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Updated: Jul 9, 2025
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Inducible, Cell Type-Specific Expression in Arabidopsis thaliana Through LhGR-Mediated Trans-Activation
Published on: April 19, 2019
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Forces driving transposable element load variation during Arabidopsis range expansion.
Juan Jiang1,2,3, Yong-Chao Xu1,2, Zhi-Qin Zhang1,2,3
1State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
The Plant Cell
|November 30, 2023
Summary
Transposable element (TE) load increased in Arabidopsis thaliana populations during range expansion, particularly in the Yangtze River basin. Factors like effective population size and high transposition rates drive this accumulation, revealing insights into genetic load variation.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Population genetics
- Genomics
Background:
- Genetic load, the accumulation of deleterious mutations, impacts populations.
- Transposable elements (TEs) are major drivers of mutations and genetic load.
- Understanding TE load variation during range expansion is crucial for evolutionary studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the driving forces behind transposable element (TE) load variation during the range expansion of Arabidopsis thaliana.
- Analyze the relationship between population genetics factors and TE accumulation in expanding populations.
- Elucidate the genetic architecture underlying TE load variation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 1,115 global natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana.
- Employed population genetics and quantitative genetics approaches.
- Performed genetic mapping to identify candidate causal genes and TEs.
Main Results:
- TE load significantly increased with range expansion in Arabidopsis.
- The Yangtze River basin population showed a particularly high TE load.
- Effective population size explained 62.0% of TE load variance, alongside high transposition rates and selective sweeps.
Conclusions:
- Arabidopsis range expansion is associated with increased transposable element (TE) load.
- Population size, transposition rates, and selective sweeps are key contributors to TE accumulation.
- This study reveals the genetic architecture of TE load variation in expanding plant populations.
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