Abstract Detail

Bryology and Lichenology

Rahmatpour, Nasim [1], Goffinet, Bernard [2], Wegrzyn, Jill [3].

Significant unsuspected genomic innovation in Funaria: is ecophysiological selection driving the evolution of the Funariaceae?

Funaria hygrometrica and Physcomitrella patens (Funariaceae) share nearly identical vegetative bodies and differ most conspicuously in their sporophyte generation. The species occur in similar general habitats although are not ecologically sympatric. We sought to assess whether ecological and gametophytic similarities would be matched by genomic similarity or if 60 million years of divergence may be marked by ecophysiological adaptations and reflected by genomic signatures or innovations. We sequenced and characterized the transcriptome of three replicates of vegetative tissue (i.e., rhizoids, stem and leaves) of Funaria hygrometrica. We then screened the Physcomitrella genome for othologs of the Funaria transcripts to estimate their genomic divergence. Specifically, we mapped reads, transcript and protein sequences to the Physcomitrella genome. In addition, Funaria hygrometrica proteins were subjected to 21 model plants from PLAZA by all-vs-all BLASTp search and alignment were passed to TRIBE-MCL to create clustered network used for protein family determination. Finally, we contrasted ortholog pairs to assess the nature of the selection governing their evolution. Our inferences reveal low degree of reads and transcript mapping of Funaria hygrometrica to the Physcomitrella patens genome. Furthermore the TRIBE-MCL analysis reveals that 12 gene families are unique to Funaria hygrometrica. Altogether, substantial genomic divergence characterizes Funaria and Physcomitrella, a result in contrast with their high gametophytic similarity, suggesting that the evolution of the genome is shaped by selection of metabolic traits perhaps linked to ecophysiological rather than structural adaptation .

1 - University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, Connecticut, 06268, United States
2 - University Of Connecticut, Department Of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 75 N. Eagleville Road, U-3043, STORRS, CT, 06269-3043, USA
3 - University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269, United States

Keywords:
Mosses
transcriprome.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 28, Bryology and Lichenology (ABLS) II
Location: Sundance 1/Omni Hotel
Date: Tuesday, June 27th, 2017
Time: 1:30 PM
Number: 28001
Abstract ID:363
Candidate for Awards:A. J. Sharp Award