability of particular genomic regions. Rearrangement polymorphisms in eukaryotes are correlated with phenotypic differences, so are thought to confer varying fitness in different habitats. Some seem to be under positive selection because they either trap favorable allele combinations together or alter the expression of nearby genes. There is little evidence that chromosomal rearrangements cause speciation, but they probably intensify reproductive isolation between species that have formed by another route.

Animals↗

Genetic mapping and comparative analysis of seven mutants related to seed fiber development in cotton.

Mapping of genes that play major roles in cotton fiber development is an important step toward their cloning and manipulation, and provides a test of their relationships (if any) to agriculturally-important QTLs. Seven previously identified fiber mutants, four dominant (Li (1), Li (2), N (1) and Fbl) and three recessive (n (2), sma-4(h (a)), and sma-4(fz)), were genetically mapped in six F(2) populations comprising 124 or more plants each. For those mutants previously assigned to chromosomes by using aneuploids or by linkage to other morphological markers, all map locations were concordant except n (2), which mapped to the homoeolog of the chromosome previously reported. Three mutations with primary effects on fuzz fibers (N (1), Fbl, n (2)) mapped near the likelihood peaks for QTLs that affected lint fiber productivity in the same populations, perhaps suggesting pleiotropic effects on both fiber types. However, only Li (1) mapped within the likelihood interval for 191 previously detected lint fiber QTLs discovered in non-mutant crosses, suggesting that these mutations may occur in genes that played early roles in cotton fiber evolution, and for which new allelic variants are quickly eliminated from improved germplasm. A close positional association between sma-4(h ( a )), two leaf and stem-borne trichome mutants (t (1) , t (2)), and a gene previously implicated in fiber development, sucrose synthase, raises questions about the possibility that these genes may be functionally related. Increasing knowledge of the correspondence of the cotton and Arabidopsis genomes provides several avenues by which genetic dissection of cotton fiber development may be accelerated.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Sorghum expressed sequence tags identify signature genes for drought, pathogenesis, and skotomorphogenesis from a milestone set of 16,801 unique transcripts.

Improved knowledge of the sorghum transcriptome will enhance basic understanding of how plants respond to stresses and serve as a source of genes of value to agriculture. Toward this goal, Sorghum bicolor L. Moench cDNA libraries were prepared from light- and dark-grown seedlings, drought-stressed plants, Colletotrichum-infected seedlings and plants, ovaries, embryos, and immature panicles. Other libraries were prepared with meristems from Sorghum propinquum (Kunth) Hitchc. that had been photoperiodically induced to flower, and with rhizomes from S. propinquum and johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense L. Pers.). A total of 117,682 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were obtained representing both 3' and 5' sequences from about half that number of cDNA clones. A total of 16,801 unique transcripts, representing tentative UniScripts (TUs), were identified from 55,783 3' ESTs. Of these TUs, 9,032 are represented by two or more ESTs. Collectively, these libraries were predicted to contain a total of approximately 31,000 TUs. Individual libraries, however, were predicted to contain no more than about 6,000 to 9,000, with the exception of light-grown seedlings, which yielded an estimate of close to 13,000. In addition, each library exhibits about the same level of complexity with respect to both the number of TUs preferentially expressed in that library and the frequency with which two or more ESTs is found in only that library. These results indicate that the sorghum genome is expressed in highly selective fashion in the individual organs and in response to the environmental conditions surveyed here. Close to 2,000 differentially expressed TUs were identified among the cDNA libraries examined, of which 775 were differentially expressed at a confidence level of 98%. From these 775 TUs, signature genes were identified defining drought, Colletotrichum infection, skotomorphogenesis (etiolation), ovary, immature panicle, and embryo.

DNA, Complementary↗

Equilibrium processes cannot explain high levels of short- and medium-range linkage disequilibrium in the domesticated grass Sorghum bicolor.

Patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD) are of interest because they provide evidence of both equilibrium (e.g., mating system or long-term population structure) and nonequilibrium (e.g., demographic or selective) processes, as well as because of their importance in strategies for identifying the genetic basis of complex phenotypes. We report patterns of short and medium range (up to 100 kb) LD in six unlinked genomic regions in the partially selfing domesticated grass, Sorghum bicolor. The extent of allelic associations in S. bicolor, as assessed by pairwise measures of LD, is higher than in maize but lower than in Arabidopsis, in qualitative agreement with expectations based on mating system. Quantitative analyses of the population recombination parameter, rho, however, based on empirical estimates of rates of recombination, mutation, and self-pollination, show that LD is more extensive than expected under a neutral equilibrium model. The disparity between rho and the population mutation parameter, , is similar to that observed in other species whose population history appears to be complex. From a practical standpoint, these results suggest that S. bicolor is well suited for association studies using reasonable numbers of markers, since LD typically extends at least several kilobases but has largely decayed by 15 kb.

Chromosomes, Artificial, Bacterial↗