Project description:Small RNAs (21-24 nt) are pivotal regulators of gene expression that guide both transcriptional and post-transcriptional silencing mechanisms in diverse eukaryotes, including most if not all plants. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are the two major types, both of which have a demonstrated and important role in plant development, stress responses and pathogen resistance. In this work, we used a deep sequencing approach (Sequencing-By-Synthesis, or SBS) to develop sequence resources of small RNAs from Silene latifolia tissues (including leaves, flowers and smutted flowers). The high depth of the resulting datasets enabled us to examine in detail critical small RNA features as size distribution, tissue-specific regulation and sequence conservation between different organs in this species. We also developed database resources and a dedicated website (http://smallrna.udel.edu/) with computational tools for allowing other users to identify new miRNAs or siRNAs involved in specific regulatory pathways, verify the degree of conservation of these sequences in other plant species and map small RNAs on genes or larger regions of the genome under study. Small RNA libraries were derived from female leaves, female flowers and female flowers smutted of Silene latifolia. Total RNA was isolated using the TriReagent (Molecular Research Center), and submitted to Illumina (Hayward, CA, http://www.illumina.com) for small RNA library construction using approaches described in (Lu et al., 2007) with minor modifications. The small RNA libraries were sequenced with the Sequencing-By-Synthesis (SBS) technology by Illumina. PERL scripts were designed to remove the adapter sequences and determine the abundance of each distinct small RNA. We thank Manfred Ruddat for providing the plant material as well as Kan Nobuta and Gayathri Mahalingam for assistance with the computational methods.
Project description:Small RNAs (21-24 nt) are pivotal regulators of gene expression that guide both transcriptional and post-transcriptional silencing mechanisms in diverse eukaryotes, including most if not all plants. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are the two major types, both of which have a demonstrated and important role in plant development, stress responses and pathogen resistance. In this work, we used a deep sequencing approach (Sequencing-By-Synthesis, or SBS) to develop sequence resources of small RNAs from Silene latifolia tissues (including leaves, flowers and smutted flowers). The high depth of the resulting datasets enabled us to examine in detail critical small RNA features as size distribution, tissue-specific regulation and sequence conservation between different organs in this species. We also developed database resources and a dedicated website (http://smallrna.udel.edu/) with computational tools for allowing other users to identify new miRNAs or siRNAs involved in specific regulatory pathways, verify the degree of conservation of these sequences in other plant species and map small RNAs on genes or larger regions of the genome under study.
Project description:Silene latifolia is dioecious, yet rare hermaphrodites have been found, and such natural mutants can provide valuable insight into genetic mechanisms. Here, we describe a hermaphrodite-inducing mutation that is almost certainly localized to the gynoecium-suppression region of the Y chromosome in S. latifolia. The mutant Y chromosome was passed through the megaspore, and the presence of two X chromosomes was not necessary for seed development in the parent. This result supports a lack of degeneration of the Y chromosome in S. latifolia, consistent with the relatively recent formation of the sex chromosomes in this species. When crossed to wild-type plants, hermaphrodites performed poorly as females, producing low seed numbers. When hermaphrodites were pollen donors, the sex ratio of offspring they produced through crosses was biased towards females. This suggests that hermaphroditic S. latifolia would fail to thrive and potentially explains the rarity of hermaphrodites in natural populations of S. latifolia. These results indicate that the Y chromosome in Silene latifolia remains very similar to the X, perhaps mostly differing in the primary sex determination regions.
Project description:Y-chromosomes contain a non-recombining region (NRY), and in many organisms it was shown that the NRY expanded over time. How and why the NRY expands remains unclear. Young sex chromosomes, where NRY expansion occurred recently or is on-going, offer an opportunity to study the causes of this process. Here, we used the plant Silene latifolia, where sex chromosomes evolved ~11 million years ago, to study the location of the boundary between the NRY and the recombining pseudoautosomal region (PAR). The previous work devoted to the NRY/PAR boundary in S. latifolia was based on a handful of genes with locations approximately known from the genetic map. Here, we report the analysis of 86 pseudoautosomal and sex-linked genes adjacent to the S. latifolia NRY/PAR boundary to establish the location of the boundary more precisely. We take advantage of the dense genetic map and polymorphism data from wild populations to identify 20 partially sex-linked genes located in the "fuzzy boundary", that rarely recombines in male meiosis. Genes proximal to this fuzzy boundary show no evidence of recombination in males, while the genes distal to this partially-sex-linked region are actively recombining in males. Our results provide a more accurate location for the PAR boundary in S. latifolia, which will help to elucidate the causes of PAR boundary shifts leading to NRY expansion over time.