Plant Biology Commons^™

The Complete Plastid Genome Sequence Of Welwitschia Mirabilis: An Unusually Compact Plastome With Accelerated Divergence Rates, Skip R. Mccoy, Jennifer V. Kuehl, Jeffrey L. Boore, Linda A. Raubeson

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Background

Welwitschia mirabilis is the only extant member of the family Welwitschiaceae, one of three lineages of gnetophytes, an enigmatic group of gymnosperms variously allied with flowering plants or conifers. Limited sequence data and rapid divergence rates have precluded consensus on the evolutionary placement of gnetophytes based on molecular characters. Here we report on the first complete gnetophyte chloroplast genome sequence, from Welwitschia mirabilis, as well as analyses on divergence rates of protein-coding genes, comparisons of gene content and order, and phylogenetic implications.

Results

The chloroplast genome of Welwitschia mirabilis [GenBank: EU342371] is comprised of 119,726 base pairs and exhibits …

Whole-Plant Mineral Partitioning Throughout The Life Cycle In Arabidopsis Thaliana Ecotypes Columbia, Landsberg Erecta, Cape Verde Islands, And The Mutant Line Ysl1ysl3, Brian M. Waters, Michael A. Grusak

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Minimal information exists on whole-plant dynamics of mineral flow through Arabidopsis thaliana or on the source tissues responsible for mineral export to developing seeds. Understanding these phenomena in a model plant could help in the development of nutritionally enhanced crop cultivars. A whole-plant partitioning study, using sequential harvests, was conducted to characterize growth and mineral concentrations and contents of rosettes, cauline leaves, stems, immature fruit, mature fruit hulls, and seeds of three WT lines (Col-0, Ler, and Cvi) and one mutant line (Col-0::ysl1ysl3). Shoot mineral content increased throughout the life cycle for all minerals, although tissue-specific …