scholarly journals Whole Genome Assembly and Annotation of Northern Wild Rice, Zizania palustris L., Supports a Whole Genome Duplication in the Zizania Genus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Haas ◽  
Thomas Kono ◽  
Marissa Macchietto ◽  
Reneth Millas ◽  
Lillian McGilp ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTNorthern Wild Rice (NWR; Zizania palustris L.) is an aquatic grass native to North America that is notable for its nutritious grain. This is an important species with ecological, cultural, and agricultural significance, specifically in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Using long- and short-range sequencing, Hi-C scaffolding, and RNA-seq data from eight tissues, we generated an annotated whole genome de novo assembly of NWR. The assembly is 1.29 Gb, highly repetitive (∼76.0%), and contains 46,421 putative protein-coding genes. The expansion of retrotransposons within the genome and a whole genome duplication prior to the Zizania-Oryza speciation event have both led to an increase in genome size of NWR in comparison with O. sativa and Z. latifolia. Both events depict a genome rapidly undergoing change over a short evolutionary time. Comparative analyses revealed conservation of large syntenic blocks with Oryza sativa L., which were used to identify putative seed shattering genes. Estimates of divergence times revealed the Zizania genus diverged from Oryza ∼26-30 million years ago (MYA), while NWR and Zizania latifolia diverged from one another ∼6-8 MYA. Comparative genomics confirmed evidence of a whole genome duplication in the Zizania genus and provided support that the event was prior to the NWR-Z. latifolia speciation event. This high-quality genome assembly and annotation provides a valuable resource for comparative genomics in the Oryzeae tribe and provides an important resource for future conservation and breeding efforts of NWR.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Rai ◽  
Hideki Hirakawa ◽  
Ryo Nakabayashi ◽  
Shinji Kikuchi ◽  
Koki Hayashi ◽  
...  

AbstractPlant genomes remain highly fragmented and are often characterized by hundreds to thousands of assembly gaps. Here, we report chromosome-level reference and phased genome assembly of Ophiorrhiza pumila, a camptothecin-producing medicinal plant, through an ordered multi-scaffolding and experimental validation approach. With 21 assembly gaps and a contig N50 of 18.49 Mb, Ophiorrhiza genome is one of the most complete plant genomes assembled to date. We also report 273 nitrogen-containing metabolites, including diverse monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs). A comparative genomics approach identifies strictosidine biogenesis as the origin of MIA evolution. The emergence of strictosidine biosynthesis-catalyzing enzymes precede downstream enzymes’ evolution post γ whole-genome triplication, which occurred approximately 110 Mya in O. pumila, and before the whole-genome duplication in Camptotheca acuminata identified here. Combining comparative genome analysis, multi-omics analysis, and metabolic gene-cluster analysis, we propose a working model for MIA evolution, and a pangenome for MIA biosynthesis, which will help in establishing a sustainable supply of camptothecin.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 1848-1850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junpei Zhang ◽  
Wenting Zhang ◽  
Feiyang Ji ◽  
Jie Qiu ◽  
Xiaobo Song ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Wenbo Zhu ◽  
Zhongkai Wang ◽  
Haorong Li ◽  
Hui Xiang ◽  
Ping Li ◽  
...  

The salmonid-specific fourth vertebrate whole-genome duplication (Ss4R) occurred ~80 million years ago in the ancestor of all salmonids and provides a unique opportunity to study the evolutionary history of the duplicated genome. Study of the genome of Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis might be particularly insightful given that this is the only Brachymystax species with a published salmonid genome. Here, we present a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly for B. l. tsinlingensis and found that the salmonids have a unique GC content and codon usage, have undergone a whole-genome duplication event and a burst of transposon-mediated repeat expansion, have a slower evolutionary rate, and possess specific expanded gene families and unique positively selected genes. Generally, the B. l. tsinlingensis genome could provide a valuable reference for the study of other salmonids as well as aid the conservation of this endangered species.


Author(s):  
John Logsdon ◽  
Maurine Neiman ◽  
Jeffrey Boore ◽  
Joel Sharbrough ◽  
Laura Bankers ◽  
...  

Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a New Zealand freshwater snail, is a powerful system to study the maintenance of sexual reproduction. Obligate asexual P. antipodarum (herein, Pa) lineages include both triploids and tetraploids that are products of multiple separate transitions from diploid sexual ancestors. Distinct diploid sexual and polyploid asexual lineages coexist and compete; these separate lineages can be considered replicated natural experiments. We have shown that harmful mutations are accumulating at a higher rate in asexual than in sexual Pa, demonstrating the utility of this system as a model for investigating the evolution of sex at the genomic level. In order to better understand the causes and consequences of transitions to asexuality, we have sequenced multiple genomes and transcriptomes of Pa and a close relative, P. estuarinus (herein, Pe) a diploid sexual species. The diploid genome size of Pe is ~0.6X of the genome size of diploid Pa, inspiring us to investigate whether the most recent common ancestor of Pa had experienced a whole-genome duplication (WGD) event prior to the diversification of its many sexual and asexual lineages. In addition to its clear relevance to understanding the evolutionary history of this species, by being so recent, this apparent WGD will also be especially powerful in understanding events immediately following WGD. Our initial genome assembly of a model sexual Pa lineage was consistent with this possibility, indicating high fractions (~35%) of scaffolds containing extended, nearly identical, duplicated regions. This result also partly explains our general difficulty with assembling the genome, despite generating >100X genome coverage using multiple methodologies. Even considering the limitations of our current genome assembly, we used the assembly to test a series of predictions under the hypothesis of recent whole-genome duplication, all of which are consistent with WGD. These tests have shown: 1) a marked excess of duplicated copies of genes in Pa which are maintained in single copy in other animals, 2) implausibly high "heterozygosity" estimates in our model Pa sexual genome, presumably resulting from non-allelic comparisons, 3) higher sequence identity between thousands of Pa-specific paralogous genes, when compared to their Pe orthologs. These and additional lines of evidence will be presented and evaluated. Together, our results suggest that this initial genome-wide duplication event might have played a key role in the subsequent evolutionary trajectory of this species, potentially facilitating its repeated diversification into multiple asexual lineages. We are now generating additional long-range genome scaffolds for Pa using multiple methods, as well as improving the coverage and quality of the Pe genome. We will use these new data to conduct definitive phylogenomic tests of this especially remarkable whole genome duplication.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Logsdon ◽  
Maurine Neiman ◽  
Jeffrey Boore ◽  
Joel Sharbrough ◽  
Laura Bankers ◽  
...  

Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a New Zealand freshwater snail, is a powerful system to study the maintenance of sexual reproduction. Obligate asexual P. antipodarum (herein, Pa) lineages include both triploids and tetraploids that are products of multiple separate transitions from diploid sexual ancestors. Distinct diploid sexual and polyploid asexual lineages coexist and compete; these separate lineages can be considered replicated natural experiments. We have shown that harmful mutations are accumulating at a higher rate in asexual than in sexual Pa, demonstrating the utility of this system as a model for investigating the evolution of sex at the genomic level. In order to better understand the causes and consequences of transitions to asexuality, we have sequenced multiple genomes and transcriptomes of Pa and a close relative, P. estuarinus (herein, Pe) a diploid sexual species. The diploid genome size of Pe is ~0.6X of the genome size of diploid Pa, inspiring us to investigate whether the most recent common ancestor of Pa had experienced a whole-genome duplication (WGD) event prior to the diversification of its many sexual and asexual lineages. In addition to its clear relevance to understanding the evolutionary history of this species, by being so recent, this apparent WGD will also be especially powerful in understanding events immediately following WGD. Our initial genome assembly of a model sexual Pa lineage was consistent with this possibility, indicating high fractions (~35%) of scaffolds containing extended, nearly identical, duplicated regions. This result also partly explains our general difficulty with assembling the genome, despite generating >100X genome coverage using multiple methodologies. Even considering the limitations of our current genome assembly, we used the assembly to test a series of predictions under the hypothesis of recent whole-genome duplication, all of which are consistent with WGD. These tests have shown: 1) a marked excess of duplicated copies of genes in Pa which are maintained in single copy in other animals, 2) implausibly high "heterozygosity" estimates in our model Pa sexual genome, presumably resulting from non-allelic comparisons, 3) higher sequence identity between thousands of Pa-specific paralogous genes, when compared to their Pe orthologs. These and additional lines of evidence will be presented and evaluated. Together, our results suggest that this initial genome-wide duplication event might have played a key role in the subsequent evolutionary trajectory of this species, potentially facilitating its repeated diversification into multiple asexual lineages. We are now generating additional long-range genome scaffolds for Pa using multiple methods, as well as improving the coverage and quality of the Pe genome. We will use these new data to conduct definitive phylogenomic tests of this especially remarkable whole genome duplication.


2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell A. Hermansen ◽  
Torgeir R. Hvidsten ◽  
Simen Rød Sandve ◽  
David A. Liberles

Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 156 (3) ◽  
pp. 1249-1257
Author(s):  
Ilya Ruvinsky ◽  
Lee M Silver ◽  
Jeremy J Gibson-Brown

Abstract The duplication of preexisting genes has played a major role in evolution. To understand the evolution of genetic complexity it is important to reconstruct the phylogenetic history of the genome. A widely held view suggests that the vertebrate genome evolved via two successive rounds of whole-genome duplication. To test this model we have isolated seven new T-box genes from the primitive chordate amphioxus. We find that each amphioxus gene generally corresponds to two or three vertebrate counterparts. A phylogenetic analysis of these genes supports the idea that a single whole-genome duplication took place early in vertebrate evolution, but cannot exclude the possibility that a second duplication later took place. The origin of additional paralogs evident in this and other gene families could be the result of subsequent, smaller-scale chromosomal duplications. Our findings highlight the importance of amphioxus as a key organism for understanding evolution of the vertebrate genome.


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