title: Architecture and evolution of a minute plant genome.
abstract: It has been argued that the evolution of plant genome size is principally unidirectional and increasing owing to the varied action of whole-genome duplications (WGDs) and mobile element proliferation. However, extreme genome size reductions have been reported in the angiosperm family tree. Here we report the sequence of the 82-megabase genome of the carnivorous bladderwort plant Utricularia gibba. Despite its tiny size, the U. gibba genome accommodates a typical number of genes for a plant, with the main difference from other plant genomes arising from a drastic reduction in non-genic DNA. Unexpectedly, we identified at least three rounds of WGD in U. gibba since common ancestry with tomato (Solanum) and grape (Vitis). The compressed architecture of the U. gibba genome indicates that a small fraction of intergenic DNA, with few or no active retrotransposons, is sufficient to regulate and integrate all the processes required for the development and reproduction of a complex organism.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, 36821 Irapuato, Guanajuato, México.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ibarra-Laclette
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hernández-Guzmán
authors.forename: Claudia Anahí
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Pérez-Torres
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carretero-Paulet
authors.forename: Tien-Hao
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Tianying
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Andreanna J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Welch
authors.forename: María Jazmín Abraham
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Juárez
authors.forename: June
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: Araceli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernández-Cortés
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arteaga-Vázquez
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Góngora-Castillo
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Acevedo-Hernández
authors.forename: Stephan C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Himmelbauer
authors.forename: André E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Minoche
authors.forename: Sen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: Araceli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oropeza-Aburto
authors.forename: Sergio Alan
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Cervantes-Pérez
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Jesús Ortega-Estrada
authors.forename: Jacob Israel
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Cervantes-Luevano
authors.forename: Todd P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Michael
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mockler
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herrera-Estrella
authors.forename: Victor A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Herrera-Estrella
mesh_terms: D021901:DNA, Intergenic / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020440:Gene Duplication / Q000235:genetics; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D018745:Genome, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000235:genetics*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D032322:Solanum / Q000235:genetics; D026801:Synteny / Q000235:genetics; D027843:Vitis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D021901:DNA, Intergenic