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Comparative mapping reveals partial conservation of synteny at the apomixis locus in Paspalum spp.

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Abstract

In plants, gametophytic apomixis is a form of asexual reproduction that leads to the formation of seed-derived offspring that are genetically identical to the mother plant. A common set of RFLP markers, including five rice anchor markers previously shown to be linked to apomixis in Paspalum simplex, were used to detect linkage with apomixis in P. notatum and P. malacophyllum. A comparative map of the region around the apomixis locus was constructed for the three Paspalum species, and compared to the rice map. The locus that controls apomixis in P. simplex was almost completely conserved in the closely related species P. malacophyllum, whereas it was only partially represented in the distantly related species P. notatum. Although strong synteny of markers was noted between this locus and a portion of rice chromosome 12 in both P. simplex and P. malacophyllum, the same locus in P. notatum was localized to a hybrid chromosome which carries markers that map to rice chromosomes 2 and 12. All three Paspalum species showed recombination suppression at the apomixis locus; in the case of P. notatum, this might be due to a heterozygosity for a translocation that most probably negatively interferes with chromosomal pairing near the locus. A common set of markers that show linkage with apomixis in all three Paspalum species define a portion of the apomixis-controlling locus that is likely to contain genes critical for apomictic reproduction.

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Acknowledgements

This study was carried out within the framework of the Bilateral Agreement (2002–2003) MAE-SETCIP for Italian and Argentinian Research Institutions [Project No. 24(44B)]. The research was supported by the EC project Apotool (Contract No. GLG-CT-2000-0063). We thank Dr. T. Sasaki, the Japanese Rice Genome Research Program of the National Institute of Agrobiological Resources (NIAR), and the Institute of the Society of Techno-Innovation in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (STAFF), Kannondai, Tsukuba, Japan for providing the rice clones, and Dr. S. McCouch of Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.) for the oat probe. The work was carried out in compliance with the current laws governing genetic experimentation in Italy and Argentina. This is Contribution No. 31 from the Institute of Plant Genetics-CNR, Research Division of Perugia

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant Genetics, CNR Research Division of Perugia, Via della Madonna Alta 130, 06128, Perugia, Italy

    F. Pupilli, A. Busti, O. Calderini & S. Arcioni

  2. Instituto de Botanica del Nordeste, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Casilla de Correo 209, 3400, Corrientes, Argentina

    E. J. Martinez & C. L. Quarin

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  1. F. Pupilli
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  2. E. J. Martinez
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  3. A. Busti
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  4. O. Calderini
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  5. C. L. Quarin
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  6. S. Arcioni
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Correspondence to F. Pupilli.

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Communicated by R. Hagemann

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Pupilli, F., Martinez, E.J., Busti, A. et al. Comparative mapping reveals partial conservation of synteny at the apomixis locus in Paspalum spp. . Mol Genet Genomics 270, 539–548 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-003-0949-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-003-0949-5

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