As part of an initiative to develop Brachypodium distachyon as a genomic ''bridge'' species between rice and the temperate cereals and grasses, a BAC library has been constructed for the two diploid (2n ¼ 2x ¼ 10) genotypes, ABR1 and ABR5. The library consists of 9100 clones, with an approximate average insert size of 88 kb, representing 2.22 genome equivalents. To validate the usefulness of this species for comparative genomics and gene discovery in its larger genome relatives, the library was screened by PCR using primers designed on previously mapped rice and Poaceae sequences. Screening indicated a degree of synteny between these species and B. distachyon, which was confirmed by fluorescent in situ hybridization of the marker-selected BACs (BAC landing) to the 10 chromosome arms of the karyotype, with most of the BACs hybridizing as single loci on known chromosomes. Contiguous BACs colocalized on individual chromosomes, thereby confirming the conservation of genome synteny and proving that B. distachyon has utility as a temperate grass model species alternative to rice.
Chromosome painting is one of the most powerful and spectacular tools of modern molecular cytogenetics, enabling complex analyses of nuclear genome structure and evolution. For many years, this technique was restricted to the study of mammalian chromosomes, as it failed to work in plant genomes due mainly to the presence of large amounts of repetitive DNA common to all the chromosomes of the complement. The availability of ordered, chromosome-specific BAC clones of Arabidopsis thaliana containing relatively little repetitive genomic DNA enabled the first chromosome painting in dicotyledonous plants. Here, we show for the first time chromosome painting in three different cytotypes of a monocotyledonous plant—the model grass, Brachypodium distachyon. Possible directions of further detailed studies are proposed, such as the evolution of grass karyotypes, the behaviour of meiotic chromosomes, and the analysis of chromosome distribution at interphase.
The pooid subfamily of grasses includes some of the most important crop, forage and turf species, such as wheat, barley and Lolium. Developing genomic resources, such as whole-genome physical maps, for analysing the large and complex genomes of these crops and for facilitating biological research in grasses is an important goal in plant biology. We describe a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based physical map of the wild pooid grass Brachypodium distachyon and integrate this with whole genome shotgun sequence (WGS) assemblies using BAC end sequences (BES). The resulting physical map contains 26 contigs spanning the 272 Mb genome. BES from the physical map were also used to integrate a genetic map. This provides an independent vaildation and confirmation of the published WGS assembly. Mapped BACs were used in Fluorescence In Situ Hybridisation (FISH) experiments to align the integrated physical map and sequence assemblies to chromosomes with high resolution. The physical, genetic and cytogenetic maps, integrated with whole genome shotgun sequence assemblies, enhance the accuracy and durability of this important genome sequence and will directly facilitate gene isolation.
Paleogenomic studies based on bioinformatic analyses of DNA sequences have enabled unprecedented insight into the evolution of grass genomes. They have revealed that nested chromosome fusions played an important role in the divergence of modern grasses. Nowadays, studies on karyotype evolution based on the sequence analysis can also be effectively complemented by the fine-scale cytomolecular approach. In this work, we studied the karyotype evolution of small genome grasses using BAC-FISH based comparative chromosome barcoding in four Brachypodium species: diploid B. distachyon (2n = 10) and B. sylvaticum (2n = 18), diploid (2n = 18) and allopolyploid (2n = 28) B. pinnatum as well as B. phoenicoides (2n = 28). Using BAC clones derived from the B. distachyon genomic libraries for the chromosomes Bd2 and Bd3, we identified the descending dysploidy events that were common for diploids with x = 9 and B. distachyon as well as two nested chromosome fusions that were specific only for B. distachyon. We suggest that dysploidy events that are shared by different lineages of the genus had already appeared in their common ancestor. We also show that additional structural rearrangements, such as translocations and duplications, contributed to increasing genome diversification in the species analysed. No chromosomes structured exactly like Bd2 and Bd3 were found in B. pinnatum (2n = 28) and B. phoenicoides. The structure of Bd2 and Bd3 homeologues belonging to the two genomes in the allopolyploids resembled the structure of their counterparts in the 2n = 18 diploids. These findings reinforce the hypothesis which excludes B. distachyon as a potential parent for Eurasian perennial Brachypodium allopolyploids. Our cytomolecular data elucidate some mechanisms of the descending dysploidy in monocots and enable reconstructions of the evolutionary events which shaped the extant karyotypes in both the genus Brachypodium and in grasses as a whole.
Sequential silver staining and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were used to establish activity and number of 45S rDNA sites in meristematic root tip cells of 6 ecotypes of allotetraploid (2n = 4x = 30) species of Brachypodium and their putative ancestors, B. distachyon (2n = 2x = 10) and ABR114 (2n = 2x = 20). Using either total nuclear DNA of ABR114 or the ABR1-63-E6 BAC clone from a B. distachyon genomic library as an auxiliary probe, it was possible to distinguish by FISH between the two genomes composing the ecotypes of allotetraploid Brachypodium species and to determine unambiguously the parentage of both dominant and suppressed rRNA genes. Each of the diploid species possessed two rDNA loci, both transcriptionally active. The number of 45S rDNA sites in 6 ecotypes of allotetraploid Brachypodium species was always equal to the sum of loci present in their putative diploid parents. Two smaller sites were located in chromosomes corresponding to the ABR114 chromosomal set, and two larger ones in the chromosomes of B. distachyon origin. In all analyzed allotetraploid ecotypes, only rRNA genes belonging to the B. distachyon-like genome were transcriptionally active, while rDNA from the other parental genome was always suppressed. Thus the occurrence of nucleolar dominance in the allotetraploid (2n = 4x = 30) species of Brachypodium is demonstrated for the first time.
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