DNA variation in the basic chitinase locus (ChiB) region of the wild plant Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

Nucleotide variation in a 2.2-kbp region of basic chitinase (ChiB) locus in 17 ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana was compared with previously investigated regions to investigate genetic mechanisms acting on DNA polymorphism. In the ChiB region, dimorphic DNA variation was detected, as in the Adh and ChiA regions. Nucleotide diversity (pi) of the entire region was 0.0091, which was similar to those of the two other regions. About half of polymorphic sites (37/87) in the ChiB region were observed in only two ecotypes. Tajima's D was negative but not significantly, while Fu and Li's D* was positive. Neither McDonald-Kreitman nor Hudson, Kreitman, Aguadé tests showed a significant result, indicating that these loci were under similar evolutionary mechanisms before and after speciation. Linkage disequilibria were observed within the three regions because of dimorphic polymorphisms. Interlocus linkage disequilibrium was not detected between the Adh and the two chitinase regions, but was observed between the ChiA and ChiB regions. This could be due to epistatic interaction between the two chitinase loci, which are located on different chromosomes.