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Instability of Plastid DNA in the Nuclear Genome

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dc.contributor.authorSheppard, A.
dc.contributor.authorTimmis, J.
dc.contributor.editorCopenhaver, G.P.
dc.date.issued2009
dc.description.abstractFunctional gene transfer from the plastid (chloroplast) and mitochondrial genomes to the nucleus has been an important driving force in eukaryotic evolution. Non-functional DNA transfer is far more frequent, and the frequency of such transfers from the plastid to the nucleus has been determined experimentally in tobacco using transplastomic lines containing, in their plastid genome, a kanamycin resistance gene (neo) readymade for nuclear expression. Contrary to expectations, non-Mendelian segregation of the kanamycin resistance phenotype is seen in progeny of some lines in which neo has been transferred to the nuclear genome. Here, we provide a detailed analysis of the instability of kanamycin resistance in nine of these lines, and we show that it is due to deletion of neo. Four lines showed instability with variation between progeny derived from different areas of the same plant, suggesting a loss of neo during somatic cell division. One line showed a consistent reduction in the proportion of kanamycin-resistant progeny, suggesting a loss of neo during meiosis, and the remaining four lines were relatively stable. To avoid genomic enlargement, the high frequency of plastid DNA integration into the nuclear genome necessitates a counterbalancing removal process. This is the first demonstration of such loss involving a high proportion of recent nuclear integrants. We propose that insertion, deletion, and rearrangement of plastid sequences in the nuclear genome are important evolutionary processes in the generation of novel nuclear genes. This work is also relevant in the context of transgenic plant research and crop production, because similar processes to those described here may be involved in the loss of plant transgenes.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityAnna E. Sheppard and Jeremy N. Timmis
dc.identifier.citationPLoS Genetics, 2009; 5(1):323-323
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pgen.1000323
dc.identifier.issn1553-7390
dc.identifier.issn1553-7404
dc.identifier.orcidSheppard, A. [0000-0002-2913-0920]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/51567
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP0557496
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP0667006
dc.rightsCopyright: © 2009 Sheppard, Timmis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1000323
dc.subjectCell Nucleus
dc.subjectPlastids
dc.subjectPlants, Genetically Modified
dc.subjectDNA, Chloroplast
dc.subjectKanamycin Resistance
dc.subjectBase Sequence
dc.subjectPhenotype
dc.subjectGenome, Plant
dc.subjectMolecular Sequence Data
dc.subjectGenome, Plastid
dc.subjectNicotiana
dc.titleInstability of Plastid DNA in the Nuclear Genome
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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