Qun-Jie Zhang, Ting Zhu, En-Hua Xia, Chao Shi, Yun-Long Liu, Yun Zhang, Yuan Liu, Wen-Kai Jiang, You-Jie Zhao, Shu-Yan Mao, Li-Ping Zhang, Hui Huang, Jun-Ying Jiao, Ping-Zhen Xu, Qiu-Yang Yao, Fan-Chun Zeng, Li-Li Yang, Ju Gao, Da-Yun Tao, Yue-Ju Wang, Jeffrey L Bennetzen, Li-Zhi Gao
Comparative genomic analyses among closely related species can greatly enhance our understanding of plant gene and genome evolution. We report de novo-assembled AA-genome sequences for Oryza nivara, Oryza glaberrima, Oryza barthii, Oryza glumaepatula, and Oryza meridionalis. Our analyses reveal massive levels of genomic structural variation, including segmental duplication and rapid gene family turnover, with particularly high instability in defense-related genes. We show, on a genomic scale, how lineage-specific expansion or contraction of gene families has led to their morphological and reproductive diversification, thus enlightening the evolutionary process of speciation and adaptation...
November 18, 2014: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America