Annotation:
Whole genome duplication and interspecific hybridization are two core processes that underline evolution and speciation in plants. They also represent widely used tools in the plant breeding. Although these two phenomena confer long-term benefits to the plant species, they bring many obstacles to be dealt with in order to stabilize the newly acquired genetic environment. In this study, we examined how newly established polyploids and interspecific hybrids of two model grass species
Festuca pratensis and
Lolium multiflorum restore the balance in cytonuclear stoichiometry to ensure correct assembly of multiprotein complexes composed of subunits encoded by both nuclear and chloroplast genomes. Our results demonstrated that the main contributor to this balance restoration is an increase in the number of chloroplast genomes, which is only partially reflected in the increase in the number of chloroplasts. The role of changes in gene expression is limited. Our findings contribute to the understanding of polyploid plant evolution, with broader implications for the study of cytonuclear interactions in diverse biological contexts.
Link