Genomic data from pooled root and shoot tissue of Arabidopsis thaliana, Arabidopsis halleri and Arabidopsis lyrata. Genomic data from pooled root and shoot tissue of Arabidopsis thaliana, Arabidopsis halleri and Arabidopsis lyrata

Gene copy number variation (CNV) is a form of genetic polymorphism that contributes significantly to genome size and function but remains poorly characterized due to technological limitations. Inter-specific comparisons of CNVs in recently diverged plant species are crucial to uncover selection patterns underlying adaptation of a species to stressful environments. Especially given that gene amplifications have long been implicated in emergence of species-specific traits, we conducted a genome-wide survey to identify species-specific gene copy number expansions and deletions in the model extremophile species - Arabidopsis halleri that has diverged in evolutionarily recent time from Arabidopsis thaliana. Cross-species cDNA array based comparative genomic hybridization was employed to compare and identify gene copy number variation in the two sister-species - the metallophyte Arabidopsis halleri and non-metallophyte Arabidopsis lyrata, both relative to Arabidopsis thaliana. We uncovered an unprecedented level of gene copy number polymorphism in Arabidopsis halleri, with a species-specific enrichment of metal homeostasis function in the genes found to be copy number expanded, thus indicating CNV as a mechanism that underlies the key physiological trait of metal hyperaccumulation and hypetolerance in A. halleri. Overall design: A total of 6 gDNA samples were hybridized to Affymetrix cDNA microarrays, two biological replicates for each of the three Arabidopsis species.