Article CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
refereed
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Transposable elements contribute to the establishment of the glycine shuttle in Brassicaceae species

ORCID
0000-0001-7796-4631
Affiliation
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute for Plant Biochemistry, Germany
Triesch, S.;
Affiliation
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute for Plant Biochemistry, Germany
Denton, A. K.;
Affiliation
Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Bouvier, J. W.;
Affiliation
Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Germany
Buchmann, J. P.;
Affiliation
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute for Plant Biochemistry, Germany
Reichel‐Deland, V.;
ORCID
0000-0003-2472-5260
Affiliation
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Germany
Guerreiro, R. N. F. M.;
Affiliation
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute for Plant Biochemistry, Germany
Busch, N.;
Affiliation
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute for Plant Biochemistry, Germany
Schlüter, U.;
GND
133077462
ORCID
0000-0001-6791-8068
Affiliation
Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Germany
Stich, Benjamin;
Affiliation
Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Kelly, S.;
ORCID
0000-0003-0970-4672
Affiliation
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute for Plant Biochemistry, Germany
Weber, A. P. M.

  • C3-C4 intermediate photosynthesis has evolved at least five times convergently in the Brassicaceae, despite this family lacking bona fide C4 species. The establishment of this carbon concentrating mechanism is known to require a complex suite of ultrastructural modifications, as well as changes in spatial expression patterns, which are both thought to be underpinned by a reconfiguration of existing gene-regulatory networks. However, to date, the mechanisms which underpin the reconfiguration of these gene networks are largely unknown.
  • In this study, we used a pan-genomic association approach to identify genomic features that could confer differential gene expression towards the C3-C4 intermediate state by analysing eight C3 species and seven C3-C4 species from five independent origins in the Brassicaceae.
  • We found a strong correlation between transposable element (TE) insertions in cis-regulatory regions and C3-C4 intermediacy. Specifically, our study revealed 113 gene models in which the presence of a TE within a gene correlates with C3-C4 intermediate photosynthesis. In this set, genes involved in the photorespiratory glycine shuttle are enriched, including the glycine decarboxylase P-protein whose expression domain undergoes a spatial shift during the transition to C3-C4 photosynthesis. When further interrogating this gene, we discovered independent TE insertions in its upstream region which we conclude to be responsible for causing the spatial shift in GLDP1 gene expression.
  • Our findings hint at a pivotal role of TEs in the evolution of C3-C4 intermediacy, especially in mediating differential spatial gene expression.

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