The 5S rRNA gene in sea barley (Hordeum marinum Hudson sensu lato): sequence variation among repeat units and relationship to the X haplome in barley (Hordeum).

We have investigated the molecular diversity of the 5S rDNA units in sea barley, comprising Hordeum marinum and Hordeum geniculatum. Although we were unable to detect "short" units after screening of 639 clones, we found two unit classes, one 602-607 bp long and the other 507-512 bp long. We classify the shortest unit class of the two as belonging to the "long H1" unit class, identified in previous papers. The longest unit class is not similar to any unit class so far identified, and is therefore unique. It was coined by us as the "long X1," to reflect the X haplome. We present a summary of all the unit classes so far described in Hordeum. We carried out a cladistic analysis, based on the "long H1" (orthologous) sequences, that included H. vulgare, H. spontaneum, H. bulbosum, H. marinum, H. geniculatum, and H. bogdanii. As a result, the first three grouped in one clade, and the other three in the other clade, with the latter clade being more isolated. These results reflect current knowledge of relationships based on morphology, cytology, and genome analysis. Furthermore, the sequences from the 5S unit classes may be potentially useful as DNA probes for genomic identification and genetic transfer in the Triticeae.