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Genomic organization of the complex α-gliadin gene loci in wheat

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Abstract

To better understand the molecular evolution of the large α-gliadin gene family, a half-million bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library clones from tetraploid durum wheat, Triticum turgidum ssp. durum (2n=4x=28, genome AB), were screened for large genomic segments carrying the α-gliadin genes of the Gli-2 loci on the group 6 homoeologous chromosomes. The resulting 220 positive BAC clones—each containing between one and four copies of α-gliadin sequences—were fingerprinted for contig assembly to produce contiguous chromosomal regions covering the Gli-2 loci. While contigs consisting of as many as 21 BAC clones and containing up to 17 α-gliadin genes were formed, many BAC clones remained as singletons. The accuracy of the order of BAC clones in the contigs was verified by Southern hybridization analysis of the BAC fingerprints using an α-gliadin probe. These results indicate that α-gliadin genes are not evenly dispersed in the Gli-2 locus regions. Hybridization of these BACs with probes for long terminal repeat retrotransposons was used to determine the abundance and distribution of repetitive DNA in this region. Sequencing of BAC ends indicated that 70% of the sequences were significantly similar to different classes of retrotransposons, suggesting that these elements are abundant in this region. Several mechanisms underlying the dynamic evolution of the Gli-2 loci are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Frances M. Dupont for reading the manuscript and making suggestions and corrections. All experiments comply with US laws.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Western Regional Research Center, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA

    Yong Qiang Gu, Curt Crossman, Devin Coleman-Derr & Olin D. Anderson

  2. Institute of Crop Germplasm Resources, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Xiuying Kong

  3. Department of Agronomy and Range Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA

    Mingcheng Luo, Frank M. You & Jorge Dubcovsky

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  1. Yong Qiang Gu
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  2. Curt Crossman
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  3. Xiuying Kong
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  6. Devin Coleman-Derr
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  7. Jorge Dubcovsky
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  8. Olin D. Anderson
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Correspondence to Yong Qiang Gu.

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Communicated by P. Langridge

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Gu, Y.Q., Crossman, C., Kong, X. et al. Genomic organization of the complex α-gliadin gene loci in wheat. Theor Appl Genet 109, 648–657 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-004-1672-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-004-1672-2

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