In wheat ctDNA, segments of ribosomal protein genes are dispersed repeats, probably conserved by nonreciprocal recombination

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Abstract
Some dispersed repeated sequences and their flanking regions from wheat and maize ctDNAs have been characterized. Two sets of wheat ctDNA repeats were found to be the chloroplast ribosomal protein genesrpl2 andrpl23, plus nonfunctional segments of them, designatedrpl2′ andrpl23′. Pairwise comparisons were made between the wheatrp123 andrpl23′, and the maizerp123′ sequences. The precise patterns of homology suggest that the divergence of the wheat and maize nonfunctional (rpl23′) sequences is being retarded by nonreciprocal recombination, biased by selection for individuals with functional (rpl23) sequences. The implied involvement of these sequences in mechanisms of homologous recombination, and therefore in the creation and spread of new ctDNA variants, is discussed.