ORTHOFOCUS: PROGRAM FOR IDENTIFICATION OF ORTHOLOGS IN MULTIPLE GENOMES IN FAMILY-FOCUSED STUDIES

The identification of orthologs to a set of known genes is often the starting point for evolutionary studies focused on gene families of interest. To date, the existing orthology detection tools (COG, InParanoid, OrthoMCL, etc.) are aimed at genome-wide ortholog identification and lack flexibility for the purposes of case studies. We developed a program OrthoFocus, which employs an extended reciprocal best hit approach to quickly search for orthologs in a pair of genomes. A group of paralogs from the input genome is used as the start for the forward search and the criterion for the reverse search, which allows handling many-to-one and many-to-many relationships. By pairwise comparison of genomes with the input species genome, OrthoFocus enables quick identification of orthologs in multiple genomes and generates a multiple alignment of orthologs so that it can further be used in phylogenetic analysis. The program is available at .

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Genome-wide search and structural and functional analyses for late embryogenesis-abundant (LEA) gene family in poplar

BMC Plant Biology ◽

10.1186/s12870-021-02872-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Zihan Cheng ◽

Xuemei Zhang ◽

Wenjing Yao ◽

Kai Zhao ◽

Lin Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Family ◽

Higher Plants ◽

Abiotic Stress Tolerance ◽

Gene Families ◽

Regulatory Elements ◽

Late Embryogenesis Abundant ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Lea Gene ◽

Late Embryogenesis ◽

Genome Wide Search

Abstract Background The Late Embryogenesis-Abundant (LEA) gene families, which play significant roles in regulation of tolerance to abiotic stresses, widely exist in higher plants. Poplar is a tree species that has important ecological and economic values. But systematic studies on the gene family have not been reported yet in poplar. Results On the basis of genome-wide search, we identified 88 LEA genes from Populus trichocarpa and renamed them as PtrLEA. The PtrLEA genes have fewer introns, and their promoters contain more cis-regulatory elements related to abiotic stress tolerance. Our results from comparative genomics indicated that the PtrLEA genes are conserved and homologous to related genes in other species, such as Eucalyptus robusta, Solanum lycopersicum and Arabidopsis. Using RNA-Seq data collected from poplar under two conditions (with and without salt treatment), we detected 24, 22 and 19 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in roots, stems and leaves, respectively. Then we performed spatiotemporal expression analysis of the four up-regulated DEGs shared by the tissues, constructed gene co-expression-based networks, and investigated gene function annotations. Conclusion Lines of evidence indicated that the PtrLEA genes play significant roles in poplar growth and development, as well as in responses to salt stress.

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Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of Hsf and Hsp Gene Families and Gene Expression Analysis under Heat Stress in Eggplant (Solanum melongema L.)

Horticulturae ◽

10.3390/horticulturae7060149 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 149

Author(s):

Chao Gong ◽

Qiangqiang Pang ◽

Zhiliang Li ◽

Zhenxing Li ◽

Riyuan Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heat Stress ◽

Gene Families ◽

High Temperature Stress ◽

Pcr Analysis ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Motif Composition ◽

Hsp Genes ◽

Identification And Characterization

Under high temperature stress, a large number of proteins in plant cells will be denatured and inactivated. Meanwhile Hsfs and Hsps will be quickly induced to remove denatured proteins, so as to avoid programmed cell death, thus enhancing the thermotolerance of plants. Here, a comprehensive identification and analysis of the Hsf and Hsp gene families in eggplant under heat stress was performed. A total of 24 Hsf-like genes and 117 Hsp-like genes were identified from the eggplant genome using the interolog from Arabidopsis. The gene structure and motif composition of Hsf and Hsp genes were relatively conserved in each subfamily in eggplant. RNA-seq data and qRT-PCR analysis showed that the expressions of most eggplant Hsf and Hsp genes were increased upon exposure to heat stress, especially in thermotolerant line. The comprehensive analysis indicated that different sets of SmHsps genes were involved downstream of particular SmHsfs genes. These results provided a basis for revealing the roles of SmHsps and SmHsp for thermotolerance in eggplant, which may potentially be useful for understanding the thermotolerance mechanism involving SmHsps and SmHsp in eggplant.

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Genome-wide identification of the GATA transcription factor family and their expression patterns under temperature and salt stress in Aspergillus oryzae

AMB Express ◽

10.1186/s13568-021-01212-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Chunmiao Jiang ◽

Gongbo Lv ◽

Jinxin Ge ◽

Bin He ◽

Zhe Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Salt Stress ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Protein Protein Interaction ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Gata Transcription Factor ◽

Starting Point ◽

Evolutionary Features ◽

First Time

AbstractGATA transcription factors (TFs) are involved in the regulation of growth processes and various environmental stresses. Although GATA TFs involved in abiotic stress in plants and some fungi have been analyzed, information regarding GATA TFs in Aspergillusoryzae is extremely poor. In this study, we identified and functionally characterized seven GATA proteins from A.oryzae 3.042 genome, including a novel AoSnf5 GATA TF with 20-residue between the Cys-X2-Cys motifs which was found in Aspergillus GATA TFs for the first time. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that these seven A. oryzae GATA TFs could be classified into six subgroups. Analysis of conserved motifs demonstrated that Aspergillus GATA TFs with similar motif compositions clustered in one subgroup, suggesting that they might possess similar genetic functions, further confirming the accuracy of the phylogenetic relationship. Furthermore, the expression patterns of seven A.oryzae GATA TFs under temperature and salt stresses indicated that A. oryzae GATA TFs were mainly responsive to high temperature and high salt stress. The protein–protein interaction network of A.oryzae GATA TFs revealed certain potentially interacting proteins. The comprehensive analysis of A. oryzae GATA TFs will be beneficial for understanding their biological function and evolutionary features and provide an important starting point to further understand the role of GATA TFs in the regulation of distinct environmental conditions in A.oryzae.

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Population genomic and historical analysis suggests a global invasion by bridgehead processes in Mimulus guttatus

Communications Biology ◽

10.1038/s42003-021-01795-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mario Vallejo-Marín ◽

Jannice Friedman ◽

Alex D. Twyford ◽

Olivier Lepais ◽

Stefanie M. Ickert-Bond ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biological Invasions ◽

Historical Analysis ◽

Historical Records ◽

British Isles ◽

Mimulus Guttatus ◽

Introduced Populations ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Starting Point ◽

History Of ◽

Global Invasion

AbstractImperfect historical records and complex demographic histories present challenges for reconstructing the history of biological invasions. Here, we combine historical records, extensive worldwide and genome-wide sampling, and demographic analyses to investigate the global invasion of Mimulus guttatus from North America to Europe and the Southwest Pacific. By sampling 521 plants from 158 native and introduced populations genotyped at >44,000 loci, we determined that invasive M. guttatus was first likely introduced to the British Isles from the Aleutian Islands (Alaska), followed by admixture from multiple parts of the native range. We hypothesise that populations in the British Isles then served as a bridgehead for vanguard invasions worldwide. Our results emphasise the highly admixed nature of introduced M. guttatus and demonstrate the potential of introduced populations to serve as sources of secondary admixture, producing novel hybrids. Unravelling the history of biological invasions provides a starting point to understand how invasive populations adapt to novel environments.

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A publicly available repository of ROH islands reveals signatures of selection in different livestock and pet species

Genetics Selection Evolution ◽

10.1186/s12711-020-00599-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Wim Gorssen ◽

Roel Meyermans ◽

Steven Janssens ◽

Nadine Buys

Keyword(s):

Association Studies ◽

Genome Wide Association Studies ◽

Single Nucleotide ◽

Future Studies ◽

Snp Data ◽

Animal Populations ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Starting Point ◽

Different Populations ◽

Signatures Of Selection

Abstract Background Runs of homozygosity (ROH) have become the state-of-the-art method for analysis of inbreeding in animal populations. Moreover, ROH are suited to detect signatures of selection via ROH islands and are used in other applications, such as genomic prediction and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Currently, a vast amount of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data is available online, but most of these data have never been used for ROH analysis. Therefore, we performed a ROH analysis on large medium-density SNP datasets in eight animal species (cat, cattle, dog, goat, horse, pig, sheep and water buffalo; 442 different populations) and make these results publicly available. Results The results include an overview of ROH islands per population and a comparison of the incidence of these ROH islands among populations from the same species, which can assist researchers when studying other (livestock) populations or when looking for similar signatures of selection. We were able to confirm many known ROH islands, for example signatures of selection for the myostatin (MSTN) gene in sheep and horses. However, our results also included multiple other ROH islands, which are common to many populations and not identified to date (e.g. on chromosomes D4 and E2 in cats and on chromosome 6 in sheep). Conclusions We are confident that our repository of ROH islands is a valuable reference for future studies. The discovered ROH island regions represent a unique starting point for new studies or can be used as a reference for future studies. Furthermore, we encourage authors to add their population-specific ROH findings to our repository.

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Genome-wide association for heifer reproduction and calf performance traits in beef cattle

Genome ◽

10.1139/gen-2015-0031 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 58 (12) ◽

pp. 549-557 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Everestus C. Akanno ◽

Graham Plastow ◽

Carolyn Fitzsimmons ◽

Stephen P. Miller ◽

Vern Baron ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Beef Cattle ◽

Genome Wide Association Study ◽

Average Daily Gain ◽

Snp Markers ◽

Genome Wide Association ◽

Research Centre ◽

Genome Wide ◽

A Genome ◽

Starting Point ◽

And Performance

The aim of this study was to identify SNP markers that associate with variation in beef heifer reproduction and performance of their calves. A genome-wide association study was performed by means of the generalized quasi-likelihood score (GQLS) method using heifer genotypes from the BovineSNP50 BeadChip and estimated breeding values for pre-breeding body weight (PBW), pregnancy rate (PR), calving difficulty (CD), age at first calving (AFC), calf birth weight (BWT), calf weaning weight (WWT), and calf pre-weaning average daily gain (ADG). Data consisted of 785 replacement heifers from three Canadian research herds, namely Brandon Research Centre, Brandon, Manitoba, University of Alberta Roy Berg Kinsella Ranch, Kinsella, Alberta, and Lacombe Research Centre, Lacombe, Alberta. After applying a false discovery rate correction at a 5% significance level, a total of 4, 3, 3, 9, 6, 2, and 1 SNPs were significantly associated with PBW, PR, CD, AFC, BWT, WWT, and ADG, respectively. These SNPs were located on chromosomes 1, 5–7, 9, 13–16, 19–21, 24, 25, and 27–29. Chromosomes 1, 5, and 24 had SNPs with pleiotropic effects. New significant SNPs that impact functional traits were detected, many of which have not been previously reported. The results of this study support quantitative genetic studies related to the inheritance of these traits, and provides new knowledge regarding beef cattle quantitative trait loci effects. The identification of these SNPs provides a starting point to identify genes affecting heifer reproduction traits and performance of their calves (BWT, WWT, and ADG). They also contribute to a better understanding of the biology underlying these traits and will be potentially useful in marker- and genome-assisted selection and management.

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