Jumping genes built new root controls in wheat's genome
Liu J, Li Z, Zhao S, Li H, Zhang B
Crop Improvement
The wheat, barley, and rye that end up in your bread all owe some of their root toughness to ancient viral-like DNA fragments that got recruited as genetic switches, a discovery that could help breeders build more resilient grain crops.
Every plant's DNA has stretches that act like light switches, turning genes on or off in specific places, like the roots. Researchers looked at seven cereal grains, including wheat, and found that more than half of the newest switches unique to each species came from 'jumping genes,' mobile bits of DNA that can copy themselves around the genome. These borrowed switches turned out to be especially active in roots and in defense against threats, suggesting that wheat and its relatives repeatedly reused this jumping-gene trick to fine-tune their root systems as their genomes duplicated over evolutionary time.
Key Findings
Chromatin-bound RNA sequencing across seven cereal species identified 45,952 regulatory element transcripts, including 32,867 enhancer RNAs (eRNAs).
56% of lineage-specific eRNAs originated from transposable element expansions, marking TEs as major drivers of species-specific regulatory innovation.
Young, highly similar eRNA pairs in hexaploid wheat, many derived from RLG_famc8.3 and DTC_famc4.3 transposon families, showed strong root-specific and coordinated expression.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists mapped thousands of DNA 'switches' in wheat and other cereal grains, finding that over half of the species-specific ones came from jumping genes called transposable elements, especially in root tissue. This helps explain how cereal crops evolved new traits after genome duplication and could guide future breeding for better roots.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Transposable element-driven expansion of enhancer RNA repertoires underlies regulatory innovation and polyploid adaptation in cereal crops.
Cereal genomes have undergone repeated polyploidization and transposable element (TE) proliferation, collectively generating complex regulatory landscapes. However, the evolutionary trajectories an...
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