Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
12:33
Optimization and Comparative Analysis of Plant Organellar DNA Enrichment Methods Suitable for Next-generation Sequencing
Published on: July 28, 2017
Comparative analysis of plant genome architecture
1Department of cell Biology, John Innes Centre, Colney Lane, Norwich, UK.
Symposia of the Society for Experimental Biology
|January 1, 1996
Summary
Plant genomes are largely composed of repetitive DNA, with gene order highly conserved across species. Understanding genome architecture is key for plant genetics, evolution, and breeding.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Plant Biology
- Molecular Evolution
Background:
- Plant genomes are characterized by conserved gene order across diverse species.
- Repetitive DNA constitutes the majority of plant genomes and drives species-specific differences.
- Genomic sequences exhibit varied distributions, with mechanisms of homogenization and dispersion remaining speculative.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the organization of repetitive and single-copy DNA sequences in plant genomes.
- To investigate the consequences of genome architecture on plant genetics.
- To highlight the utility of genome organization models in evolutionary and breeding studies.
Main Methods:
- Comparative genomics to analyze gene order conservation.
- Bioinformatic analysis of repetitive DNA sequences and their distributions.
- In silico modeling of large-scale genome organization.
Main Results:
- Gene order is highly conserved across broad plant taxonomic groups.
- Repetitive DNA sequences, varying in length and repetition frequency, dominate plant genomes.
- Diverse genomic distributions of repetitive DNA elements (e.g., tandem repeats) were observed, with underlying mechanisms not fully elucidated.
Conclusions:
- Plant genome architecture, including DNA sequence organization and nuclear positioning, significantly impacts plant genetics.
- Models of genome organization can advance understanding of genome component function, evolutionary trajectories, and plant breeding strategies.
Related Concept Videos
02:02Genomics
Genomics is the science of genomes: it is the study of all the genetic material of an organism. In humans, the genome consists of information carried in 23 pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus, as well as mitochondrial DNA. In genomics, both coding and non-coding DNA is sequenced and analyzed. Genomics allows a better understanding of all living things, their evolution, and their diversity. It has a myriad of uses: for example, to build phylogenetic trees, to improve productivity and...
03:21Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
While every living organism has a genome of some kind (be it RNA, or DNA), there is considerable variation in the sizes of these blueprints. One major factor that impacts genome size is whether the organism is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. In prokaryotes, the genome contains little to no non-coding sequence, such that genes are tightly clustered in groups or operons sequentially along the chromosome. Conversely, the genes in eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of non-coding sequence.
02:16Comparing Mitochondrial, Chloroplast, and Prokaryotic Genomes
The present-day mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes have retained some of the characteristics of their ancestral prokaryotes and also have acquired new attributes during their evolution within eukaryotic cells. Like prokaryotic genomes, mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes neither bind with histone-like proteins nor show complex packaging into chromosome-like structures, as observed in eukaryotes. Unlike mitotic cell divisions observed in eukaryotic cells, mitochondria and chloroplasts...
02:54Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...
03:36Genome Annotation and Assembly
The genome refers to all of the genetic material in an organism. It can range from a few million base pairs in microbial cells to several billion base pairs in many eukaryotic organisms. Genome assembly refers to the process of taking the DNA sequencing data and putting it all back together in a correct order to create a close representation of the original genome. This is followed by the identification of functional elements on the newly assembled genome, a process called genome annotation.
03:21Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
While every living organism has a genome of some kind (be it RNA, or DNA), there is considerable variation in the sizes of these blueprints. One major factor that impacts genome size is whether the organism is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. In prokaryotes, the genome contains little to no non-coding sequence, such that genes are tightly clustered in groups or operons sequentially along the chromosome. Conversely, the genes in eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of non-coding sequence.