Summary
Copia-like retrotransposable elements were identified in allotetraploid cotton,Gossypium hirsutum, and two species representing its diploid progenitors,G. herbaceum andG. raimondii. These elements are present in high copy number in all three species. Because the two diploid genomic groups have been isolated on opposite sides of the world for 6–11 million years, horizontal transfer of elements between these species is highly unlikely. Elements were intensively sampled to generate a model ofcopia-like retrotransposable element evolution in systems where vertical transmission is the sole probable means of descent.Copia-like retrotransposon diversity is equally great in all threeGossypium species. Despite this high heterogeneity, analysis of 89 partial reverse transcriptase sequences resulted in the recognition of nine sharply differentiated retrotransposon lineages, each containing elements that share high sequence similarity. No evidence of horizontal transfer from other taxa was obtained. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that element topologies are incongruent withGossypium phylogeny. Consideration of processes that obscure phylogenetic reconstruction of multigene families (including sampling error, variable degrees of orthology and paralogy, differential lineage age and lineage loss and/or proliferation) demonstrates that incongruence between organismal and retrotransposon trees is expected under conditions in which vertical processes are the sole means of transmission. Identification of closely related elements between species allowed rates ofcopia-like retrotransposon sequence evolution to be estimated as approximately 10−9 nucleotide substitutions/site/year. These rates are consistent with the interpretation that these retrotransposons have been evolving under functional constraints for most of the time frame bracketed by the species studied. Extrapolation of these results to previous studies that sampled from more highly divergent taxa indicates that horizontal transfer need not be invoked to explain observed phylogenetic patterns.
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VanderWiel, P.L., Voytas, D.F. & Wendel, J.F. Copia-like retrotransposable element evolution in diploid and polyploid cotton (Gossypium L.). J Mol Evol 36, 429–447 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02406720
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02406720