The evolution of gene CNVs in C. rubella

Authors

Affiliation

Freja Lindstedt

Department of Ecology and Genetics, Plant Ecology and Evolution, Uppsala University

Pascal Milesi

Department of Ecology and Genetics, Plant Ecology and Evolution, Uppsala University

Abstract

A decade of massive sequencing efforts has revealed that copy number variations are pervasive in eukaryotic genomes. Among them, gene copy number variations (gCNVs) have received limited attention – in part due to past technological limitations – and their evolutionary importance remains to be understood. Open evolutionary questions include gCNV mutation rates, segregation patterns and recombination rates. In a previous study, we identified gCNVs across 25 Brassicaceae species with comparative genomics. Using this knowledge, we have designed crosses in an experimental evolutionary context to take a closer look at target gCNVs (e.g. segregation pattern, change in overall mean copy number, change in variance) using the small flowering Brassicaceae plant Capsella rubella as a model.