title: Comparative analysis of rosaceous genomes and the reconstruction of a putative ancestral genome for the family.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Comparative genome mapping studies in Rosaceae have been conducted until now by aligning genetic maps within the same genus, or closely related genera and using a limited number of common markers. The growing body of genomics resources and sequence data for both Prunus and Fragaria permits detailed comparisons between these genera and the recently released Malus × domestica genome sequence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We generated a comparative analysis using 806 molecular markers that are anchored genetically to the Prunus and/or Fragaria reference maps, and physically to the Malus genome sequence. Markers in common for Malus and Prunus, and Malus and Fragaria, respectively were 784 and 148. The correspondence between marker positions was high and conserved syntenic blocks were identified among the three genera in the Rosaceae. We reconstructed a proposed ancestral genome for the Rosaceae.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A genome containing nine chromosomes is the most likely candidate for the ancestral Rosaceae progenitor. The number of chromosomal translocations observed between the three genera investigated was low. However, the number of inversions identified among Malus and Prunus was much higher than any reported genome comparisons in plants, suggesting that small inversions have played an important role in the evolution of these two genera or of the Rosaceae.
authors.affiliation: IRTA, Centre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica CSIC-IRTA-UAB, Carretera de Cabrils Km 2, 08348 Cabrils (Barcelona), Spain.
authors.forename: Eudald
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Illa
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Sargent
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lopez Girona
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bushakra
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cestaro
authors.forename: Ross
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Crowhurst
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pindo
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van der Knaap
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iezzoni
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gardiner
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Velasco
authors.forename: Pere
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arús
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chagné
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Troggio
mesh_terms: D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D031985:Fragaria / Q000235:genetics; D018745:Genome, Plant; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D027861:Prunus / Q000235:genetics; D027824:Rosaceae / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins