Browsing by Subject "Gene Conversion"

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    Evidence for GC-biased gene conversion as a driver of between-lineage differences in avian base composition.
    (Genome Biol, 2014) Weber, Claudia C; Boussau, Bastien; Romiguier, Jonathan; Jarvis, Erich D; Ellegren, Hans
    BACKGROUND: While effective population size (Ne) and life history traits such as generation time are known to impact substitution rates, their potential effects on base composition evolution are less well understood. GC content increases with decreasing body mass in mammals, consistent with recombination-associated GC biased gene conversion (gBGC) more strongly impacting these lineages. However, shifts in chromosomal architecture and recombination landscapes between species may complicate the interpretation of these results. In birds, interchromosomal rearrangements are rare and the recombination landscape is conserved, suggesting that this group is well suited to assess the impact of life history on base composition. RESULTS: Employing data from 45 newly and 3 previously sequenced avian genomes covering a broad range of taxa, we found that lineages with large populations and short generations exhibit higher GC content. The effect extends to both coding and non-coding sites, indicating that it is not due to selection on codon usage. Consistent with recombination driving base composition, GC content and heterogeneity were positively correlated with the rate of recombination. Moreover, we observed ongoing increases in GC in the majority of lineages. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide evidence that gBGC may drive patterns of nucleotide composition in avian genomes and are consistent with more effective gBGC in large populations and a greater number of meioses per unit time; that is, a shorter generation time. Thus, in accord with theoretical predictions, base composition evolution is substantially modulated by species life history.
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    Genes Translocated into the Plastid Inverted Repeat Show Decelerated Substitution Rates and Elevated GC Content.
    (Genome biology and evolution, 2016-08-25) Li, F; Kuo, L; Pryer, KM; Rothfels, CJ
    Plant chloroplast genomes (plastomes) are characterized by an inverted repeat (IR) region and two larger single copy (SC) regions. Patterns of molecular evolution in the IR and SC regions differ, most notably by a reduced rate of nucleotide substitution in the IR compared to the SC region. In addition, the organization and structure of plastomes is fluid, and rearrangements through time have repeatedly shuffled genes into and out of the IR, providing recurrent natural experiments on how chloroplast genome structure can impact rates and patterns of molecular evolution. Here we examine four loci (psbA, ycf2, rps7, and rps12 exon 2-3) that were translocated from the SC into the IR during fern evolution. We use a model-based method, within a phylogenetic context, to test for substitution rate shifts. All four loci show a significant, 2- to 3-fold deceleration in their substitution rate following translocation into the IR, a phenomenon not observed in any other, nontranslocated plastid genes. Also, we show that after translocation, the GC content of the third codon position and of the noncoding regions is significantly increased, implying that gene conversion within the IR is GC-biased. Taken together, our results suggest that the IR region not only reduces substitution rates, but also impacts nucleotide composition. This finding highlights a potential vulnerability of correlating substitution rate heterogeneity with organismal life history traits without knowledge of the underlying genome structure.