文献类型：期刊文献

英文题名：Transposable Element-Mediated Structural Variation Drives Flower Colour Diversification in Camellia

作者：Fan, Menglong[1,2] Jiang, Hong[1] Qu, Yuxiao[2] Zhang, Ying[1] Li, Xinlei[1] Wang, Yan[2]

第一作者：Fan, Menglong

通信作者：Li, XL[1]

机构：[1]Chinese Acad Forestry, Res Inst Subtrop Forestry, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Peoples R China;[2]Chinese Acad Forestry, Res Inst Forestry, Beijing, Peoples R China

年份：2025

外文期刊名：PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

收录：;Scopus(收录号：2-s2.0-105021241729);WOS:【SCI-EXPANDED(收录号:WOS:001608604800001)】；

基金：In loving memory of my supervisor, Professor Zhenyuan Sun. Your untimely passing left a void that cannot be filled. Though you cannot see the final form of this work, your guiding hand is evident in every chapter-your wisdom was the compass that steered me through its greatest challenges; thank you for everything. We also acknowledge Yunpeng Zhao (College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, China) for the technical assistance. We would like to thank Professor Zhonglang Wang, Shixiong Yang and Xiangqin Yu at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Kunming Institute of Botany), and Wenju Zhang at the University of Fudan for their help in accession collection. We also acknowledge Guoren He for the experimental guidance.

语种：英文

外文关键词：camellia; flower colour; genome; structure variant; transposable element

摘要：The role of transposable elements (TEs) in genome evolution and phenotypic diversification in Camellia remains poorly understood. Here, we present an integrated analysis of genome resequencing data from 237 Camellia accessions and 11 de novo genome assemblies representing all major floral colour types. We constructed a comprehensive phylogenetic framework for the genus and suggest that the most recent common ancestor likely had white flowers. Comparative genomic analyses reveal structural variants across species that overlap with numerous transposable elements and contribute to genome content divergence. Using a graph-based genome to characterise these structural variants, we find that lineage-specific TE amplifications drive the regulatory network rewiring, which modulates homoeologous gene expression, influencing flower colour diversification. Further experimental validation identifies a lineage-specific, high-frequency presence variation mediated by a TIR transposon that regulates MYB60 expression, suppressing anthocyanin biosynthesis and leading to large-scale floral colour divergence. Therefore, these findings highlight the central role of TE-mediated regulatory innovation in the evolution of flower colour in Camellia and offer broader insights into the molecular mechanisms driving phenotypic diversification in plants.