BACKGROUND AND AIMS Among-population differentiation in phenotypic traits and allelic variation is expected as a consequence of isolation, drift, founder effects and local selection. Therefore, investigating molecular and quantitative genetic divergence is a pre-requisite for studies of local adaptation in response to selection under variable environmental conditions. METHODS Among- and withi...

In an ongoing effort to trace the evolution of the sex chromosomes of Silene latifolia, we have searched for the existence of repetitive sequences specific to these chromosomes in the genome of this species by direct isolation from low-melting agarose gels of satellite DNA bands generated by digestion with restriction enzymes. Five monomeric units belonging to a highly repetitive family isolate...

BACKGROUND Genome size evolution is a complex process influenced by polyploidization, satellite DNA accumulation, and expansion of retroelements. How this process could be affected by different reproductive strategies is still poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We analyzed differences in the number and distribution of major repetitive DNA elements in two closely related species...

One of the long-standing mysteries in genomic evolution is the observation that much of the genome is composed of repetitive DNA, resulting in inter- and intraspecific variation in nuclear DNA content. Our discovery of a negative correlation between nuclear DNA content and flower size in Silene latifolia has been supported by our subsequent investigation of changes in DNA content as a correlate...

There are two very interesting aspects to the evolution of sex chromosomes: what happens after recombination between these chromosome pairs stops and why suppressed recombination evolves. The former question has been intensively studied in a diversity of organisms, but the latter has been studied largely theoretically. To obtain empirical data, we used codominant genic markers in genetic mappin...

An RFLP genomic subtraction was used to isolate male-specific sequences in the species Silene latifolia. One isolated fragment, SLP2, shares similarity to a portion of the Activator (Ac) transposase from Zea mays and to related proteins from other plant species. Southern blot analysis of male and female S. latifolia genomic DNA shows that SLP2 belongs to a low-copy-number repeat family with two...

Most dioecious plant species are believed to derive from hermaphrodite ancestors. The regulatory pathways that have been modified during evolution of the hermaphrodite ancestors and led to the emergence of dioecious species still remain unknown. Silene latifolia is a dioecious plant species harboring XY sex chromosomes. To identify the molecular mechanisms involved in female organ suppression i...

Specialization in plant-insect interactions is an important driver of evolutionary divergence; yet, plant traits mediating such interactions are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated how flower color and floral scent are related to seed predation by a seed-eating pollinator. We used field-transplanted recombinant F2 hybrids between Silene latifolia and S. dioica that are the preferr...