Summary
Genome sizes and single copy complexity values have been estimated for eight Atriplex species and spinach by analysis of DNA reassociation kinetics. These values, together with measurements of interspecific hybridization carried out with purified single copy tracers, have been used to estimate the absolute amount of single copy DNA which is composed of homologous sequences in various species. The data show a large variation in cross reactivity for different species pairs which is best explained by postulating that these genomes were subject to extensive deletion during evolution of different lineages. At most, only about 5 × 107 nucleotide pairs of single copy DNA (about 10 times the amount in an E. coli genome) appear to be necessary to specify phenotypic features common to Atriplex species.
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This research was supported in part by NSF grant DEB76-83405 and funds from the Carnegie Institution of Washington. This paper is Publication No. 717 from the Department of Plant Biology, and is based on a portion of a dissertation submitted by H.S.B. in partial fulfilment of the Ph.D requirements in the Department of Botany, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
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Belford, H., Thompson, W. Single copy DNA homologies in Atriplex. I. Cross reactivity estimates and the role of deletions in genome evolution. Heredity 46, 91–108 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1981.9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1981.9
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