The Amount of Nitrogen Used for Photosynthesis Modulates Molecular Evolution in Plants

Genome and transcript sequences are composed of long strings of nucleotide monomers (A, C, G, and T/U) that require different quantities of nitrogen atoms for biosynthesis. Here, it is shown that the strength of selection acting on transcript nitrogen content is influenced by the amount of nitrogen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular biology and evolution 2018-07, Vol.35 (7), p.1616-1625
Main Author: Kelly, Steven
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Crops, Agricultural - genetics
Crops, Agricultural - metabolism
Discoveries
Evolution, Molecular
Nitrogen - metabolism
Photosynthesis
Selection, Genetic
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Summary:Genome and transcript sequences are composed of long strings of nucleotide monomers (A, C, G, and T/U) that require different quantities of nitrogen atoms for biosynthesis. Here, it is shown that the strength of selection acting on transcript nitrogen content is influenced by the amount of nitrogen plants require to conduct photosynthesis. Specifically, plants that require more nitrogen to conduct photosynthesis experience stronger selection on transcript sequences to use synonymous codons that cost less nitrogen to biosynthesize. It is further shown that the strength of selection acting on transcript nitrogen cost constrains molecular sequence evolution such that genes experiencing stronger selection evolve at a slower rate. Together these findings reveal that the plant molecular clock is set by photosynthetic efficiency, and provide a mechanistic explanation for changes in plant speciation rates that occur concomitant with improvements in photosynthetic efficiency and changes in the environment such as light, temperature, and atmospheric CO2 concentration.
ISSN:0737-4038
1537-1719
DOI:10.1093/molbev/msy043