Double rolling circle replication (DRCR) is recombinogenic

Complex repeat structure promotes hyper-amplification and amplicon evolution through rolling-circle replication

Inverted repeats (IRs) are abundant in genomes and frequently serve as substrates for chromosomal aberrations, including gene amplification. In the early stage of amplification, repeated cycles of chromosome breakage and rearrangement, called breakage-fusion-bridge (BFB), generate a large inverted structure, which evolves into highly-amplified, complex end products. However, it remains to be determined how IRs mediate chromosome rearrangements and promote subsequent hyper-amplification and amplicon evolutions. To dissect the complex processes, we constructed repetitive structures in a yeast chromosome and selected amplified cells using genetic markers with limited expression. The genomic architecture was associated with replication stress and produced extra-/intra-chromosomal amplification. Genetic analysis revealed structure-specific endonucleases, Mus81 and Rad27, and post-replication DNA repair protein, Rad18, suppress the amplification processes. Following BFB cycles, the intra-chromosomal products undergo intensive rearrangements, such as frequent inversions and deletions, indicative of rolling-circle replication. This study presents an integrated view linking BFB cycles to hyper-amplification driven by rolling-circle replication.

Variable presence of the inverted repeat and plastome stability in Erodium

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Several unrelated lineages such as plastids, viruses and plasmids, have converged on quadripartite genomes of similar size with large and small single copy regions and a large inverted repeat (IR). Except for Erodium (Geraniaceae), saguaro cactus and some legumes, the plastomes of all photosynthetic angiosperms display this structure. The functional significance of the IR is not understood and Erodium provides a system to examine the role of the IR in the long-term stability of these genomes. We compared the degree of genomic rearrangement in plastomes of Erodium that differ in the presence and absence of the IR.

METHODS

We sequenced 17 new Erodium plastomes. Using 454, Illumina, PacBio and Sanger sequences, 16 genomes were assembled and categorized along with one incomplete and two previously published Erodium plastomes. We conducted phylogenetic analyses among these species using a dataset of 19 protein-coding genes and determined if significantly higher evolutionary rates had caused the long branch seen previously in phylogenetic reconstructions within the genus. Bioinformatic comparisons were also performed to evaluate plastome evolution across the genus.

KEY RESULTS

Erodium plastomes fell into four types (Type 1-4) that differ in their substitution rates, short dispersed repeat content and degree of genomic rearrangement, gene and intron content and GC content. Type 4 plastomes had significantly higher rates of synonymous substitutions (dS) for all genes and for 14 of the 19 genes non-synonymous substitutions (dN) were significantly accelerated. We evaluated the evidence for a single IR loss in Erodium and in doing so discovered that Type 4 plastomes contain a novel IR.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence or absence of the IR does not affect plastome stability in Erodium. Rather, the overall repeat content shows a negative correlation with genome stability, a pattern in agreement with other angiosperm groups and recent findings on genome stability in bacterial endosymbionts.

Gene amplification system based on double rolling-circle replication as a model for oncogene-type amplification

Gene amplification contributes to a variety of biological phenomena, including malignant progression and drug resistance. However, details of the molecular mechanisms remain to be determined. Here, we have developed a gene amplification system in yeast and mammalian cells that is based on double rolling-circle replication (DRCR). Cre-lox system is used to efficiently induce DRCR utilizing a recombinational process coupled with replication. This system shows distinctive features seen in amplification of oncogenes and drug-resistance genes: (i) intra- and extrachromosomal amplification, (ii) intensive chromosome rearrangement and (iii) scattered-type amplification resembling those seen in cancer cells. This system can serve as a model for amplification of oncogenes and drug-resistance genes, and improve amplification systems used for making pharmaceutical proteins in mammalian cells.