| Abstract Detail
Physiological Section Stata, Matt [1], Sage, Rowan F. [1], Sage, Tammy [2], Covshoff, Sarah [3], Hibberd, Julian M. [4], Ka-Shu Wong, Gane [5]. The 1kp Project and the Evolutionary Histories of Key Genes of C4 Photosynthesis. C4 photosynthesis is one of the most convergent of complex evolutionary traits, with over 65 independent origins in the last 35 million years. In all lineages, the C4 pathway exhibits common traits, notably the upregulation of PEP carboxylase and carbonic anhydrase in the mesophyll tissue (M) and some form of decarboxylase (NAD-ME, NADP-ME, PCK) in the bundle sheath (BS), coupled with localization of Rubisco expression in the BS. C4 species also have fewer M cell chloroplasts and lower chloroplast coverage than related C3 species. A shared trait between lineages may not require a common genetic mechanism, and in different C4 lineages different gene copies of key enzymes are often co-opted for the C4 cycle. Using a combination of the 1KP transcriptome data set, which includes a closely related C3 and C4 species from a dozen evolutionary lineages, and Phytozome plant genomes, we have built gene trees for critical C4 enzymes, Rubisco regulatory/chaperone genes, and genes involved in plastid division, development, and positioning. For the C4 enzymes we investigate which gene copy has been incorporated into the C4 pathway and upregulated during C4 evolution in the different lineages of the 1KP dataset. For Rubisco regulators/chaperones and plastid regulatory genes we investigate copy numbers of each in the different C4 lineages, since the cell-specific control of both Rubisco accumulation and plastid division in M and BS cells may imply multiple gene copies. The 1KP data set has made possible the first such studies of this complex convergent trait across many lineages separated by well over one hundred million years.
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1 - University of Toronto, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S3B2, Canada
2 - University of Toronto, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 25 Willcocks Street, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Toronto, ON, M5S3B2, Canada
3 - University Of Cambridge, Department Of Plant Sciences, Moleculary Physiology, Downing Site, Cambridge, N/A, CB2 3EA, United Kingdom
4 - University of Cambridge, Department of Plant Sciences, Molecular Physiology, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB23EA, UK
5 - University of Alberta, Biological Sciences; Medicine (Gastroenterology), CW405 Biological Sciences, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
Keywords:
C4 photosynthesis
Photosynthesis
gene duplication
Phylogenetics
Plastid Division
Rubisco Regulation.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Hall D/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2015
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PPS007
Abstract ID:1147
Candidate for Awards:CSPB President's Award for Best Student Presentation |
