Chromosome organization of Ty1-copia-like retrotransposons in the tomato genome

Ty1-copia-like retrotransposons were discovered in all studied plants and form a considerable fraction of their genomes. PCR amplification of a pool of fragments of the reverse transcriptase gene of Ty1-copia-like retrotransposons of the tomato genome was conducted and their physical organization in mitotic and meiotic chromosomes was studied. The method of fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed the location of retrotransposons in the pericentromeric heterochromatin and their absence in the nucleolus organizer region. Knowledge of physical distribution of retrotransposons in the tomato genome is important when constructing molecular markers on their basis. Comparative analysis of chromosomal location of retrotransposons in different plant species extends our knowledge of the plant genome evolution.