title: Genetic variation of NBS-LRR class resistance genes in rice lines.
abstract: The use of plant disease resistance (R) genes in breeding programs needs an understanding of their variation patterns. In our current study, we investigated the polymorphisms of 44 NBS-LRR class R-genes among 21 rice cultivars and 14 wild rice populations. Our data suggested that there were four basic types of variations: conserved, diversified, intermediate-diversified, and present/absent patterns. Common characteristics at a locus of conserved R-genes were: copy-number uniformity, clear divergence (long branches) with other paralogs, and highly identical alleles. On the other hand, copy-number variability, a nearly equal and non-zero branch lengths, and high levels of nucleotide diversity were observed at the loci of highly diversified R-genes. Research suggests that the ratio of diverse alleles to the total number of genes at a locus is one of the best criteria to characterize the variation pattern of an R-gene. Our data suggested that a significant genetic reduction was detected only in four present/absent R-genes, compared with the variation observed in wild rice. In general, no difference was detected between wild rice and cultivars, japonica and indica rice, or between lines from different geographic regions. Our results also suggested that R-genes were under strong selection, which shaped R-gene variation patterns.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Biology, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Sihai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Chunyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Zhumei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Yueyu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hang
authors.forename: Jian-Qun
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Dacheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tian
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001947:Breeding / Q000379:methods; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity