Expression of Two Rye CENH3 Variants and Their Loading into Centromeres

Autor: Elena V. Evtushenko, Evgeny A. Elisafenko, Sima S. Gatzkaya, Veit Schubert, Andreas Houben, Alexander V. Vershinin
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Plants, Vol 10, Iss 10, p 2043 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 10102043
2223-7747
DOI: 10.3390/plants10102043
Popis: Gene duplication and the preservation of both copies during evolution is an intriguing evolutionary phenomenon. Their preservation is related to the function they perform. The central component of centromere specification and function is the centromere-specific histone H3 (CENH3). Some cereal species (maize, rice) have one copy of the gene encoding this protein, while some (wheat, barley, rye) have two. Therefore, they represent a good model for a comparative study of the functional activity of the duplicated CENH3 genes and their protein products. We determined the organization of the CENH3 locus in rye (Secale cereale L.) and identified the functional motifs in the vicinity of the CENH3 genes. We compared the expression of these genes at different stages of plant development and the loading of their products, the CENH3 proteins, into nucleosomes during mitosis and meiosis. Using extended chromatin fibers, we revealed patterns of loading CENH3 proteinsinto polynucleosomal domains in centromeric chromatin. Our results indicate no sign of neofunctionalization, subfunctionalization or specialization in the gene copies. The influence of negative selection on the coding part of the genes led them to preserve their conserved function. The advantage of having two functional genes appears as the gene-dosage effect.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals