scholarly journals Improved maize reference genome with single molecule technologies

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinping Jiao ◽  
Paul Peluso ◽  
Jinghua Shi ◽  
Tiffany Liang ◽  
Michelle C. Stitzer ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTComplete and accurate reference genomes and annotations provide fundamental tools for characterization of genetic and functional variation. These resources facilitate elucidation of biological processes and support translation of research findings into improved and sustainable agricultural technologies. Many reference genomes for crop plants have been generated over the past decade, but these genomes are often fragmented and missing complex repeat regions. Here, we report the assembly and annotation of maize, a genetic and agricultural model species, using Single Molecule Real-Time (SMRT) sequencing and high-resolution optical mapping. Relative to the previous reference genome, our assembly features a 52-fold increase in contig length and significant improvements in the assembly of intergenic spaces and centromeres. Characterization of the repetitive portion of the genome revealed over 130,000 intact transposable elements (TEs), allowing us to identify TE lineage expansions unique to maize. Gene annotations were updated using 111,000 full-length transcripts obtained by SMRT sequencing. In addition, comparative optical mapping of two other inbreds revealed a prevalence of deletions in the low gene density region and maize lineage-specific genes.

GigaScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annarita Marrano ◽  
Monica Britton ◽  
Paulo A Zaini ◽  
Aleksey V Zimin ◽  
Rachael E Workman ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The release of the first reference genome of walnut (Juglans regia L.) enabled many achievements in the characterization of walnut genetic and functional variation. However, it is highly fragmented, preventing the integration of genetic, transcriptomic, and proteomic information to fully elucidate walnut biological processes. Findings Here, we report the new chromosome-scale assembly of the walnut reference genome (Chandler v2.0) obtained by combining Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing with chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) technology. Relative to the previous reference genome, the new assembly features an 84.4-fold increase in N50 size, with the 16 chromosomal pseudomolecules assembled and representing 95% of its total length. Using full-length transcripts from single-molecule real-time sequencing, we predicted 37,554 gene models, with a mean gene length higher than the previous gene annotations. Most of the new protein-coding genes (90%) present both start and stop codons, which represents a significant improvement compared with Chandler v1.0 (only 48%). We then tested the potential impact of the new chromosome-level genome on different areas of walnut research. By studying the proteome changes occurring during male flower development, we observed that the virtual proteome obtained from Chandler v2.0 presents fewer artifacts than the previous reference genome, enabling the identification of a new potential pollen allergen in walnut. Also, the new chromosome-scale genome facilitates in-depth studies of intraspecies genetic diversity by revealing previously undetected autozygous regions in Chandler, likely resulting from inbreeding, and 195 genomic regions highly differentiated between Western and Eastern walnut cultivars. Conclusion Overall, Chandler v2.0 will serve as a valuable resource to better understand and explore walnut biology.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annarita Marrano ◽  
Monica Britton ◽  
Paulo A. Zaini ◽  
Aleksey V. Zimin ◽  
Rachael E. Workman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe release of the first reference genome of walnut (Juglans regia L.) enabled many achievements in the characterization of walnut genetic and functional variation. However, it is highly fragmented, preventing the integration of genetic, transcriptomic, and proteomic information to fully elucidate walnut biological processes. Here we report the new chromosome-scale assembly of the walnut reference genome (Chandler v2.0) obtained by combining Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing with chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) technology. Relative to the previous reference genome, the new assembly features an 84.4-fold increase in N50 size, and the full sequence of all 16 chromosomal pseudomolecules, nine of which present telomere sequences at both ends. Using full-length transcripts from single-molecule real-time sequencing, we predicted 40,491 gene models, with a mean gene length higher than the previous gene annotations. Most of the new protein-coding genes (90%) are full-length, which represents a significant improvement compared to Chandler v1.0 (only 48%). We then tested the potential impact of the new chromosome-level genome on different areas of walnut research. By studying the proteome changes occurring during catkin development, we observed that the virtual proteome obtained from Chandler v2.0 presents fewer artifacts than the previous reference genome, enabling the identification of a new potential pollen allergen in walnut. Also, the new chromosome-scale genome facilitates in-depth studies of intraspecies genetic diversity by revealing previously undetected autozygous regions in Chandler, likely resulting from inbreeding, and 195 genomic regions highly differentiated between Western and Eastern walnut cultivars. Overall, Chandler v2.0 is a valuable resource to understand and explore walnut biology better.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afif Elghraoui ◽  
Samuel J Modlin ◽  
Faramarz Valafar

AbstractThe genetic basis of virulence in Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been investigated through genome comparisons of its virulent (H37Rv) and attenuated (H37Ra) sister strains. Such analysis, however, relies heavily on the accuracy of the sequences. While the H37Rv reference genome has had several corrections to date, that of H37Ra is unmodified since its original publication. Here, we report the assembly and finishing of the H37Ra genome from single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing. Our assembly reveals that the number of H37Ra-specific variants is less than half of what the Sanger-based H37Ra reference sequence indicates, undermining and, in some cases, invalidating the conclusions of several studies. PE_PPE family genes, which are intractable to commonly-used sequencing platforms because of their repetitive and GC-rich nature, are overrepresented in the set of genes in which all reported H37Ra-specific variants are contradicted. We discuss how our results change the picture of virulence attenuation and the power of SMRT sequencing for producing high-quality reference genomes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (15) ◽  
pp. 2654-2656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoli Ji ◽  
Wenbin Ye ◽  
Yaru Su ◽  
Moliang Chen ◽  
Guangzao Huang ◽  
...  

Abstract Summary Alternative splicing (AS) is a well-established mechanism for increasing transcriptome and proteome diversity, however, detecting AS events and distinguishing among AS types in organisms without available reference genomes remains challenging. We developed a de novo approach called AStrap for AS analysis without using a reference genome. AStrap identifies AS events by extensive pair-wise alignments of transcript sequences and predicts AS types by a machine-learning model integrating more than 500 assembled features. We evaluated AStrap using collected AS events from reference genomes of rice and human as well as single-molecule real-time sequencing data from Amborella trichopoda. Results show that AStrap can identify much more AS events with comparable or higher accuracy than the competing method. AStrap also possesses a unique feature of predicting AS types, which achieves an overall accuracy of ∼0.87 for different species. Extensive evaluation of AStrap using different parameters, sample sizes and machine-learning models on different species also demonstrates the robustness and flexibility of AStrap. AStrap could be a valuable addition to the community for the study of AS in non-model organisms with limited genetic resources. Availability and implementation AStrap is available for download at https://github.com/BMILAB/AStrap. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aiping Deng ◽  
Jinpeng Li ◽  
Zebin Yao ◽  
Gyamfua Afriyie ◽  
Ziyang Chen ◽  
...  

Coelomactra antiquata is an important aquatic economic shellfish with high medicinal value. However, because C. antiquata has no reference genome, a lot of molecular biology research cannot be carried out, so the analysis of its transcripts is an important step to study the regulatory genes of various substances in C. antiquata. In the present study, we conducted the first full-length transcriptome analysis of C. antiquata by using PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology. The results identified a total of 39,209 unigenes with an average length of 2,732 bp, 23,338 CDSs, 251 AS events, 9,881 lncRNAs, 20,106 SSRs, and 2,316 TFs. Subsequently, 59.22% (23,220) of the unigenes were successfully annotated, of which 23,164, 18,711, 15,840, 13,534, and 13,474 unigenes could be annotated using NR, Swiss-prot, KOG, GO, and KEGG databases, respectively. This study lays the foundation for the follow-up research of molecular biology and provides a reference for studying the more medicinal value of C. antiquata.


2016 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia K. Y. Ho ◽  
Jayna Raghwani ◽  
Sylvie Koekkoek ◽  
Richard H. Liang ◽  
Jan T. M. Van der Meer ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In contrast to other available next-generation sequencing platforms, PacBio single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing has the advantage of generating long reads albeit with a relatively higher error rate in unprocessed data. Using this platform, we longitudinally sampled and sequenced the hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope genome region (1,680 nucleotides [nt]) from individuals belonging to a cluster of sexually transmitted cases. All five subjects were coinfected with HIV-1 and a closely related strain of HCV genotype 4d. In total, 50 samples were analyzed by using SMRT sequencing. By using 7 passes of circular consensus sequencing, the error rate was reduced to 0.37%, and the median number of sequences was 612 per sample. A further reduction of insertions was achieved by alignment against a sample-specific reference sequence. However, in vitro recombination during PCR amplification could not be excluded. Phylogenetic analysis supported close relationships among HCV sequences from the four male subjects and subsequent transmission from one subject to his female partner. Transmission was characterized by a strong genetic bottleneck. Viral genetic diversity was low during acute infection and increased upon progression to chronicity but subsequently fluctuated during chronic infection, caused by the alternate detection of distinct coexisting lineages. SMRT sequencing combines long reads with sufficient depth for many phylogenetic analyses and can therefore provide insights into within-host HCV evolutionary dynamics without the need for haplotype reconstruction using statistical algorithms. IMPORTANCE Next-generation sequencing has revolutionized the study of genetically variable RNA virus populations, but for phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses, longer sequences than those generated by most available platforms, while minimizing the intrinsic error rate, are desired. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that PacBio SMRT sequencing technology can be used to generate full-length HCV envelope sequences at the single-molecule level, providing a data set with large sequencing depth for the characterization of intrahost viral dynamics. The selection of consensus reads derived from at least 7 full circular consensus sequencing rounds significantly reduced the intrinsic high error rate of this method. We used this method to genetically characterize a unique transmission cluster of sexually transmitted HCV infections, providing insight into the distinct evolutionary pathways in each patient over time and identifying the transmission-associated genetic bottleneck as well as fluctuations in viral genetic diversity over time, accompanied by dynamic shifts in viral subpopulations.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Su Kim ◽  
Sungwon Jeon ◽  
Changjae Kim ◽  
Yeon Kyung Kim ◽  
Yun Sung Cho ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundLong DNA reads produced by single molecule and pore-based sequencers are more suitable for assembly and structural variation discovery than short read DNA fragments. For de novo assembly, PacBio and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) are favorite options. However, PacBio’s SMRT sequencing is expensive for a full human genome assembly and costs over 40,000 USD for 30x coverage as of 2019. ONT PromethION sequencing, on the other hand, is one-twelfth the price of PacBio for the same coverage. This study aimed to compare the cost-effectiveness of ONT PromethION and PacBio’s SMRT sequencing in relation to the quality.FindingsWe performed whole genome de novo assemblies and comparison to construct an improved version of KOREF, the Korean reference genome, using sequencing data produced by PromethION and PacBio. With PromethION, an assembly using sequenced reads with 64x coverage (193 Gb, 3 flowcell sequencing) resulted in 3,725 contigs with N50s of 16.7 Mbp and a total genome length of 2.8 Gbp. It was comparable to a KOREF assembly constructed using PacBio at 62x coverage (188 Gbp, 2,695 contigs and N50s of 17.9 Mbp). When we applied Hi-C-derived long-range mapping data, an even higher quality assembly for the 64x coverage was achieved, resulting in 3,179 scaffolds with an N50 of 56.4 Mbp.ConclusionThe pore-based PromethION approach provides a good quality chromosome-scale human genome assembly at a low cost with long maximum contig and scaffold lengths and is more cost-effective than PacBio at comparable quality measurements.


GigaScience ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Su Kim ◽  
Sungwon Jeon ◽  
Changjae Kim ◽  
Yeon Kyung Kim ◽  
Yun Sung Cho ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Long DNA reads produced by single-molecule and pore-based sequencers are more suitable for assembly and structural variation discovery than short-read DNA fragments. For de novo assembly, Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) are the favorite options. However, PacBio's SMRT sequencing is expensive for a full human genome assembly and costs more than $40,000 US for 30× coverage as of 2019. ONT PromethION sequencing, on the other hand, is 1/12 the price of PacBio for the same coverage. This study aimed to compare the cost-effectiveness of ONT PromethION and PacBio's SMRT sequencing in relation to the quality. Findings We performed whole-genome de novo assemblies and comparison to construct an improved version of KOREF, the Korean reference genome, using sequencing data produced by PromethION and PacBio. With PromethION, an assembly using sequenced reads with 64× coverage (193 Gb, 3 flowcell sequencing) resulted in 3,725 contigs with N50s of 16.7 Mb and a total genome length of 2.8 Gb. It was comparable to a KOREF assembly constructed using PacBio at 62× coverage (188 Gb, 2,695 contigs, and N50s of 17.9 Mb). When we applied Hi-C–derived long-range mapping data, an even higher quality assembly for the 64× coverage was achieved, resulting in 3,179 scaffolds with an N50 of 56.4 Mb. Conclusion The pore-based PromethION approach provided a high-quality chromosome-scale human genome assembly at a low cost with long maximum contig and scaffold lengths and was more cost-effective than PacBio at comparable quality measurements.


PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10432
Author(s):  
Victor Ndhlovu ◽  
Anmol Kiran ◽  
Derek J. Sloan ◽  
Wilson Mandala ◽  
Marriott Nliwasa ◽  
...  

Background Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains exhibit genomic homology of >99%, there is considerable variation in the phenotype. The underlying mechanisms of phenotypic heterogeneity in Mtb are not well understood but epigenetic variation is thought to contribute. At present the methylome of Mtb has not been completely characterized. Methods We completed methylomes of 18 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) clinical isolates from Malawi representing the largest number of Mtb genomes to be completed in a single study using Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT) sequencing to date. Results We replicate and confirm four methylation disrupting mutations in 4 lineages of Mtb. For the first time we report complete loss of methylation courtesy of C758T (S253L) mutation in the MamB gene of Indo-oceanic lineage of Mtb. Additionally, we report a novel missense mutation G454A (G152S) in the MamA gene of the Euro-American lineage which could potentially be attributed to total disruption of methylation in the CCCAG motif but partial loss in a partner motif. Through a genomic and methylome comparative analysis with a global sample of sixteen, we report previously unknown mutations affecting the pks15/1 locus in L6 isolates. We confirm that methylation in Mtb is lineage specific although some unresolved issues still remain.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document