Intron Derived Size Polymorphism in the Mitochondrial Genomes of Closely Related Chrysoporthe Species

PLoS One. 2016 Jun 6;11(6):e0156104. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156104. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

In this study, the complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes of Chrysoporthe austroafricana (190,834 bp), C. cubensis (89,084 bp) and C. deuterocubensis (124,412 bp) were determined. Additionally, the mitochondrial genome of another member of the Cryphonectriaceae, namely Cryphonectria parasitica (158,902 bp), was retrieved and annotated for comparative purposes. These genomes showed high levels of synteny, especially in regions including genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation and electron transfer, unique open reading frames (uORFs), ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) and transfer RNAs (tRNAs), as well as intron positions. Comparative analyses revealed signatures of duplication events, intron number and length variation, and varying intronic ORFs which highlighted the genetic diversity of mt genomes among the Cryphonectriaceae. These mt genomes showed remarkable size polymorphism. The size polymorphism in the mt genomes of these closely related Chrysoporthe species was attributed to the varying number and length of introns, coding sequences and to a lesser extent, intergenic sequences. Compared to publicly available fungal mt genomes, the C. austroafricana mt genome is the second largest in the Ascomycetes thus far.

MeSH terms

  • Ascomycota / classification
  • Ascomycota / genetics*
  • Base Sequence
  • DNA, Intergenic
  • DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Gene Order
  • Genes, Mitochondrial
  • Genetic Variation
  • Genome, Fungal
  • Genome, Mitochondrial*
  • Introns / genetics*
  • Molecular Sequence Annotation
  • Phylogeny
  • Polymorphism, Genetic*

Substances

  • DNA, Intergenic
  • DNA, Mitochondrial

Grants and funding

This work was co-funded by the Genomics Research Institute (GRI) University of Pretoria, the University of Pretoria Research Development Programme, the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (FABI, University of Pretoria), and the National Research Foundation (NRF) (grant number 87332). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.