Skip Navigation



MBE Advance Access published online on June 29, 2005
Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msi202
This Article
Right arrow Advance Access manuscript (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Supplementary Material
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
22/10/2084    most recent
msi202v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cowan, R. K.
Right arrow Articles by Bureau, T. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cowan, R. K.
Right arrow Articles by Bureau, T. E.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org
Accepted June 21, 2005

Research Article

MUSTANG is a Novel Family of Domesticated Transposase Genes Found in Diverse Angiosperms

Rebecca K. Cowan 1, Douglas R. Hoen 1, Daniel J. Schoen 1, and Thomas E. Bureau 1*

1 McGill University, Biology Department, 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Thomas E. Bureau, E-mail: thomas.bureau{at}mcgill.ca


  Abstract

While transposons have traditionally been viewed as genomic parasites or "junk DNA", the discovery of transposon-derived host genes has fuelled an ongoing debate over the evolutionary role of transposons. In particular, while mobility-related open reading frames have been known to acquire host functions, the contribution of these types of events to the evolution of genes is not well known. Here we report that genome-wide searches for Mutator transposase-derived host genes in Arabidopsis thaliana (Columbia-0) and Oryza sativa ssp. japonica (cv. Nipponbare) (domesticated rice) identified 121 sequences, including the taxonomically-conserved MUSTANG1. Syntenic MUSTANG1 orthologs in such varied plant species as rice, poplar, Arabidopsis, and Medicago truncatula appear to be under purifying selection. However, despite the evidence of this pathway of gene evolution, MUSTANG1 belongs to one of only two Mutator-like gene families with members in both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, suggesting that Mutator-like elements seldom evolve into taxonomically widespread host genes.

Keywords: Genome; Evolution; Transposons; Plants.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
R. Lin, Y. Teng, H.-J. Park, L. Ding, C. Black, P. Fang, and H. Wang
Discrete and Essential Roles of the Multiple Domains of Arabidopsis FHY3 in Mediating Phytochrome A Signal Transduction
Plant Physiology, October 1, 2008; 148(2): 981 - 992.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
D. R. Hoen, K. C. Park, N. Elrouby, Z. Yu, N. Mohabir, R. K. Cowan, and T. E. Bureau
Transposon-Mediated Expansion and Diversification of a Family of ULP-like Genes
Mol. Biol. Evol., June 1, 2006; 23(6): 1254 - 1268.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.