Horizontal transfer of chloroplast genomes between plant species
Edited by Jeffrey D. Palmer, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, and approved December 20, 2011 (received for review August 30, 2011)
Abstract
The genomes of DNA-containing cell organelles (mitochondria, chloroplasts) can be laterally transmitted between organisms, a process known as organelle capture. Organelle capture often occurs in the absence of detectable nuclear introgression, and the capture mechanism is unknown. Here, we have considered horizontal genome transfer across natural grafts as a mechanism underlying chloroplast capture in plants. By grafting sexually incompatible species, we show that complete chloroplast genomes can travel across the graft junction from one species into another. We demonstrate that, consistent with reported phylogenetic evidence, replacement of the resident plastid genome by the alien genome occurs in the absence of intergenomic recombination. Our results provide a plausible mechanism for organelle capture in plants and suggest natural grafting as a path for horizontal gene and genome transfer between sexually incompatible species.
Acknowledgments
We thank the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology Green Team for help with plant transformation and Dr. Stephanie Ruf (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology) for discussion and critical reading of the manuscript. This research was financed by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung and the Max Planck Society.
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Published online: January 30, 2012
Published in issue: February 14, 2012
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Acknowledgments
We thank the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology Green Team for help with plant transformation and Dr. Stephanie Ruf (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology) for discussion and critical reading of the manuscript. This research was financed by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung and the Max Planck Society.
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*This Direct Submission article had a prearranged editor.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Horizontal transfer of chloroplast genomes between plant species, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
109 (7) 2434-2438,
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1114076109
(2012).
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