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Resurrection of an ancestral gene: functional and evolutionary analyses of the Ngrol genes transferred from Agrobacterium to Nicotiana

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Abstract

The Ngrol genes, which have high similarity in sequence to the rol genes of Agrobacterium rhizogenes, are present in the genome of untransformed plants of Nicotiana glauca. It is thought that bacterial infection resulted in the transfer of the Ngrol genes to plants early in the evolution of the genus Nicotiana, since several species in this genus contain rol-like sequences but others do not. Plants transformed with the bacterial rol genes exhibit various developmental and morphological changes. The presence of rol-like sequences in plant genomes is therefore thought to have contributed to the evolution of Nicotiana species. This paper focuses on studies of the Ngrol genes in present-day plants and during the evolution of the genus Nicotiana. The functional sequences of several Ngrol genes may have been conserved after their ancient introduction from a bacterium to the plant. Resurrection of an ancestral function of one of the Ngrol genes, as examined by physiological and evolutionary analyses, is also described. The origin of the Ngrol genes is then considered, based on results of molecular phylogenetic analyses. The effects of the horizontal transfer of the Ngrol genes and mutations in the genes are discussed on the plants of the genus Nicotiana during evolution.

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Acknowledgments

The author is particularly grateful to Dr. K. Syōno (Nippon Women’s University), Dr. T. Ichikawa (RIKEN), and Dr. M. Ito (University of Tokyo) for their guidance in the present study. The author also wishes to thank Dr. J. Schell, Dr. M.P. Gordon (University of Washington, USA), Dr. D. Tepfer (INRA, France), Dr. L. Jouanin (INRA, France), Dr. S.G. Beck (Herbario Nacional de Bolivia, Bolivia), Mr. R. Zeballos (Herbario Nacional de Bolivia, Bolivia), Mr. T. Watanabe (Bolivia), Dr. H. Kamada (University of Tsukuba), Dr. Y. Ohashi (Natural Institute of Science and Technology), Dr. H. Nishida (Chuo University), and Dr. H. Tsukaya (Natural Institute for Basic Biology) for providing materials or the opportunity for overseas research. The author expresses gratitude to Japan Tobacco Inc. for kindly providing plant materials for species of the genus Nicotiana. This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology, Japan.

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  1. Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan

    Seishiro Aoki

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Seishiro Aoki is the recipient of the Botanical Society Award for Young Scientist, 2002.

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Aoki, S. Resurrection of an ancestral gene: functional and evolutionary analyses of the Ngrol genes transferred from Agrobacterium to Nicotiana. J Plant Res 117, 329–337 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-004-0163-5

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