Karyotype and genome evolution in Brassicaceae Lineage III. Comparative karyotypic studies through multicolour chromosome painting

• Applicant: Dr. Neela Enke
• Subject Area: Evolution and Systematics of Plants and Fungi
• Term: from 2011 to 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 206428017

Comparative chromosome painting (CCP) enables the identification of large homeologous chromosome regions shared among closely related taxa. In plants, the technique so far is only feasible in crucifers (Brassicaceae). The proposed project will elucidate chromosome rearrangements in the Brassicaceae Lineage III and aims to identify the ancestral karyotype for that lineage. This will be achieved through identifying the position of the ancestral genomic blocks (defined in previous studies) on the chromosomes of representatives of all seven tribes within Lineage III. CCP will also be applied to unveil the extent of infrageneric and intraspecific karyotypic variation within a confined species group within lineage III. The results will be analysed in relation to the Ancestral Crucifer Karyotype (ACK) as well as existing results of Brassicaceae Lineages I and II and also put into a phylogenetic framework. This will expand our knowledge on the extent of cross-species chromosomal colinearity, scenarios and rates of karyotypic alterations within Brassicaceae and the plant kingdom.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Czech Republic
• Host: Professor Dr. Martin Lysak