Repetitive sequences in the genome ofAnemone blanda: Identification of tandem arrays and of dispersed repeats

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Abstract
A tandemly repetitive sequence family (AbS1) and a repetitive sequence (Hd) forming part of a larger dispersed element (dorf-1) ofAnemone blanda were characterised. TheAbS1 satellite sequence family is located in all 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) positive intercalary heterochromatic bands and in the DAPI positive heterochromatic terminal region of chromosome 3, while the dispersedHd homologous sequences are preferentially associated with euchromatic chromosome regions. The major component of theAbS1 satellite isAbS1-H1 with a basic repeat unit of 1640 bp; a minor fraction (AbS1-H5) consists of 320 bp units. A subsection of theAbS1-H1 repeat unit exhibits homologies to the 25S rRNA gene of flowering plants suggesting that the 1.64 kb satellite was generated by amplification of a precursor satellite and/or single copy sequence together with an rDNA fragment. The rDNA homologous region is considered to evolve at a rate similar to pseudogenes and thus the age of this satellite DNA fraction can be roughly estimated as about 27 million years. The dispersed repeated sequenceHd (about 1300 bp) is associated with the 8 kb elementdorf-1. A. blanda dorf-1 constitutes about 0.2% of the genome (3×104 copies), is bounded by identical long terminal repeats, and exhibits partial homology to theLilium gypsy-type elementdell, but has yet to be confirmed as a retrotransposon. In contrast to theAbS1 satellite sequence family,Hd homologous sequences were found not only inA. apennina, the closest relative ofA. blanda, but also inA. nemorosa andA. ranunculoides indicating that a progenitor sequence ofdorf-1 was present in a common ancestor before speciation ocurred.