Comparative analyses of sex chromosomes and autosomes in Rumex acetosa. Rumex acetosa comparative study

The presence of dioecious species with well-established sex chromosomes is very rare in the plant kingdom. Common sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a dioecious plant with chromosomal sex determination. Although the evolution of sex chromosomes has been the subject of numerous studies, a global view of sex chromosome structure is still missing in this species. We have flow-sorted and separately sequenced sex chromosomes and autosomes in R.acetosa. We have identified and quantified individual repeats and compared their distribution within individual chromosomes. We focused on the role of various repetitive elements in the process of X and Y chromosome evolution. Our data demonstrate that the R.acetosa genome was formed by the expansion of several repetitive elements with a specific pattern of distribution in the case of the sex chromosomes. We show that some tandem repeats and retroelements are ubiquitous in the R.acetosa genome but surprisingly absent on X and/or Y chromosomes. We provide first chromosome specific repeatome analysis in plant species possessing sex chromosomes.