Originally published as Genetics Published Articles Ahead of Print on February 19, 2006.

Genetics, Vol. 173, 349-362, May 2006, Copyright © 2006
doi:10.1534/genetics.105.049726

Alignment of the Genomes of Brachypodium distachyon and Temperate Cereals and Grasses Using Bacterial Artificial Chromosome Landing With Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization

Robert Hasterok^*,1, Agnieszka Marasek, Iain S. Donnison, Ian Armstead, Ann Thomas, Ian P. King, Elzbieta Wolny^*, Dominika Idziak^*, John Draper and Glyn Jenkins

^* Department of Plant Anatomy and Cytology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, 40-032 Katowice, Poland, Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Research Institute of Pomology and Floriculture, 96-100 Skierniewice, Poland, Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth SY23 3EB, Wales, United Kingdom and Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Wales Aberystwyth, Penglais, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3DA, Wales, United Kingdom

¹ Corresponding author: Department of Plant Anatomy and Cytology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, Jagiellonska 28, 40-032 Katowice, Poland.
E-mail: hasterok{at}us.edu.pl

As part of an initiative to develop Brachypodium distachyon as a genomic "bridge" species between rice and the temperate cereals and grasses, a BAC library has been constructed for the two diploid (2n = 2x = 10) genotypes, ABR1 and ABR5. The library consists of 9100 clones, with an approximate average insert size of 88 kb, representing 2.22 genome equivalents. To validate the usefulness of this species for comparative genomics and gene discovery in its larger genome relatives, the library was screened by PCR using primers designed on previously mapped rice and Poaceae sequences. Screening indicated a degree of synteny between these species and B. distachyon, which was confirmed by fluorescent in situ hybridization of the marker-selected BACs (BAC landing) to the 10 chromosome arms of the karyotype, with most of the BACs hybridizing as single loci on known chromosomes. Contiguous BACs colocalized on individual chromosomes, thereby confirming the conservation of genome synteny and proving that B. distachyon has utility as a temperate grass model species alternative to rice.

International Access Link

Online ISSN: 1943-2361  Print ISSN: 0016-6731
Copyright 2009 by the Genetics Society of America
phone: 412-268-1812   fax: 412-268-1813   email: genetics-gsa{at}andrew.cmu.edu