Common features of three inversions in wheat chloroplast DNA

Abstract

We have determined the DNA sequences of regions involved in two of the three inversions known to have occurred during the evolution of wheat chloroplast DNA. This establishes the extent of the second largest of the three inversions. Examination of these sequences suggests that although short repeated sequences are present, the endpoints of the second and third inversions are not associated with repeated sequences as long as those associated with the first inversion. However the endpoints of all three inversions are all adjacent to at least one tRNA gene, and there is evidence that three of the tRNA genes have been subjected to partial duplication, possibly at the time of inversion. This suggests that tRNA genes might be involved with rearrangements of chloroplast DNA, as has also been postulated for mitochondrial DNA.