scholarly journals The Corylus mandshurica genome provides insights into the evolution of Betulaceae genomes and hazelnut breeding

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Li ◽  
Pengchuan Sun ◽  
Zhiqiang Lu ◽  
Jinyuan Chen ◽  
Zhenyue Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractHazelnut is popular for its flavor, and it has also been suggested that hazelnut is beneficial to cardiovascular health because it is rich in oleic acid. Here, we report the first high-quality chromosome-scale genome for the hazelnut species Corylus mandshurica (2n = 22), which has a high concentration of oleic acid in its nuts. The assembled genome is 367.67 Mb in length, and the contig N50 is 14.85 Mb. All contigs were assembled into 11 chromosomes, and 28,409 protein-coding genes were annotated. We reconstructed the evolutionary trajectories of the genomes of Betulaceae species and revealed that the 11 chromosomes of the hazelnut genus were derived from the most ancestral karyotype in Betula pendula, which has 14 protochromosomes, by inferring homology among five Betulaceae genomes. We identified 96 candidate genes involved in oleic acid biosynthesis, and 10 showed rapid evolution or positive selection. These findings will help us to understand the mechanisms of lipid synthesis and storage in hazelnuts. Several gene families related to salicylic acid metabolism and stress responses experienced rapid expansion in this hazelnut species, which may have increased its stress tolerance. The reference genome presented here constitutes a valuable resource for molecular breeding and genetic improvement of the important agronomic properties of hazelnut.

Author(s):  
Tao Yu ◽  
Yiheng Hu ◽  
Yuyang Zhang ◽  
Ran Zhao ◽  
Xueqing Yan ◽  
...  

Abstract Acer catalpifolium is an endangered species restricted to remote localities of West China. Understanding the genomic content and evolution of A. catalpifolium is essential to conservation efforts of this rare and ecologically valuable plant. Here, we report a high-quality genome of A. catalpifolium consisting of ∼654 Mbps and ∼35,132 protein-coding genes. We detected 969 positively-selected genes in two Acer genomes compared with four other eudicots, 65 of which were transcription factors. We hypothesize that these positively-selected mutations in transcription factors might affect their function and thus contribute to A. catalpifolium’s decline-type population. We also identified 179 significantly expanded gene families compared to 12 other eudicots, some of which are involved in stress responses, such as the FRS-FRF family. We inferred that A. catalpifolium has experienced gene family expansions to cope with environmental stress in its evolutionary history. Finally, 109 candidate genes encoding key enzymes in the lignin biosynthesis pathway were identified in A. catalpifolium; of particular note were the large range and high copy number of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase genes. The chromosome-level genome of A. catalpifolium presented here may serve as a fundamental genomic resource for better understanding endangered Acer species, informing future conservation efforts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 2196-2210
Author(s):  
Agnes K M Weiner ◽  
Mario A Cerón-Romero ◽  
Ying Yan ◽  
Laura A Katz

Abstract Epigenetic processes in eukaryotes play important roles through regulation of gene expression, chromatin structure, and genome rearrangements. The roles of chromatin modification (e.g., DNA methylation and histone modification) and non-protein-coding RNAs have been well studied in animals and plants. With the exception of a few model organisms (e.g., Saccharomyces and Plasmodium), much less is known about epigenetic toolkits across the remainder of the eukaryotic tree of life. Even with limited data, previous work suggested the existence of an ancient epigenetic toolkit in the last eukaryotic common ancestor. We use PhyloToL, our taxon-rich phylogenomic pipeline, to detect homologs of epigenetic genes and evaluate their macroevolutionary patterns among eukaryotes. In addition to data from GenBank, we increase taxon sampling from understudied clades of SAR (Stramenopila, Alveolata, and Rhizaria) and Amoebozoa by adding new single-cell transcriptomes from ciliates, foraminifera, and testate amoebae. We focus on 118 gene families, 94 involved in chromatin modification and 24 involved in non-protein-coding RNA processes based on the epigenetics literature. Our results indicate 1) the presence of a large number of epigenetic gene families in the last eukaryotic common ancestor; 2) differential conservation among major eukaryotic clades, with a notable paucity of genes within Excavata; and 3) punctate distribution of epigenetic gene families between species consistent with rapid evolution leading to gene loss. Together these data demonstrate the power of taxon-rich phylogenomic studies for illuminating evolutionary patterns at scales of >1 billion years of evolution and suggest that macroevolutionary phenomena, such as genome conflict, have shaped the evolution of the eukaryotic epigenetic toolkit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shumaila Sayyab ◽  
Anders Lundmark ◽  
Malin Larsson ◽  
Markus Ringnér ◽  
Sara Nystedt ◽  
...  

AbstractThe mechanisms driving clonal heterogeneity and evolution in relapsed pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are not fully understood. We performed whole genome sequencing of samples collected at diagnosis, relapse(s) and remission from 29 Nordic patients. Somatic point mutations and large-scale structural variants were called using individually matched remission samples as controls, and allelic expression of the mutations was assessed in ALL cells using RNA-sequencing. We observed an increased burden of somatic mutations at relapse, compared to diagnosis, and at second relapse compared to first relapse. In addition to 29 known ALL driver genes, of which nine genes carried recurrent protein-coding mutations in our sample set, we identified putative non-protein coding mutations in regulatory regions of seven additional genes that have not previously been described in ALL. Cluster analysis of hundreds of somatic mutations per sample revealed three distinct evolutionary trajectories during ALL progression from diagnosis to relapse. The evolutionary trajectories provide insight into the mutational mechanisms leading relapse in ALL and could offer biomarkers for improved risk prediction in individual patients.


Genetics ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 539-556
Author(s):  
Don C Morizot ◽  
Michael J Siciliano

ABSTRACT The products of 49 protein-coding loci were examined by starch gel electrophoresis for populational variation in six species of Xiphophorus fishes and/or segregation in intra- and interspecific backcross and intercross hybrids. Electrophoretic variation was observed for 29 of the 35 locus products in a survey of 42 population samples. The highest frequency of polymorphic loci observed in noninbred populations was 0.143. After ten or more generations of inbreeding, all loci studied were monomorphic. Inbred strains generally exhibited the commonest electrophoretic alleles of the population from which they were derived. An assessment of genetic distances among Xiphophorus populations reflected classical systematic relationships and suggested incipient subspeciation between X. maculatus from different drainages as well as several species groups. Thirty-three loci were analyzed with respect to segregation in hybrids. The goodness of fit of segregations to Mendelian expectations at all loci analyzed (except loci in linkage group I) is interpreted as evidence for high genetic compatibility of the genomes of Xiphophorus species. It is anticipated that these data will result in a rapid expansion of the assignment of protein-coding loci to linkage groups in these lower vertebrate species.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 244
Author(s):  
Seung Hee Eom ◽  
Tae Kyung Hyun

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are known as erasers that remove acetyl groups from lysine residues in histones. Although plant HDACs play essential roles in physiological processes, including various stress responses, our knowledge concerning HDAC gene families and their evolutionary relationship remains limited. In Brassica rapa genome, we identified 20 HDAC genes, which are divided into three major groups: RPD3/HDA1, HD2, and SIR2 families. In addition, seven pairs of segmental duplicated paralogs and one pair of tandem duplicated paralogs were identified in the B. rapa HDAC (BraHDAC) family, indicating that segmental duplication is predominant for the expansion of the BraHDAC genes. The expression patterns of paralogous gene pairs suggest a divergence in the function of BraHDACs under various stress conditions. Furthermore, we suggested that BraHDA3 (homologous of Arabidopsis HDA14) encodes the functional HDAC enzyme, which can be inhibited by Class I/II HDAC inhibitor SAHA. As a first step toward understanding the epigenetic responses to environmental stresses in Chinese cabbage, our results provide a solid foundation for functional analysis of the BraHDAC family.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xing Wang ◽  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Yufeng Zhang ◽  
Mingming Kang ◽  
Yuanbo Li ◽  
...  

AbstractEarthworms (Annelida: Crassiclitellata) are widely distributed around the world due to their ancient origination as well as adaptation and invasion after introduction into new habitats over the past few centuries. Herein, we report a 1.2 Gb complete genome assembly of the earthworm Amynthas corticis based on a strategy combining third-generation long-read sequencing and Hi-C mapping. A total of 29,256 protein-coding genes are annotated in this genome. Analysis of resequencing data indicates that this earthworm is a triploid species. Furthermore, gene family evolution analysis shows that comprehensive expansion of gene families in the Amynthas corticis genome has produced more defensive functions compared with other species in Annelida. Quantitative proteomic iTRAQ analysis shows that expression of 147 proteins changed in the body of Amynthas corticis and 16 S rDNA sequencing shows that abundance of 28 microorganisms changed in the gut of Amynthas corticis when the earthworm was incubated with pathogenic Escherichia coli O157:H7. Our genome assembly provides abundant and valuable resources for the earthworm research community, serving as a first step toward uncovering the mysteries of this species, and may provide molecular level indicators of its powerful defensive functions, adaptation to complex environments and invasion ability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengwen Liu ◽  
Xingfen Wang ◽  
Zhengwen Sun ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Chengsheng Meng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Dirigent (DIR) proteins mediate regioselectivity and stereoselectivity during lignan biosynthesis and are also involved in lignin, gossypol and pterocarpan biosynthesis. This gene family plays a vital role in enhancing stress resistance and in secondary cell-wall development, but systematical understanding is lacking in cotton. Results In this study, 107 GbDIRs and 107 GhDIRs were identified in Gossypium barbadense and Gossypium hirsutum, respectively. Most of these genes have a classical gene structure without intron and encode proteins containing a signal peptide. Phylogenetic analysis showed that cotton DIR genes were classified into four distinct subfamilies (a, b/d, e, and f). Of these groups, DIR-a and DIR-e were evolutionarily conserved, and segmental and tandem duplications contributed equally to their formation. In contrast, DIR-b/d mainly expanded by recent tandem duplications, accompanying with a number of gene clusters. With the rapid evolution, DIR-b/d-III was a Gossypium-specific clade involved in atropselective synthesis of gossypol. RNA-seq data highlighted GhDIRs in response to Verticillium dahliae infection and suggested that DIR gene family could confer Verticillium wilt resistance. We also identified candidate DIR genes related to fiber development in G. barbadense and G. hirsutum and revealed their differential expression. To further determine the involvement of DIR genes in fiber development, we overexpressed a fiber length-related gene GbDIR78 in Arabidopsis and validated its function in trichomes and hypocotyls. Conclusions These findings contribute novel insights towards the evolution of DIR gene family and provide valuable information for further understanding the roles of DIR genes in cotton fiber development as well as in stress responses.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fangfang Huang ◽  
Yingru Jiang ◽  
Tiantian Chen ◽  
Haoran Li ◽  
Mengjia Fu ◽  
...  

Abstract As a major food crop and model organism, rice has been mostly studied with the largest number of functionally characterized genes among all crops. We previously built the funRiceGenes database including ∼2800 functionally characterized rice genes and ∼5000 members of different gene families. Since being published, the funRiceGenes database has been accessed by more than 49,000 users with over 490,000 page views. The funRiceGenes database has been continuously updated with newly cloned rice genes and newly published literature, based on the progress of rice functional genomics studies. Up to Nov 2021, ≥4100 functionally characterized rice genes and ∼6000 members of different gene families were collected in funRiceGenes, accounting for 22.3% of the 39,045 annotated protein-coding genes in the rice genome. Here, we summarized the update of the funRiceGenes database with new data and new features in the last five years.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luyao Huang ◽  
Zhuangzhuang Li ◽  
Qingxia Fu ◽  
Conglian Liang ◽  
Zhenhua Liu ◽  
...  

In plants, calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) are a unique group of Ca2+ sensors that decode Ca2+ signals by activating a family of plant-specific protein kinases known as CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs). CBL-CIPK gene families and their interacting complexes are involved in regulating plant responses to various environmental stimuli. To gain insight into the functional divergence of CBL-CIPK genes in honeysuckle, a total of six LjCBL and 17 LjCIPK genes were identified. The phylogenetic analysis along with the gene structure analysis divided both CBL and CBL-interacting protein kinase genes into four subgroups and validated by the distribution of conserved protein motifs. The 3-D structure prediction of proteins shown that most LjCBLs shared the same Protein Data Bank hit 1uhnA and most LjCIPKs shared the 6c9Da. Analysis of cis-acting elements and gene ontology implied that both LjCBL and LjCIPK genes could be involved in hormone signal responsiveness and stress adaptation. Protein-protein interaction prediction suggested that LjCBL4 is hypothesized to interact with LjCIPK7/9/15/16 and SOS1/NHX1. Gene expression analysis in response to salinity stress revealed that LjCBL2/4, LjCIPK1/15/17 under all treatments gradually increased over time until peak expression at 72 h. These results demonstrated the conservation of salt overly sensitive pathway genes in honeysuckle and a model of Ca2+-LjCBL4/LjSOS3-LjCIPK16/LjSOS2 module-mediated salt stress signaling in honeysuckle is proposed. This study provides insight into the characteristics of the CBL-CIPK gene families involved in honeysuckle salt stress responses, which could serve as a foundation for gene transformation technology, to obtain highly salt-tolerant medicinal plants in the context of the global reduction of cultivated land.


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