Search

The transfer of genetic material from the mitochondria and plastid to the nucleus gives rise to nuclear integrants of mitochondrial DNA (NUMTs) and nuclear integrants of plastid DNA (NUPTs). This frequently occurring DNA transfer is ongoing and has important evolutionary implications. In this review, based on previous studies and the analysis of NUMT/NUPT insertions of more than 200 sequenced plant genomes, we analyzed and summarized the general features of NUMTs/NUPTs and highlighted the genetic consequence of organellar DNA insertions. The statistics of organellar DNA integrants among various plant genomes revealed that organellar DNA-derived sequence content is positively correlated with the nuclear genome size. After integration, the nuclear organellar DNA could undergo different fates, including elimination, mutation, rearrangement, fragmentation, and proliferation. The integrated organellar DNAs play important roles in increasing genetic diversity, promoting gene and genome evolution, and are involved in sex chromosome evolution in dioecious plants. The integrating mechanisms, involving non-homologous end joining at double-strand breaks were also discussed.

The taxonomic status of the subspecies of Aselliscus stoliczkanus (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) in China has yet to reach a consensus. To explore the variation and differentiation among populations of A. stoliczkanus from different regions of China, we conducted a series of bat surveys from 2012 to 2015. We performed multivariate morphological analyses using 16 external and 18 skull measurements and compared the sequence divergences of 2 mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b [Cytb] and cytochrome oxidase I [COI]). There were significant differences in external and skull measurements, particularly in the upper and lower canines, in the specimens from Guangxi compared with those from southwestern Yunnan and Guizhou. Sequence variation of the Cytb and COI genes was 11.0-13.2% and 12.4-14.0%, respectively, which represents differentiation at the species level. The samples from Guangxi were clustered with A. dongbacana from Vietnam in the phylogenetic trees based on COI sequences, and their sequence divergence was less than 3.2%. Based on the morphological and molecular results, we inferred that the samples from Guangxi were A. dongbacana, which represents a new record in China. Skull measurements of A. stoliczkanus from southwestern Yunnan exhibited significant morphological differences compared with those from Anlong County of Guizhou, and the sequence divergences of the Cytb and COI genes were 5.7-6.3% and 6.4-6.7%, respectively. Therefore, A. stoliczkanus from southwestern Yunnan and Anlong County of Guizhou might represent different subspecies. Finally, the phylogenetic analyses and minimal Cytb divergences of 0.2-0.9% indicated that specimens from southwestern and central Yunnan should be considered the same subspecies. Samples from Anlong County of Guizhou, Sichuan, and South Yunnan, with low Cytb divergences of 0.1-0.7%, represent another subspecies. A greater COI gene divergence was found between Libo and Anlong County of Guizhou; thus, the samples from Libo might represent yet another subspecies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The taxonomic status of subspecies of Hipposideros pomona (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) in China is controversial and uncertain. To explore the differences and subspecies differentiation in H. pomona from different regions of China, we conducted a series of bat surveys from 2011 to 2014. We performed multivariate morphometric analyses using 16 external and 21 skull measurements based on 100 samples and compared DNA sequence divergence. The results revealed distinct differences in both the external and skull measurements of H. pomona. The Cytb and COI sequence divergences of H. pomona from 3 regions ranged from 6.0% to 8.5% and 5.2% to 8.0%, respectively, which reached the levels required for subspecies classification. In contrast, the RAG1 gene was not considered to be a good molecular marker for identifying subspecies because the sequence divergence was 0-0.7% within a region and 0-0.8% among regions. Both the morphological and molecular results of this study supported the conclusion that H. pomona from the Min-Guang coastal (SM), South Yunnan (SY), and Hainan Island (SH) subregions in South China belonged to different subspecies. The SM population represents H. p. sinesis, and the SH population may be a unique subspecies. Whether the SY population belongs to H. p. gentilis requires further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]