Evidence of non-tandemly repeated rDNAs and their intragenomic heterogeneity in Rhizophagus irregularis

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<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) species are some of the most widespread symbionts of land plants. Our much improved reference genome assembly of a model AMF, <jats:italic>Rhizophagus irregularis</jats:italic> DAOM-181602 (total contigs = 210), facilitated a discovery of repetitive elements with unusual characteristics. <jats:italic>R. irregularis</jats:italic> has only ten or 11 copies of complete 45S rDNAs, whereas the general eukaryotic genome has tens to thousands of rDNA copies. <jats:italic>R. irregularis</jats:italic> rDNAs are highly heterogeneous and lack a tandem repeat structure. These findings provide evidence for the hypothesis that rDNA heterogeneity depends on the lack of tandem repeat structures. RNA-Seq analysis confirmed that all rDNA variants are actively transcribed. Observed rDNA/rRNA polymorphisms may modulate translation by using different ribosomes depending on biotic and abiotic interactions. The non-tandem repeat structure and intragenomic heterogeneity of AMF rDNA/rRNA may facilitate successful adaptation to various environmental conditions, increasing host compatibility of these symbiotic fungi.</jats:p>

Journal

  • Communications Biology

    Communications Biology 1 (1), 87-, 2018-07-10

    Springer Science and Business Media LLC

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