The Roles of Mutation and Selection Acting on Mitochondrial Genomes Inferred from Intraspecific Variation in Seed Plants

There is a paradox in the plant mitochondrial genome, that is, the genic region evolves slowly while the intergenic region evolves rapidly. Thus, the intergenic regions of the plant mitochondrial genome are difficult to align across different species, even in closely related species. Here, to character the mechanism of this paradox, we identified interspecific variations in the Ginkgo biloba, Oryza sativa, and Arabidopsis thaliana mitochondrial and plastid genome at a genome-wide level. The substitution rate of synonymous sites in genic regions was similar to the substitution rate of intergenic regions, while the substitution rate of nonsynonymous sites in genic regions was lower than that in intergenic regions, suggesting the mutation inputs were the same among different categories within the organelle genome, but the selection pressure varied. The substitution rate of single-copy regions was higher than that of IR (inverted repeats) in the plastid genome at an intraspecific level. The substitution rate of single-copy regions was higher than that of repeats in the G. biloba and A. thaliana mitochondrial genomes, but lower in that of O. sativa. This difference may be related to the length and distribution of repeats. Copy number variations that existed in the G. biloba and O. sativa mitochondrial genomes were confirmed. This study reveals the intraspecific variation pattern of organelle genomes at a genome-wide level, and that copy number variations were common in plant mitochondrial genomes.

Automated summary

There is a paradox in the evolution of plant mitochondrial genomes, with genic regions evolving slowly and intergenic regions evolving rapidly. This study identifies the mechanism behind this paradox and reveals interspecific variations in mitochondrial and plastid genomes. The findings suggest that mutation inputs are the same across different categories within the organelle genome, but the selection pressure varies. Copy number variations are also common in plant mitochondrial genomes.