Construction of Ancestral Chromosomes in Gymnosperms and the Application in Comparative Genomic Analysis

Chromosome rearrangements during plant evolution can lead to alterations in genome structure and gene function, thereby influencing species adaptation and evolutionary processes. Gymnosperms, as an ancient group of plants, offer valuable insights into the morphological, physiological, and ecological...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Haoran Liao, Lianghui Zhong, Yujie He, Jie He, Yuhan Wu, Ying Guo, Lina Mei, Guibing Wang, Fuliang Cao, Fangfang Fu, Liangjiao Xue
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-08-01
Series:Plants
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2361
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849406446494547968
author Haoran Liao
Lianghui Zhong
Yujie He
Jie He
Yuhan Wu
Ying Guo
Lina Mei
Guibing Wang
Fuliang Cao
Fangfang Fu
Liangjiao Xue
author_facet Haoran Liao
Lianghui Zhong
Yujie He
Jie He
Yuhan Wu
Ying Guo
Lina Mei
Guibing Wang
Fuliang Cao
Fangfang Fu
Liangjiao Xue
author_sort Haoran Liao
collection DOAJ
description Chromosome rearrangements during plant evolution can lead to alterations in genome structure and gene function, thereby influencing species adaptation and evolutionary processes. Gymnosperms, as an ancient group of plants, offer valuable insights into the morphological, physiological, and ecological characteristics of early terrestrial flora. The reconstruction of ancestral karyotypes in gymnosperms may provide critical clues for understanding their evolutionary history. In this study, we inferred the ancestral gymnosperm karyotype (AGK), which comprises 12 chromosomes, and conducted a collinearity analysis with existing gymnosperm genomes. Our findings indicate that chromosome numbers have remained remarkably stable throughout the evolution of gymnosperms. For species with multiplied chromosome numbers, such as gnetophytes, weak collinearities with the AGK were observed. Comparisons between the AGK and gnetophyte genomes revealed a biased pattern regarding retained duplication blocks. Furthermore, our analysis of transposable elements in <i>Welwitschia mirabilis</i> identified enriched regions containing LINE-1 retrotransposons within the syntenic blocks. Syntenic analysis between the AGK and angiosperms also demonstrated a biased distribution across chromosomes. These results provide a fundamental resource for further characterization of chromosomal evolution in gymnosperms.
format Article
id doaj-art-b7d6cce49b6f46fcae8f764b38aa1a80
institution Kabale University
issn 2223-7747
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Plants
spelling doaj-art-b7d6cce49b6f46fcae8f764b38aa1a802025-08-20T03:36:22ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-08-011415236110.3390/plants14152361Construction of Ancestral Chromosomes in Gymnosperms and the Application in Comparative Genomic AnalysisHaoran Liao0Lianghui Zhong1Yujie He2Jie He3Yuhan Wu4Ying Guo5Lina Mei6Guibing Wang7Fuliang Cao8Fangfang Fu9Liangjiao Xue10State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, ChinaChromosome rearrangements during plant evolution can lead to alterations in genome structure and gene function, thereby influencing species adaptation and evolutionary processes. Gymnosperms, as an ancient group of plants, offer valuable insights into the morphological, physiological, and ecological characteristics of early terrestrial flora. The reconstruction of ancestral karyotypes in gymnosperms may provide critical clues for understanding their evolutionary history. In this study, we inferred the ancestral gymnosperm karyotype (AGK), which comprises 12 chromosomes, and conducted a collinearity analysis with existing gymnosperm genomes. Our findings indicate that chromosome numbers have remained remarkably stable throughout the evolution of gymnosperms. For species with multiplied chromosome numbers, such as gnetophytes, weak collinearities with the AGK were observed. Comparisons between the AGK and gnetophyte genomes revealed a biased pattern regarding retained duplication blocks. Furthermore, our analysis of transposable elements in <i>Welwitschia mirabilis</i> identified enriched regions containing LINE-1 retrotransposons within the syntenic blocks. Syntenic analysis between the AGK and angiosperms also demonstrated a biased distribution across chromosomes. These results provide a fundamental resource for further characterization of chromosomal evolution in gymnosperms.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2361gymnospermancestral karyotypecollinearitychromosome stabilityLINE-1
spellingShingle Haoran Liao
Lianghui Zhong
Yujie He
Jie He
Yuhan Wu
Ying Guo
Lina Mei
Guibing Wang
Fuliang Cao
Fangfang Fu
Liangjiao Xue
Construction of Ancestral Chromosomes in Gymnosperms and the Application in Comparative Genomic Analysis
Plants
gymnosperm
ancestral karyotype
collinearity
chromosome stability
LINE-1
title Construction of Ancestral Chromosomes in Gymnosperms and the Application in Comparative Genomic Analysis
title_full Construction of Ancestral Chromosomes in Gymnosperms and the Application in Comparative Genomic Analysis
title_fullStr Construction of Ancestral Chromosomes in Gymnosperms and the Application in Comparative Genomic Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Construction of Ancestral Chromosomes in Gymnosperms and the Application in Comparative Genomic Analysis
title_short Construction of Ancestral Chromosomes in Gymnosperms and the Application in Comparative Genomic Analysis
title_sort construction of ancestral chromosomes in gymnosperms and the application in comparative genomic analysis
topic gymnosperm
ancestral karyotype
collinearity
chromosome stability
LINE-1
url https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2361
work_keys_str_mv AT haoranliao constructionofancestralchromosomesingymnospermsandtheapplicationincomparativegenomicanalysis
AT lianghuizhong constructionofancestralchromosomesingymnospermsandtheapplicationincomparativegenomicanalysis
AT yujiehe constructionofancestralchromosomesingymnospermsandtheapplicationincomparativegenomicanalysis
AT jiehe constructionofancestralchromosomesingymnospermsandtheapplicationincomparativegenomicanalysis
AT yuhanwu constructionofancestralchromosomesingymnospermsandtheapplicationincomparativegenomicanalysis
AT yingguo constructionofancestralchromosomesingymnospermsandtheapplicationincomparativegenomicanalysis
AT linamei constructionofancestralchromosomesingymnospermsandtheapplicationincomparativegenomicanalysis
AT guibingwang constructionofancestralchromosomesingymnospermsandtheapplicationincomparativegenomicanalysis
AT fuliangcao constructionofancestralchromosomesingymnospermsandtheapplicationincomparativegenomicanalysis
AT fangfangfu constructionofancestralchromosomesingymnospermsandtheapplicationincomparativegenomicanalysis
AT liangjiaoxue constructionofancestralchromosomesingymnospermsandtheapplicationincomparativegenomicanalysis