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Thun GA, Gueuning M, Sigurdardottir S, Meyer E, Gourri E, Schneider L, Merki Y, Trost N, Neuenschwander K, Engström C, Frey BM, Meyer S, Mattle-Greminger MP. Novel regulatory variant in ABO intronic RUNX1 binding site inducing A 3 phenotype. Vox Sang 2024; 119:377-382. [PMID: 38226545 DOI: 10.1111/vox.13580] [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: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Mixed-field agglutination in ABO phenotyping (A3, B3) has been linked to genetically different blood cell populations such as in chimerism, or to rare variants in either ABO exon 7 or regulatory regions. Clarification of such cases is challenging and would greatly benefit from sequencing technologies that allow resolving full-gene haplotypes at high resolution. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used long-read sequencing by Oxford Nanopore Technologies to sequence the entire ABO gene, amplified in two overlapping long-range PCR fragments, in a blood donor presented with A3B phenotype. Confirmation analyses were carried out by Sanger sequencing and included samples from other family members. RESULTS Our data revealed a novel heterozygous g.10924C>A variant on the ABO*A allele located in the transcription factor binding site for RUNX1 in intron 1 (+5.8 kb site). Inheritance was shown by the results of the donor's mother, who shared the novel variant and the anti-A specific mixed-field agglutination. CONCLUSION We discovered a regulatory variant in the 8-bp RUNX1 motif of ABO, which extends current knowledge of three other variants affecting the same motif and also leading to A3 or B3 phenotypes. Overall, long-range PCR combined with nanopore sequencing proved powerful and showed great potential as an emerging strategy for resolving cases with cryptic ABO phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gian Andri Thun
- Department of Research and Development, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Morgan Gueuning
- Department of Research and Development, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Sonja Sigurdardottir
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Eduardo Meyer
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Elise Gourri
- Department of Research and Development, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Linda Schneider
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Yvonne Merki
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Nadine Trost
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Neuenschwander
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Charlotte Engström
- Department of Immunohematology, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Beat M Frey
- Department of Research and Development, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
- Department of Immunohematology, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Meyer
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Maja P Mattle-Greminger
- Department of Research and Development, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Schlieren, Switzerland
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Gueuning M, Thun GA, Trost N, Schneider L, Sigurdardottir S, Engström C, Larbes N, Merki Y, Frey BM, Gassner C, Meyer S, Mattle-Greminger MP. Resolving Genotype-Phenotype Discrepancies of the Kidd Blood Group System Using Long-Read Nanopore Sequencing. Biomedicines 2024; 12:225. [PMID: 38275395 PMCID: PMC10813000 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12010225] [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: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Due to substantial improvements in read accuracy, third-generation long-read sequencing holds great potential in blood group diagnostics, particularly in cases where traditional genotyping or sequencing techniques, primarily targeting exons, fail to explain serological phenotypes. In this study, we employed Oxford Nanopore sequencing to resolve all genotype-phenotype discrepancies in the Kidd blood group system (JK, encoded by SLC14A1) observed over seven years of routine high-throughput donor genotyping using a mass spectrometry-based platform at the Blood Transfusion Service, Zurich. Discrepant results from standard serological typing and donor genotyping were confirmed using commercial PCR-SSP kits. To resolve discrepancies, we amplified the entire coding region of SLC14A1 (~24 kb, exons 3 to 10) in two overlapping long-range PCRs in all samples. Amplicons were barcoded and sequenced on a MinION flow cell. Sanger sequencing and bridge-PCRs were used to confirm findings. Among 11,972 donors with both serological and genotype data available for the Kidd system, we identified 10 cases with unexplained conflicting results. Five were linked to known weak and null alleles caused by variants not included in the routine donor genotyping. In two cases, we identified novel null alleles on the JK*01 (Gly40Asp; c.119G>A) and JK*02 (Gly242Glu; c.725G>A) haplotypes, respectively. Remarkably, the remaining three cases were associated with a yet unknown deletion of ~5 kb spanning exons 9-10 of the JK*01 allele, which other molecular methods had failed to detect. Overall, nanopore sequencing demonstrated reliable and accurate performance for detecting both single-nucleotide and structural variants. It possesses the potential to become a robust tool in the molecular diagnostic portfolio, particularly for addressing challenging structural variants such as hybrid genes, deletions and duplications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan Gueuning
- Department of Research and Development, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Rütistrasse 19, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Gian Andri Thun
- Department of Research and Development, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Rütistrasse 19, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Nadine Trost
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Linda Schneider
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Sonja Sigurdardottir
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Charlotte Engström
- Department of Immunohematology, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland; (C.E.)
| | - Naemi Larbes
- Department of Immunohematology, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland; (C.E.)
| | - Yvonne Merki
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Beat M. Frey
- Department of Research and Development, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Rütistrasse 19, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland
- Department of Immunohematology, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland; (C.E.)
| | - Christoph Gassner
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Private University in the Principality of Liechtenstein, 9495 Triesen, Liechtenstein;
| | - Stefan Meyer
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytometry, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - Maja P. Mattle-Greminger
- Department of Research and Development, Blood Transfusion Service Zurich, Swiss Red Cross, Rütistrasse 19, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland
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Honeycutt E, Kizito F, Karn J, Sweet T. Direct Analysis of HIV mRNA m 6A Methylation by Nanopore Sequencing. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2807:209-227. [PMID: 38743231 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3862-0_15] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
The post-transcriptional processing and chemical modification of HIV RNA are understudied aspects of HIV virology, primarily due to the limited ability to accurately map and quantify RNA modifications. Modification-specific antibodies or modification-sensitive endonucleases coupled with short-read RNA sequencing technologies have allowed for low-resolution or limited mapping of important regulatory modifications of HIV RNA such as N6-methyladenosine (m6A). However, a high-resolution map of where these sites occur on HIV transcripts is needed for detailed mechanistic understanding. This has recently become possible with new sequencing technologies. Here, we describe the direct RNA sequencing of HIV transcripts using an Oxford Nanopore Technologies sequencer and the use of this technique to map m6A at near single nucleotide resolution. This technology also provides the ability to identify splice variants with long RNA reads and thus, can provide high-resolution RNA modification maps that distinguish between overlapping splice variants. The protocols outlined here for m6A also provide a powerful paradigm for studying any other RNA modifications that can be detected on the nanopore platform.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan Honeycutt
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Fredrick Kizito
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Jonathan Karn
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
| | - Thomas Sweet
- Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
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Kebabonye K, Jongman M, Loeto D, Moyo S, Choga W, Kasvosve I. Determining Potential Link between Environmental and Clinical Isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii Species Complexes Using Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterisation. Mycobiology 2023; 51:452-462. [PMID: 38179115 PMCID: PMC10763847 DOI: 10.1080/12298093.2023.2272380] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Opportunistic infections due to Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii species complexes continue to rise unabated among HIV/AIDS patients, despite improved antifungal therapies. Here, we collected a total of 20 environmental and 25 presumptive clinical cryptococcal isolates from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of 175 patients enrolled in an ongoing clinical trial Ambition 1 Project (Botswana-Harvard Partnership). Identity confirmation of the isolates was done using MALDI-TOF MS and PCR. We describe the diversity of the isolates by PCR fingerprinting and sequencing (Oxford Nanopore Technology) of the intergenic spacer region. Mating types of the isolates were determined by amplification of the MAT locus. We report an unusual prevalence of 42.1% of C. neoformans x C. deneoformans hybrids Serotype AD (n = 16), followed by 39.5% of C. neoformans Serotype A (n = 15), 5.3% of C. deneoformans, Serotype D (n = 2), 7.9% of C. gattii (n = 3), and 5.3% of C. tetragattii (n = 2) in 38 representative isolates that have been characterized. Mating type-specific PCR performed on 38 representative environmental and clinical isolates revealed that 16 (42.1%) were MATa/MATα hybrids, 17 (44.7%) were MATα, and five (13.2%) possessed MATa mating type. We used conventional and NGS platforms to demonstrate a potential link between environmental and clinical isolates and lay a foundation to further describe mating patterns/history in Botswana.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenosi Kebabonye
- School of Health Allied Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
| | - Mosimanegape Jongman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
- Research Laboratory, Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana
| | - Daniel Loeto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
| | - Sikhulile Moyo
- School of Health Allied Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
- Research Laboratory, Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Medical Virology, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
- School of Health Systems of Public Health, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Wonderful Choga
- Research Laboratory, Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana
| | - Ishmael Kasvosve
- School of Health Allied Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
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Touray AO, Sternlieb T, Isebe T, Cestari I. Identifying Antigenic Switching by Clonal Cell Barcoding and Nanopore Sequencing in Trypanosoma brucei. Bio Protoc 2023; 13:e4904. [PMID: 38156032 PMCID: PMC10751240 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.4904] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Many organisms alternate the expression of genes from large gene sets or gene families to adapt to environmental cues or immune pressure. The single-celled protozoan pathogen Trypanosoma brucei spp. periodically changes its homogeneous surface coat of variant surface glycoproteins (VSGs) to evade host antibodies during infection. This pathogen expresses one out of ~2,500 VSG genes at a time from telomeric expression sites (ESs) and periodically changes their expression by transcriptional switching or recombination. Attempts to track VSG switching have previously relied on genetic modifications of ES sequences with drug-selectable markers or genes encoding fluorescent proteins. However, genetic modifications of the ESs can interfere with the binding of proteins that control VSG transcription and/or recombination, thus affecting VSG expression and switching. Other approaches include Illumina sequencing of the VSG repertoire, which shows VSGs expressed in the population rather than cell switching; the Illumina short reads often limit the distinction of the large set of VSG genes. Here, we describe a methodology to study antigenic switching without modifications of the ES sequences. Our protocol enables the detection of VSG switching at nucleotide resolution using multiplexed clonal cell barcoding to track cells and nanopore sequencing to identify cell-specific VSG expression. We also developed a computational pipeline that takes DNA sequences and outputs VSGs expressed by cell clones. This protocol can be adapted to study clonal cell expression of large gene families in prokaryotes or eukaryotes. Key features • This protocol enables the analysis of variant surface glycoproteins (VSG) switching in T. brucei without modifying the expression site sequences. • It uses a streamlined computational pipeline that takes fastq DNA sequences and outputs expressed VSG genes by each parasite clone. • The protocol leverages the long reads sequencing capacity of the Oxford nanopore sequencing technology, which enables accurate identification of the expressed VSGs. • The protocol requires approximately eight to nine days to complete.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdoulie O. Touray
- Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, QC, Canada
- Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Tamara Sternlieb
- Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, QC, Canada
| | - Tony Isebe
- Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Igor Cestari
- Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, QC, Canada
- Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Belyayev A, Kalendar R, Josefiová J, Paštová L, Habibi F, Mahelka V, Mandák B, Krak K. Telomere sequence variability in genotypes from natural plant populations: unusual block-organized double-monomer terminal telomeric arrays. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:572. [PMID: 37752451 PMCID: PMC10521516 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09657-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: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Telomeres are the nucleoprotein complexes that physically cap the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Most plants possess Arabidopsis-type telomere sequences (TSs). In addition to terminal TSs, more diverse interstitial TSs exists in plants. Although telomeres have been sufficiently studied, the actual diversity of TSs in land plants is underestimated. RESULTS We investigate genotypes from seven natural populations with contrasting environments of four Chenopodium species to reveal the variability in TSs by analyzing Oxford Nanopore reads. Fluorescent in situ hybridization was used to localize telomeric repeats on chromosomes. We identified a number of derivative monomers that arise in part of both terminal and interstitial telomeric arrays of a single genotype. The former presents a case of block-organized double-monomer telomers, where blocks of Arabidopsis-type TTTAGGG motifs were interspersed with blocks of derivative TTTAAAA motifs. The latter is an integral part of the satellitome with transformations specific to the inactive genome fraction. CONCLUSIONS We suggested two alternative models for the possible formation of derivative monomers from telomeric heptamer motifs of Arabidopsis-type. It was assumed that derivatization of TSs is a ubiquitous process in the plant genome but occurrence and frequencies of derivatives may be genotype-specific. We also propose that the formation of non-canonical arrays of TSs, especially at chromosomal termini, may be a source for genomic variability in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Belyayev
- Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Zámek 1, CZ-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic.
| | - Ruslan Kalendar
- Institute of Biotechnology HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki, FI-00014, Finland
- National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, 53 Kabanbay Batyr Ave, Nur- Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
| | - Jiřina Josefiová
- Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Zámek 1, CZ-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic
| | - Ladislava Paštová
- Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Zámek 1, CZ-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic
| | - Farzaneh Habibi
- Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Zámek 1, CZ-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha, Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Mahelka
- Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Zámek 1, CZ-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic
| | - Bohumil Mandák
- Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Zámek 1, CZ-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha, Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Karol Krak
- Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Zámek 1, CZ-252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha, Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
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Hemmings SJ, Rhodes JL, Fisher MC. Long-read Sequencing and de novo Genome Assembly of Three Aspergillus fumigatus Genomes. Mycopathologia 2023; 188:409-412. [PMID: 37227556 PMCID: PMC10386934 DOI: 10.1007/s11046-023-00740-2] [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: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus is a genetically diverse fungal species, which is near ubiquitous in its global distribution and is the major cause of the life-threatening disease invasive aspergillosis. We present 3 de novo genome assemblies that were selected to be representative of the genetic diversity of clinical and environmental A. fumigatus. Sequencing using long-read Oxford Nanopore and subsequent assembly of the genomes yielded 10-23 contigs with an N50 of 4.05 Mbp to 4.93 Mbp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J Hemmings
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, London, UK.
| | - Johanna L Rhodes
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Matthew C Fisher
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, London, UK
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Yang C, Lo T, Nip KM, Hafezqorani S, Warren RL, Birol I. Characterization and simulation of metagenomic nanopore sequencing data with Meta-NanoSim. Gigascience 2023; 12:giad013. [PMID: 36939007 PMCID: PMC10025935 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giad013] [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: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nanopore sequencing is crucial to metagenomic studies as its kilobase-long reads can contribute to resolving genomic structural differences among microbes. However, sequencing platform-specific challenges, including high base-call error rate, nonuniform read lengths, and the presence of chimeric artifacts, necessitate specifically designed analytical algorithms. The use of simulated datasets with characteristics that are true to the sequencing platform under evaluation is a cost-effective way to assess the performance of bioinformatics tools with the ground truth in a controlled environment. RESULTS Here, we present Meta-NanoSim, a fast and versatile utility that characterizes and simulates the unique properties of nanopore metagenomic reads. It improves upon state-of-the-art methods on microbial abundance estimation through a base-level quantification algorithm. Meta-NanoSim can simulate complex microbial communities composed of both linear and circular genomes and can stream reference genomes from online servers directly. Simulated datasets showed high congruence with experimental data in terms of read length, error profiles, and abundance levels. We demonstrate that Meta-NanoSim simulated data can facilitate the development of metagenomic algorithms and guide experimental design through a metagenome assembly benchmarking task. CONCLUSIONS The Meta-NanoSim characterization module investigates read features, including chimeric information and abundance levels, while the simulation module simulates large and complex multisample microbial communities with different abundance profiles. All trained models and the software are freely accessible at GitHub: https://github.com/bcgsc/NanoSim.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Yang
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Genome Sciences Centre, BCCA 100-570 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Theodora Lo
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Genome Sciences Centre, BCCA 100-570 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
| | - Ka Ming Nip
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Genome Sciences Centre, BCCA 100-570 West 7th Avenue, 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, Genome Sciences Centre, BCCA 100-570 West 7th Avenue, 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, Life Sciences Centre Room 1364 – 2350 Health Science Mall Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
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Marathe NP, Grevskott DH, Salvà-Serra F, Nimje PS, Svanevik CS, Lunestad BT, Moore ERB. Seawater from Bergen harbor is a reservoir of conjugative multidrug-resistance plasmids carrying genes for virulence. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2023; 248:114108. [PMID: 36709743 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Aquatic environments play important roles in the dissemination of clinically-relevant antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pathogens. Limited knowledge exists about the prevalence of clinically-relevant acquired resistance genes in the marine environment, especially in Norway. The aim of the current study was to investigate the presence of and characterize self-transmissible resistance plasmids from Bergen harbor seawater, with exogenous-plasmid capture, using a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged Escherichia coli strain as a recipient. We obtained transconjugants resistant against ampicillin and cefotaxime from four of the 13 samples processed. Nine transconjugants, selected on the basis of antibiotic sensitivity patterns, were sequenced, using Illumina MiSeq and Oxford Nanopore MinION platforms. Ten different plasmids (ranging from 35 kb to 136 kb) belonging to incompatibility groups IncFII/IncFIB/Col156, IncFII, IncI1 and IncB/O/K/Z were detected among these transconjugants. Plasmid p1A1 (IncFII/IncFIB/Col156, 135.7 kb) carried resistance genes blaTEM-1, dfrA17, sul1, sul2, tet(A), mph(A), aadA5, aph(3″)-Ib and aph(6)-Id, conferring resistance against six different classes of antibiotics. Plasmid p1A4 carried blaCTX-M-55, lnu(F), aadA17 and aac(3)-IId. Cephalosporinase blaCMY-2 was detected on plasmids captured from an area impacted by wastewater from a local marine aquarium. Along with ARGs, some plasmids also carried virulence factors, such as enterotoxins, adhesion factors and siderophores. Our study demonstrates the presence of clinically-important multidrug-resistance conjugative plasmids in seawater from Bergen harbor, which have the potential to be transferred to human microbiota. The results highlight the need for surveillance of antibiotic resistance in the environment, as suggested by the World Health Organization, especially in low prevalence settings like Norway.
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10
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Udaondo Z, Abram KZ, Kothari A, Jun SR. Insertion sequences and other mobile elements associated with antibiotic resistance genes in Enterococcus isolates from an inpatient with prolonged bacteraemia. Microb Genom 2022; 8. [PMID: 35921144 PMCID: PMC9484755 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000855] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Insertion sequences (ISs) and other transposable elements are associated with the mobilization of antibiotic resistance determinants and the modulation of pathogenic characteristics. In this work, we aimed to investigate the association between ISs and antibiotic resistance genes, and their role in the dissemination and modification of the antibiotic-resistant phenotype. To that end, we leveraged fully resolved Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis genomes of isolates collected over 5 days from an inpatient with prolonged bacteraemia. Isolates from both species harboured similar IS family content but showed significant species-dependent differences in copy number and arrangements of ISs throughout their replicons. Here, we describe two inter-specific IS-mediated recombination events and IS-mediated excision events in plasmids of E. faecium isolates. We also characterize a novel arrangement of the ISs in a Tn1546-like transposon in E. faecalis isolates likely implicated in a vancomycin genotype–phenotype discrepancy. Furthermore, an extended analysis revealed a novel association between daptomycin resistance mutations in liaSR genes and a putative composite transposon in E. faecium, offering a new paradigm for the study of daptomycin resistance and novel insights into its dissemination. In conclusion, our study highlights the role ISs and other transposable elements play in the rapid adaptation and response to clinically relevant stresses such as aggressive antibiotic treatment in enterococci.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zulema Udaondo
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
| | - Kaleb Z Abram
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
| | - Atul Kothari
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.,Arkansas Dept of Health, Healthcare Associated Infections and Outbreak Response Sections, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
| | - Se-Ran Jun
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
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11
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Ndotono EW, Khamis FM, Bargul JL, Tanga CM. Insights into the Gut Microbial Communities of Broiler Chicken Fed Black Soldier Fly Larvae- Desmodium-Based Meal as a Dietary Protein Source. Microorganisms 2022; 10:1351. [PMID: 35889070 PMCID: PMC9319420 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10071351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The utilization of insect-based diets to improve gastrointestinal function and gut health in poultry is gaining global attention as a promising feed additive. The objective of this study was to determine the optimal inclusion level of the full-fat black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) and Desmodium intortum (DI) in broiler chicken diets and to evaluate their impact on the microbial community in the gut. The bacterial communities were characterized using Oxford nanopore sequencing of the full-length bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Four dietary treatments, T1 (25% DI + 75% BSFL), T2 (50% DI + 50% BSFL), T3 (75% DI + 25% BSFL) and T4 (100% fishmeal + 0% DI + BSFL), were fed to the broiler chickens for a period of 42 days. Out of the 395,034 classified reads analyzed, the most predominant phyla identified across all the four dietary treatments were Firmicutes (94%), Bacteroidetes (3%), and Proteobacteria (2%). The T1 diet showed the highest alpha diversity and richness according to the Chao1 and Shannon indices. Beta diversity assessment revealed a significant influence of diet on the abundance of the microbiome. There was an increase in beneficial lactic acid bacteria with increasing inclusion of BSFL in the diets. Our findings strongly support the inclusion of BSFL into poultry diet as a promising protein source to reshape the gut microbiota for improved gut health, immune response, and food safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evalyne W. Ndotono
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi P.O. Box 30772-00100, Kenya; (E.W.N.); (J.L.B.); (C.M.T.)
| | - Fathiya M. Khamis
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi P.O. Box 30772-00100, Kenya; (E.W.N.); (J.L.B.); (C.M.T.)
| | - Joel L. Bargul
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi P.O. Box 30772-00100, Kenya; (E.W.N.); (J.L.B.); (C.M.T.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kiambu P.O. Box 62000-00200, Kenya
| | - Chrysantus M. Tanga
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi P.O. Box 30772-00100, Kenya; (E.W.N.); (J.L.B.); (C.M.T.)
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12
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Plessers S, Van Deuren V, Lavigne R, Robben J. High-Throughput Sequencing of Phage Display Libraries Reveals Parasitic Enrichment of Indel Mutants Caused by Amplification Bias. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:5513. [PMID: 34073702 PMCID: PMC8197208 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22115513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The combination of phage display technology with high-throughput sequencing enables in-depth analysis of library diversity and selection-driven dynamics. We applied short-read sequencing of the mutagenized region on focused display libraries of two homologous nucleic acid modification eraser proteins-AlkB and FTO-biopanned against methylated DNA. This revealed enriched genotypes with small indels and concomitant doubtful amino acid motifs within the FTO library. Nanopore sequencing of the entire display vector showed additional enrichment of large deletions overlooked by region-specific sequencing, and further impacted the interpretation of the obtained amino acid motifs. We could attribute enrichment of these corrupted clones to amplification bias due to arduous FTO display slowing down host cell growth as well as phage production. This amplification bias appeared to be stronger than affinity-based target selection. Recommendations are provided for proper sequence analysis of phage display data, which can improve motive discovery in libraries of proteins that are difficult to display.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sander Plessers
- Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200G, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium; (S.P.); (V.V.D.)
| | - Vincent Van Deuren
- Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200G, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium; (S.P.); (V.V.D.)
| | - Rob Lavigne
- Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 21, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium;
| | - Johan Robben
- Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200G, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium; (S.P.); (V.V.D.)
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13
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Harper JR, Sripada N, Kher P, Whittall JB, Edgerly JS. Interpreting nature's finest insect silks (Order Embioptera): hydropathy, interrupted repetitive motifs, and fiber-to-film transformation for two neotropical species. ZOOLOGY 2021; 146:125923. [PMID: 33901836 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2021.125923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Silks produced by webspinners (Order Embioptera) interact with water by transforming from fiber to film, which then becomes slippery and capable of shedding water. We chose to explore this mechanism by analyzing and comparing the silk protein transcripts of two species with overlapping distributions in Trinidad but from different taxonomic families. The transcript of one, Antipaluria urichi (Clothodidae), was partially characterized in 2009 providing a control for our methods to characterize a second species: Pararhagadochir trinitatis (Scelembiidae), a family that adds to the taxon sampling for this little known order of insects. Previous reports showed that embiopteran silk protein (dubbed Efibroin) consists of a protein core of repetitive motifs largely composed of glycine (Gly), serine (Ser), and alanine (Ala) and a highly conserved C-terminal region. Based on mRNA extracted from silk glands, Next Generation sequencing, and de novo assembly, P. trinitatis silk can be characterized by repetitive motifs of Gly-Ser followed periodically by Gly-Asparagine (Asn-an unusual amino acid for Efibroins) and by a lack of Ala which is otherwise common in Efibroins. The putative N-terminal domain, composed mostly of polar, charged and bulky amino acids, is ten amino acids long with cysteine in the 10th position-a feature likely related to stabilization of the silk fibers. The 29 amino acids of the C-terminus for P. trinitatis silk closely resemble that of other Efibroin sequences, which show 74% shared identity on average. Examination of hydropathicity of Efibroins of both P. trinitatis and An. urichi revealed that these proteins are largely hydrophilic despite having a thin lipid coating on each nano-fiber. We deduced that the hydrophilic quality differs for the two species: due to Ser and Asn for P. trinitatis silk and to previously undetected spacers in An. urichi silk. Spacers are known from some spider and silkworm silks but this is the first report of such for Embioptera. Analysis of hydropathicity revealed the largely hydrophilic quality of these silks and this feature likely explains why water causes the transformation from fiber to film. We compared spun silk to the transcript and detected not insignificant differences between the two measurements implying that as yet undetermined post-translational modifications of their silk may occur. In addition, we found evidence for codon bias in the nucleotides of the putative silk transcript for P. trinitatis, a feature also known for other embiopteran silk genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- J René Harper
- Department of Biology, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, 95053, USA.
| | - Neeraja Sripada
- Department of Biology, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, 95053, USA.
| | - Pooja Kher
- Department of Biology, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, 95053, USA.
| | - Justen B Whittall
- Department of Biology, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, 95053, USA.
| | - Janice S Edgerly
- Department of Biology, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, 95053, USA.
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14
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Zamyatin A, Avdeyev P, Liang J, Sharma A, Chen C, Lukyanchikova V, Alexeev N, Tu Z, Alekseyev MA, Sharakhov IV. Chromosome-level genome assemblies of the malaria vectors Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles arabiensis. Gigascience 2021; 10:giab017. [PMID: 33718948 PMCID: PMC7957348 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giab017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 01/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles arabiensis belong to the Anopheles gambiae complex and are among the major malaria vectors in sub-Saharan Africa. However, chromosome-level reference genome assemblies are still lacking for these medically important mosquito species. FINDINGS In this study, we produced de novo chromosome-level genome assemblies for A. coluzzii and A. arabiensis using the long-read Oxford Nanopore sequencing technology and the Hi-C scaffolding approach. We obtained 273.4 and 256.8 Mb of the total assemblies for A. coluzzii and A. arabiensis, respectively. Each assembly consists of 3 chromosome-scale scaffolds (X, 2, 3), complete mitochondrion, and unordered contigs identified as autosomal pericentromeric DNA, X pericentromeric DNA, and Y sequences. Comparison of these assemblies with the existing assemblies for these species demonstrated that we obtained improved reference-quality genomes. The new assemblies allowed us to identify genomic coordinates for the breakpoint regions of fixed and polymorphic chromosomal inversions in A. coluzzii and A. arabiensis. CONCLUSION The new chromosome-level assemblies will facilitate functional and population genomic studies in A. coluzzii and A. arabiensis. The presented assembly pipeline will accelerate progress toward creating high-quality genome references for other disease vectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton Zamyatin
- Computer Technologies Laboratory, ITMO University, Kronverkskiy Prospekt 49-A, Saint Petersburg 197101, Russia
| | - Pavel Avdeyev
- Department of Mathematics, The George Washington University, 801 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
- Computational Biology Institute, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 800 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Jiangtao Liang
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 170 Drillfield Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 360 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Atashi Sharma
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 360 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Chujia Chen
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 360 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Varvara Lukyanchikova
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 170 Drillfield Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 360 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Prospekt Lavrentyeva 10, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Nikita Alexeev
- Computer Technologies Laboratory, ITMO University, Kronverkskiy Prospekt 49-A, Saint Petersburg 197101, Russia
| | - Zhijian Tu
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 360 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Max A Alekseyev
- Department of Mathematics, The George Washington University, 801 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
- Computational Biology Institute, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 800 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Igor V Sharakhov
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 170 Drillfield Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 360 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
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15
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Sahoo B, Das G, Sahoo L, Mahapatra KD, Meher PK, Udit UK, Sundaray JK, Das P. The complete mitochondrial genome of Labeo catla (Hamilton, 1822) using long read sequencing. Mitochondrial DNA B Resour 2021; 6:402-403. [PMID: 33628875 PMCID: PMC7889109 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2020.1870879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Labeo catla is a widely cultured species in monoculture and polyculture systems of the Indian subcontinent. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of catla was reconstructed from Oxford Nanopore sequence data. The mitochondrial genome is 16,600 bp in length (accession no. is MN830943) which is larger than the previously reported catla mitogenomes. Like other vertebrate mitochondrial genomes, it has 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs and a putative control region. Most of the mitogenes are encoded on H-strand. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Labeo catla is more closely related to Labeo rohita than other labeo species. The catla mtgenome reported here will facilitate population genetics, phylogenetics and molecular taxonomy of Indian major carps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bismay Sahoo
- Fish Genetics and Biotechnology Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - Gargee Das
- Fish Genetics and Biotechnology Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - Lakshman Sahoo
- Fish Genetics and Biotechnology Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - Kanta Das Mahapatra
- Fish Genetics and Biotechnology Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - Prem K Meher
- Fish Genetics and Biotechnology Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - Uday Kumar Udit
- Fish Genetics and Biotechnology Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - Jitendra Kumar Sundaray
- Fish Genetics and Biotechnology Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - Paramananda Das
- Fish Genetics and Biotechnology Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, India
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