Study IDs 1,000+ mislabeled, overlooked gene fragments in plants

March 4th, 2022

Researchers have overlooked especially minuscule gene fragments that are critical to the assembly of cellular machinery and could help better trace the evolutionary history of plants, says a new study led by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

After analyzing the genomes of species ranging from algae to rice, Nebraska’s Chi Zhang, Huihui Yu and their colleagues identified more than 1,000 consequential gene fragments not accounted for in prior analyses.

Those fragments are known as exons: portions of genes that direct the production of amino acids, which themselves form the proteins responsible for all sorts of life-sustaining tasks. Correctly identifying and accounting for every exon in a gene, then, is essential to understanding how that gene influences the function or dysfunction of a cell.

The team, led by Nebraska’s Zhang, Jeffrey Mower and Bin Yu, detailed its findings in the journal Nature Communications, which recognized the paper as an Editors’ Highlight. The trio authored the study with Huihui Yu, Mu Li, Jaspreet Sandhu, Guangchao Sun, James Schnable (NFHC member) and Harkamal Walia (NFHC member), all of Nebraska, along with Weibo Xie of Huazhong Agricultural University. The researchers received support from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Nebraska Soybean Board.

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Story by Scott Schrage | UNL Communications