陆地棉LTR反转录转座子的数量分布与功能分析

LTR(Long terminal repeat)反转录转座子是真核生物基因组中普遍存在的一类遗传因子,它们以RNA为媒介在基因组中不断自我复制.在高等植物中,LTR反转录转座子是基因组的重要成分之一.本研究通过多种方法挖掘并注释了陆地棉基因组中的LTR反转录转座子,结果表明陆地棉基因组LTR反转录转座子的Gypsy超家族与基因的分布呈近似的反比关系,而Copia超家族在各染色体的起始端有较多的分布.通过皮尔森相关系数发现陆地棉LTR反转录转座子的拷贝数与染色体大小之间有强相关性.在LTR反转录转座子上游和下游分布的基因具有类似的富集特征,其分子功能主要集中在结合和催化活性等方面.本研究结果加深了对陆地棉LTR反转录转座子的认识,为深入研究棉花基因组提供了重要数据支撑.

Quantitative Distribution and Functional Analysis of LTR Retrotransposons in Gossypium hirsutum

LTR(Long terminal repeat)retrotransposons in eukaryotes are mobile genetic elements with ubiquitous distribution,these elements can amplify themselves via RNA intermediates and increase their copy numbers in genome.In high plants,LTR retrotransposon is an important component of genome.In this study,LTR retrotransposons of Gossypium hirsutum were excavated and annotated by a variety of methods,the results showed that the Gypsy superfamily of LTR retrotransposons in Gossypium hirsutum was approximately inversely related to the distribution of genes,while Copia superfamily distributes more at the starting terminal of each chromosome.Pearson correlation coefficients showed that there was a strong correlation between the LTR retrotransposons copy number and chromosome size in Gossypium hirsutum.Furthermore,the genes enrichment in either upstream or downstream of the LTR retrotransposons exhibit similar characteristics,and the molecular functions mainly focus on binding and catalytic activity etc.Our research will lead to a better understanding of LTR retrotransposons in Gossypium hirsutum genome and provide important data support for further study of cotton genome.