1
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Neale DB, Zimin AV, Meltzer A, Bhattarai A, Amee M, Figueroa Corona L, Allen BJ, Puiu D, Wright J, De La Torre AR, McGuire PE, Timp W, Salzberg SL, Wegrzyn JL. A genome sequence for the threatened whitebark pine. G3 (Bethesda) 2024; 14:jkae061. [PMID: 38526344 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024]
Abstract
Whitebark pine (WBP, Pinus albicaulis) is a white pine of subalpine regions in the Western contiguous United States and Canada. WBP has become critically threatened throughout a significant part of its natural range due to mortality from the introduced fungal pathogen white pine blister rust (WPBR, Cronartium ribicola) and additional threats from mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), wildfire, and maladaptation due to changing climate. Vast acreages of WBP have suffered nearly complete mortality. Genomic technologies can contribute to a faster, more cost-effective approach to the traditional practices of identifying disease-resistant, climate-adapted seed sources for restoration. With deep-coverage Illumina short reads of haploid megagametophyte tissue and Oxford Nanopore long reads of diploid needle tissue, followed by a hybrid, multistep assembly approach, we produced a final assembly containing 27.6 Gb of sequence in 92,740 contigs (N50 537,007 bp) and 34,716 scaffolds (N50 2.0 Gb). Approximately 87.2% (24.0 Gb) of total sequence was placed on the 12 WBP chromosomes. Annotation yielded 25,362 protein-coding genes, and over 77% of the genome was characterized as repeats. WBP has demonstrated the greatest variation in resistance to WPBR among the North American white pines. Candidate genes for quantitative resistance include disease resistance genes known as nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs). A combination of protein domain alignments and direct genome scanning was employed to fully describe the 3 subclasses of NLRs. Our high-quality reference sequence and annotation provide a marked improvement in NLR identification compared to previous assessments that leveraged de novo-assembled transcriptomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- David B Neale
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, Missoula, MT 59808, USA
| | - Aleksey V Zimin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Computational Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Amy Meltzer
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Computational Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Akriti Bhattarai
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Maurice Amee
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | | | - Brian J Allen
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- University of California Cooperative Extension, Central Sierra, Jackson, CA 95642, USA
| | - Daniela Puiu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Computational Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Jessica Wright
- USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Davis, CA 95618, USA
| | | | - Patrick E McGuire
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Winston Timp
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Computational Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Steven L Salzberg
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Computational Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Departments of Computer Science and Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Jill L Wegrzyn
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
- Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
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2
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Tumas H, Ilska JJ, Gérardi S, Laroche J, A’Hara S, Boyle B, Janes M, McLean P, Lopez G, Lee SJ, Cottrell J, Gorjanc G, Bousquet J, Woolliams JA, MacKay JJ. High-density genetic linkage mapping in Sitka spruce advances the integration of genomic resources in conifers. G3 (Bethesda) 2024; 14:jkae020. [PMID: 38366548 PMCID: PMC10989875 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
In species with large and complex genomes such as conifers, dense linkage maps are a useful resource for supporting genome assembly and laying the genomic groundwork at the structural, populational, and functional levels. However, most of the 600+ extant conifer species still lack extensive genotyping resources, which hampers the development of high-density linkage maps. In this study, we developed a linkage map relying on 21,570 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis [Bong.] Carr.), a long-lived conifer from western North America that is widely planted for productive forestry in the British Isles. We used a single-step mapping approach to efficiently combine RAD-seq and genotyping array SNP data for 528 individuals from 2 full-sib families. As expected for spruce taxa, the saturated map contained 12 linkages groups with a total length of 2,142 cM. The positioning of 5,414 unique gene coding sequences allowed us to compare our map with that of other Pinaceae species, which provided evidence for high levels of synteny and gene order conservation in this family. We then developed an integrated map for P. sitchensis and Picea glauca based on 27,052 markers and 11,609 gene sequences. Altogether, these 2 linkage maps, the accompanying catalog of 286,159 SNPs and the genotyping chip developed, herein, open new perspectives for a variety of fundamental and more applied research objectives, such as for the improvement of spruce genome assemblies, or for marker-assisted sustainable management of genetic resources in Sitka spruce and related species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hayley Tumas
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RB, UK
| | - Joana J Ilska
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Sebastien Gérardi
- Canada Research Chair in Forest Genomics, Forest Research Centre, Université Laval, Québec, QC GIV 0A6, Canada
- Institute for Systems and Integrative Biology, Université Laval, Québec, QC GIV 0A6, Canada
| | - Jerome Laroche
- Institute for Systems and Integrative Biology, Université Laval, Québec, QC GIV 0A6, Canada
| | - Stuart A’Hara
- Forest Research, Northern Research Station, Midlothian EH25 9SY, UK
| | - Brian Boyle
- Institute for Systems and Integrative Biology, Université Laval, Québec, QC GIV 0A6, Canada
| | - Mateja Janes
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Paul McLean
- Forest Research, Northern Research Station, Midlothian EH25 9SY, UK
| | - Gustavo Lopez
- Forest Research, Northern Research Station, Midlothian EH25 9SY, UK
| | - Steve J Lee
- Forest Research, Northern Research Station, Midlothian EH25 9SY, UK
| | - Joan Cottrell
- Forest Research, Northern Research Station, Midlothian EH25 9SY, UK
| | - Gregor Gorjanc
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Jean Bousquet
- Canada Research Chair in Forest Genomics, Forest Research Centre, Université Laval, Québec, QC GIV 0A6, Canada
- Institute for Systems and Integrative Biology, Université Laval, Québec, QC GIV 0A6, Canada
| | - John A Woolliams
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
| | - John J MacKay
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RB, UK
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3
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Cui J, Li X, Lu Z, Jin B. Plant secondary metabolites involved in the stress tolerance of long-lived trees. Tree Physiol 2024; 44:tpae002. [PMID: 38196002 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpae002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Ancient trees are natural wonders because of their longevity, having lived for hundreds or thousands of years, and their ability to withstand changing environments and a variety of stresses. These long-lived trees have sophisticated defense mechanisms, such as the production of specialized plant metabolites (SPMs). In this review, we provide an overview of the major biotic and abiotic stresses that long-lived trees often face, as well as an analysis of renowned ancient tree species and their unique protective SPMs against environmental stressors. We also discuss the synthesis and accumulation of defensive SPMs induced by environmental factors and endophytes in these trees. Furthermore, we conducted a comparative genomic analysis of 17 long-lived tree species and discovered significant expansions of SPM biosynthesis gene families in these species. Our comprehensive review reveals the crucial role of SPMs in high resistance in long-lived trees, providing a novel natural resource for plant defense, crop improvement and even the pharmaceutical industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiawen Cui
- College of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, 48 East Wenhui Road, Yangzhou 225009, China
| | - Xiang Li
- College of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, 48 East Wenhui Road, Yangzhou 225009, China
| | - Zhaogeng Lu
- College of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, 48 East Wenhui Road, Yangzhou 225009, China
| | - Biao Jin
- College of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, 48 East Wenhui Road, Yangzhou 225009, China
- Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education, Agricultural College, Yangzhou University, 48 East Wenhui Road, Yangzhou, China
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4
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Hung TH, Wu ETY, Zeltiņš P, Jansons Ā, Ullah A, Erbilgin N, Bohlmann J, Bousquet J, Birol I, Clegg SM, MacKay JJ. Long-insert sequence capture detects high copy numbers in a defence-related beta-glucosidase gene βglu-1 with large variations in white spruce but not Norway spruce. BMC Genomics 2024; 25:118. [PMID: 38281030 PMCID: PMC10821269 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-09978-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Conifers are long-lived and slow-evolving, thus requiring effective defences against their fast-evolving insect natural enemies. The copy number variation (CNV) of two key acetophenone biosynthesis genes Ugt5/Ugt5b and βglu-1 may provide a plausible mechanism underlying the constitutively variable defence in white spruce (Picea glauca) against its primary defoliator, spruce budworm. This study develops a long-insert sequence capture probe set (Picea_hung_p1.0) for quantifying copy number of βglu-1-like, Ugt5-like genes and single-copy genes on 38 Norway spruce (Picea abies) and 40 P. glauca individuals from eight and nine provenances across Europe and North America respectively. We developed local assemblies (Piabi_c1.0 and Pigla_c.1.0), full-length transcriptomes (PIAB_v1 and PIGL_v1), and gene models to characterise the diversity of βglu-1 and Ugt5 genes. We observed very large copy numbers of βglu-1, with up to 381 copies in a single P. glauca individual. We observed among-provenance CNV of βglu-1 in P. glauca but not P. abies. Ugt5b was predominantly single-copy in both species. This study generates critical hypotheses for testing the emergence and mechanism of extreme CNV, the dosage effect on phenotype, and the varying copy number of genes with the same pathway. We demonstrate new approaches to overcome experimental challenges in genomic research in conifer defences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tin Hang Hung
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK.
| | - Ernest T Y Wu
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
| | - Pauls Zeltiņš
- Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava", Salaspils, 2169, Latvia
| | - Āris Jansons
- Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava", Salaspils, 2169, Latvia
| | - Aziz Ullah
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada
| | - Nadir Erbilgin
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada
| | - Joerg Bohlmann
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Jean Bousquet
- Canada Research Chair in Forest Genomics, Forest Research Centre, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Inanc Birol
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Sonya M Clegg
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
| | - John J MacKay
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK.
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Lo T, Coombe L, Gagalova KK, Marr A, Warren RL, Kirk H, Pandoh P, Zhao Y, Moore RA, Mungall AJ, Ritland C, Pavy N, Jones SJM, Bohlmann J, Bousquet J, Birol I, Thomson A. Assembly and annotation of the black spruce genome provide insights on spruce phylogeny and evolution of stress response. G3 (Bethesda) 2023; 14:jkad247. [PMID: 37875130 PMCID: PMC10755193 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
Black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.) is a dominant conifer species in the North American boreal forest that plays important ecological and economic roles. Here, we present the first genome assembly of P. mariana with a reconstructed genome size of 18.3 Gbp and NG50 scaffold length of 36.0 kbp. A total of 66,332 protein-coding sequences were predicted in silico and annotated based on sequence homology. We analyzed the evolutionary relationships between P. mariana and 5 other spruces for which complete nuclear and organelle genome sequences were available. The phylogenetic tree estimated from mitochondrial genome sequences agrees with biogeography; specifically, P. mariana was strongly supported as a sister lineage to P. glauca and 3 other taxa found in western North America, followed by the European Picea abies. We obtained mixed topologies with weaker statistical support in phylogenetic trees estimated from nuclear and chloroplast genome sequences, indicative of ancient reticulate evolution affecting these 2 genomes. Clustering of protein-coding sequences from the 6 Picea taxa and 2 Pinus species resulted in 34,776 orthogroups, 560 of which appeared to be specific to P. mariana. Analysis of these specific orthogroups and dN/dS analysis of positive selection signatures for 497 single-copy orthogroups identified gene functions mostly related to plant development and stress response. The P. mariana genome assembly and annotation provides a valuable resource for forest genetics research and applications in this broadly distributed species, especially in relation to climate adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodora Lo
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Lauren Coombe
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Kristina K Gagalova
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Alex Marr
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - René L Warren
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Heather Kirk
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Pawan Pandoh
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Yongjun Zhao
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Richard A Moore
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Andrew J Mungall
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Carol Ritland
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Nathalie Pavy
- Canada Research Chair in Forest Genomics, Laval University, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Steven J M Jones
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Joerg Bohlmann
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Jean Bousquet
- Canada Research Chair in Forest Genomics, Laval University, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Inanç Birol
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Ashley Thomson
- Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1, Canada
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6
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Neale DB, Zimin AV, Meltzer A, Bhattarai A, Amee M, Corona LF, Allen BJ, Puiu D, Wright J, Torre ARDL, McGuire PE, Timp W, Salzberg SL, Wegrzyn JL. A Genome Sequence for the Threatened Whitebark Pine. bioRxiv 2023:2023.11.16.567420. [PMID: 38014212 PMCID: PMC10680812 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.16.567420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Whitebark pine (WBP, Pinus albicaulis ) is a white pine of subalpine regions in western contiguous US and Canada. WBP has become critically threatened throughout a significant part of its natural range due to mortality from the introduced fungal pathogen white pine blister rust (WPBR, Cronartium ribicola ) and additional threats from mountain pine beetle ( Dendroctonus ponderosae ), wildfire, and maladaptation due to changing climate. Vast acreages of WBP have suffered nearly complete mortality. Genomic technologies can contribute to a faster, more cost-effective approach to the traditional practices of identifying disease-resistant, climate-adapted seed sources for restoration. With deep-coverage Illumina short-reads of haploid megametophyte tissue and Oxford Nanopore long-reads of diploid needle tissue, followed by a hybrid, multistep assembly approach, we produced a final assembly containing 27.6 Gbp of sequence in 92,740 contigs (N50 537,007 bp) and 34,716 scaffolds (N50 2.0 Gbp). Approximately 87.2% (24.0 Gbp) of total sequence was placed on the twelve WBP chromosomes. Annotation yielded 25,362 protein-coding genes, and over 77% of the genome was characterized as repeats. WBP has demonstrated the greatest variation in resistance to WPBR among the North American white pines. Candidate genes for quantitative resistance include disease resistance genes known as nucleotide-binding leucine-rich-repeat receptors (NLRs). A combination of protein domain alignments and direct genome scanning was employed to fully describe the three subclasses of NLRs (TNL, CNL, RNL). Our high-quality reference sequence and annotation provide a marked improvement in NLR identification compared to previous assessments that leveraged de novo assembled transcriptomes.
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7
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Nip KM, Hafezqorani S, Gagalova KK, Chiu R, Yang C, Warren RL, Birol I. Reference-free assembly of long-read transcriptome sequencing data with RNA-Bloom2. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2940. [PMID: 37217540 PMCID: PMC10202958 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38553-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Long-read sequencing technologies have improved significantly since their emergence. Their read lengths, potentially spanning entire transcripts, is advantageous for reconstructing transcriptomes. Existing long-read transcriptome assembly methods are primarily reference-based and to date, there is little focus on reference-free transcriptome assembly. We introduce "RNA-Bloom2 [ https://github.com/bcgsc/RNA-Bloom ]", a reference-free assembly method for long-read transcriptome sequencing data. Using simulated datasets and spike-in control data, we show that the transcriptome assembly quality of RNA-Bloom2 is competitive to those of reference-based methods. Furthermore, we find that RNA-Bloom2 requires 27.0 to 80.6% of the peak memory and 3.6 to 10.8% of the total wall-clock runtime of a competing reference-free method. Finally, we showcase RNA-Bloom2 in assembling a transcriptome sample of Picea sitchensis (Sitka spruce). Since our method does not rely on a reference, it further sets the groundwork for large-scale comparative transcriptomics where high-quality draft genome assemblies are not readily available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka Ming Nip
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada.
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada.
| | - Saber Hafezqorani
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Kristina K Gagalova
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Readman Chiu
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Chen Yang
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - René L Warren
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Inanc Birol
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada.
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
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8
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Wang P, Wang F. A proposed metric set for evaluation of genome assembly quality. Trends Genet 2023; 39:175-186. [PMID: 36402623 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2022.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Quality control is essential for genome assemblies; however, a consensus has yet to be reached on what metrics should be adopted for the evaluation of assembly quality. N50 is widely used for contiguity measurement, but its effectiveness is constantly in question. Prevailing metrics for the completeness evaluation focus on gene space, yet challenging areas such as tandem repeats are commonly overlooked. Achieving correctness has become an indispensable dimension for quality control, while prevailing assembly releases lack scores reflecting this aspect. We propose a metric set with a set of statistic indexes for effective, comprehensive evaluation of assemblies and provide a score of a finished assembly for each metric, which can be utilized as a benchmark for achieving high-quality genome assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Germplasm Enhancement in Southern China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Tropical Crop Genetic Resources, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, No. 4 Xueyuan Rd, Haikou City, Hainan 571101, China.
| | - Fei Wang
- School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, No. 100 Haiquan Rd, Shanghai 201416, China.
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9
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Zacharias M, Pampuch T, Dauphin B, Opgenoorth L, Roland C, Schnittler M, Wilmking M, Bog M, Heer K. Genetic basis of growth reaction to drought stress differs in contrasting high-latitude treeline ecotones of a widespread conifer. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:5165-5181. [PMID: 35951000 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of drought events in many boreal forests. Trees are sessile organisms with a long generation time, which makes them vulnerable to fast climate change and hinders fast adaptations. Therefore, it is important to know how forests cope with drought stress and to explore the genetic basis of these reactions. We investigated three natural populations of white spruce (Picea glauca) in Alaska, located at one drought-limited and two cold-limited treelines with a paired plot design of one forest and one treeline plot. We obtained individual increment cores from 458 trees and climate data to assess dendrophenotypes, in particular the growth reaction to drought stress. To explore the genetic basis of these dendrophenotypes, we genotyped the individual trees at 3000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in candidate genes and performed genotype-phenotype association analysis using linear mixed models and Bayesian sparse linear mixed models. Growth reaction to drought stress differed in contrasting treeline populations. Therefore, the populations are likely to be unevenly affected by climate change. We identified 40 genes associated with dendrophenotypic traits that differed among the treeline populations. Most genes were identified in the drought-limited site, indicating comparatively strong selection pressure of drought-tolerant phenotypes. Contrasting patterns of drought-associated genes among sampled sites and in comparison to Canadian populations in a previous study suggest that drought adaptation acts on a local scale. Our results highlight genes that are associated with wood traits which in turn are critical for the establishment and persistence of future forests under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Zacharias
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Timo Pampuch
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | | | - Lars Opgenoorth
- Plant Ecology and Geobotany, Philipps Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Carl Roland
- Denali National Park and Preserve, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
| | - Martin Schnittler
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Martin Wilmking
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Manuela Bog
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Katrin Heer
- Forest Genetics, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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