Dataset Information

Nucleotide diversity of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii plastid genome: addressing the mutational-hazard hypothesis.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The mutational-hazard hypothesis argues that the noncoding-DNA content of a genome is a consequence of the mutation rate (mu) and the effective number of genes per locus in the population (N(g)). The hypothesis predicts that genomes with a high N(g)mu will be more compact than those with a small N(g)mu. Approximations of N(g)mu can be gained by measuring the nucleotide diversity at silent sites (pi(silent)). We addressed the mutation-hazard hypothesis apropos plastid-genome evolution by measuring pi(silent) of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii plastid DNA (ptDNA), the most noncoding-DNA-dense plastid genome observed to date. The data presented here in conjunction with previously published values of pi(silent) for the C. reinhardtii mitochondrial and nuclear genomes, which are respectively compact and bloated, allow for a complete analysis of nucleotide diversity and genome compactness in all three genetic compartments of this model organism. RESULTS: In C. reinhardtii, the mean estimate of pi(silent) for the ptDNA (14.5 x 10(-3)) is less than that of the nuclear DNA (32 x 10(-3)) and greater than that of the mitochondrial DNA (8.5 x 10(-3)). On average, C. reinhardtii has approximately 4 times more silent-site ptDNA diversity than the mean value reported for land plants, which have more compact plastid genomes. The silent-site nucleotide diversity of the different ptDNA loci that were studied varied significantly: from 0 to 71 x 10(-3) for synonymous sites and from 0 to 42 x 10(-3) for intergenic regions. CONCLUSION: Our findings on silent-site ptDNA diversity are inconsistent with what would be expected under the mutational-hazard hypothesis and go against the documented trend in other systems of pi(silent) positively correlating with genome compactness. Overall, we highlight the lack of reliable nucleotide-diversity measurements for ptDNA and hope that the values presented here will act as sound data for future research concerning the mutational-hazard hypothesis and plastid evolution in general.

SUBMITTER: Smith DR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2698885 | biostudies-literature | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Nucleotide diversity of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii plastid genome: addressing the mutational-hazard hypothesis.

Smith David Roy DR Lee Robert W RW

BMC evolutionary biology 20090527

<h4>Background</h4>The mutational-hazard hypothesis argues that the noncoding-DNA content of a genome is a consequence of the mutation rate (mu) and the effective number of genes per locus in the population (N(g)). The hypothesis predicts that genomes with a high N(g)mu will be more compact than those with a small N(g)mu. Approximations of N(g)mu can be gained by measuring the nucleotide diversity at silent sites (pi(silent)). We addressed the mutation-hazard hypothesis apropos plastid-genome ev ...[more]

PMID: 19473533

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Project description:BackgroundThe magnitude of intronic and intergenic DNA can vary substantially both within and among evolutionary lineages; however, the forces responsible for this disparity in genome compactness are conjectural. One explanation, termed the mutational-burden hypothesis, posits that genome compactness is primarily driven by two nonadaptive processes: mutation and random genetic drift - the effects of which can be discerned by measuring the nucleotide diversity at silent sites (pisilent), defined as noncoding sites and the synonymous sites of protein-coding regions. The mutational-burden hypothesis holds that pisilent is negatively correlated to genome compactness. We used the model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which has a streamlined, coding-dense mitochondrial genome and an noncompact, intron-rich nuclear genome, to investigate the mutational-burden hypothesis. For measuring pisilent we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome and portions of 7 nuclear genes from 7 geographical isolates of C. reinhardtii.ResultsWe found significantly more nucleotide diversity in the nuclear compartment of C. reinhardtii than in the mitochondrial compartment: net values of pisilent for the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes were 32 x 10-3 and 8.5 x 10-3, respectively; and when insertions and deletions (indels) are factored in, these values become 49 x 10-3 for the nuclear DNA and 11 x 10-3 for the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Furthermore, our investigations of C. reinhardtii revealed 4 previously undiscovered mitochondrial introns, one of which contains a fragment of the large-subunit (LSU) rRNA gene and another of which is found in a region of the LSU-rRNA gene not previously reported (for any taxon) to contain introns.ConclusionAt first glance our results are in opposition to the mutational-burden hypothesis: pisilent was approximately 4 times greater in the nuclear compartment of C. reinhardtii relative to the mitochondrial compartment. However, when we consider the encumbrance of noncoding DNA in each of these C. reinhardtii compartments, we conclude that introns in the mtDNA impose a greater burden than those in the nuclear DNA and suggest that the same may be true for the intergenic regions. Overall, we cannot reject the mutational-burden hypothesis and feel that more data on nucleotide diversity from green algae and other protists are needed.

Project description:BackgroundGenome-wide computational analysis of alternative splicing (AS) in several flowering plants has revealed that pre-mRNAs from about 30% of genes undergo AS. Chlamydomonas, a simple unicellular green alga, is part of the lineage that includes land plants. However, it diverged from land plants about one billion years ago. Hence, it serves as a good model system to study alternative splicing in early photosynthetic eukaryotes, to obtain insights into the evolution of this process in plants, and to compare splicing in simple unicellular photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic eukaryotes. We performed a global analysis of alternative splicing in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii using its recently completed genome sequence and all available ESTs and cDNAs.ResultsOur analysis of AS using BLAT and a modified version of the Sircah tool revealed AS of 498 transcriptional units with 611 events, representing about 3% of the total number of genes. As in land plants, intron retention is the most prevalent form of AS. Retained introns and skipped exons tend to be shorter than their counterparts in constitutively spliced genes. The splice site signals in all types of AS events are weaker than those in constitutively spliced genes. Furthermore, in alternatively spliced genes, the prevalent splice form has a stronger splice site signal than the non-prevalent form. Analysis of constitutively spliced introns revealed an over-abundance of motifs with simple repetitive elements in comparison to introns involved in intron retention. In almost all cases, AS results in a truncated ORF, leading to a coding sequence that is around 50% shorter than the prevalent splice form. Using RT-PCR we verified AS of two genes and show that they produce more isoforms than indicated by EST data. All cDNA/EST alignments and splice graphs are provided in a website at http://combi.cs.colostate.edu/as/chlamy.ConclusionsThe extent of AS in Chlamydomonas that we observed is much smaller than observed in land plants, but is much higher than in simple unicellular heterotrophic eukaryotes. The percentage of different alternative splicing events is similar to flowering plants. Prevalence of constitutive and alternative splicing in Chlamydomonas, together with its simplicity, many available public resources, and well developed genetic and molecular tools for this organism make it an excellent model system to elucidate the mechanisms involved in regulated splicing in photosynthetic eukaryotes.

Dataset Information

Nucleotide diversity of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii plastid genome: addressing the mutational-hazard hypothesis.

Publications

Nucleotide diversity of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii plastid genome: addressing the mutational-hazard hypothesis.

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