scholarly journals Genomic descriptors of biodiversity – A review

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gábor Mészáros

Summary The characterization of livestock genetic diversity has experienced extensive changes with the availability of dense nucleotide markers. Among the various forms of markers, the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) have arguably the largest influence. A wide range of indicators for the assessment of genetic diversity was developed, or the existing methods were improved, enabling us to make informed decisions on the management of livestock populations. This review discusses the selected aspects of diversity assessment, with special attention to the SNP based methods. One of the core concepts in genomics of diversity is the linkage disequilibrium (LD), as it was shaped by demographic events during the development of breeds and species. These events, either natural or artificial, left detectable signals within the livestock genomes. Further changes were induced by human activity when mating related animals, leading to fixing or improving the desired traits in the breed, but reducing their genetic variability. The assessment of relatedness is also pivotal to construct meaningful mating plans and to avoid the negative consequences of inbreeding depression that might be detrimental especially in small, endangered populations. Both LD and relatedness are of interest on their own, as well as in their follow-up applications deriving overall measures of effective population size.

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Michaela Zwyer ◽  
Cengiz Çavusoglu ◽  
Giovanni Ghielmetti ◽  
Maria Lodovica Pacciarini ◽  
Erika Scaltriti ◽  
...  

Background The bacteria that compose the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) cause tuberculosis (TB) in humans and in different animals, including livestock. Much progress has been made in understanding the population structure of the human-adapted members of the MTBC by combining phylogenetics with genomics. Accompanying the discovery of new genetic diversity, a body of operational nomenclature has evolved to assist comparative and molecular epidemiological studies of human TB. By contrast, for the livestock-associated MTBC members, Mycobacterium bovis, M. caprae and M. orygis, there has been a lack of comprehensive nomenclature to accommodate new genetic diversity uncovered by emerging phylogenomic studies. We propose to fill this gap by putting forward a new nomenclature covering the main phylogenetic groups within M. bovis, M. caprae and M. orygis. Methods We gathered a total of 8,736 whole-genome sequences (WGS) from public sources and 39 newly sequenced strains, and selected a subset of 829 WGS, representative of the worldwide diversity of M. bovis, M. caprae and M. orygis. We used phylogenetics and genetic diversity patterns inferred from WGS to define groups. Results We propose to divide M. bovis, M. caprae and M. orygis in three main phylogenetic lineages, which we named La1, La2 and La3, respectively. Within La1, we identified several monophyletic groups, which we propose to classify into eight sublineages (La1.1-La1.8). These sublineages differed in geographic distribution, with some being geographically restricted and others globally widespread, suggesting different expansion abilities. To ease molecular characterization of these MTBC groups by the community, we provide phylogenetically informed, single nucleotide polymorphisms that can be used as barcodes for genotyping. These markers were implemented in KvarQ and TB-Profiler, which are platform-independent, open-source tools. Conclusions Our results contribute to an improved classification of the genetic diversity within the livestock-associated MTBC, which will benefit future molecular epidemiological and evolutionary studies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Halsey ◽  
John Stuhler ◽  
Natalia J Bayona-Vasquez ◽  
Roy N Platt ◽  
Jim R Goetze ◽  
...  

Organisms with low effective population sizes are at greater risk of extinction because of reduced genetic diversity.   Dipodomys elator  is a kangaroo rat that is classified as threatened in Texas and field surveys from the past 50 years indicate that the distribution of this species has decreased. This suggests geographic range reductions that could have caused population fluctuations, potentially impacting effective population size. Conversely, the more common and widespread  D. ordii  is thought to exhibit relative geographic and demographic stability. Genetic variation between  D. elator  and  D. ordii  samples was assessed using 3RAD, a modified restriction site associated sequencing approach. It was hypothesized that  D. elator  would show lower levels of nucleotide diversity, observed heterozygosity, and effective population size when compared to  D. ordii . Also of interest was identifying population structure within contemporary samples of  D. elator  and detecting genetic variation between temporal samples that could indicate demographic dynamics. Up to 61,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms were analyzed. It was determined that genetic variability and effective population size in contemporary  D. elator  populations were lower than that of  D. ordii, that there is only slight, if any, structure within contemporary  D. elator  populations, and there is little genetic differentiation between spatial or temporal historical samples suggesting little change in nuclear genetic diversity over 30 years. Results suggest that genetic diversity of  D. elator  has remained stable despite claims of reduced population size and/or abundance, which may indicate a metapopulation-like system, whose fluctuations might counteract any immediate decrease in fitness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Michaela Zwyer ◽  
Cavusoglu Cengiz ◽  
Giovanni Ghielmetti ◽  
Maria Lodovica Pacciarini ◽  
Erika Scaltriti ◽  
...  

Background The bacteria that compose the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) cause tuberculosis (TB) in humans and in different animals, including livestock. Much progress has been made in understanding the population structure of the human-adapted members of the MTBC by combining phylogenetics with genomics. Accompanying the discovery of new genetic diversity, a body of operational nomenclature has evolved to assist comparative and molecular epidemiological studies of human TB. By contrast, for the livestock-associated MTBC members, Mycobacterium bovis, M. caprae and M. orygis, there has been a lack of comprehensive nomenclature to accommodate new genetic diversity uncovered by emerging phylogenomic studies. We propose to fill this gap by putting forward a new nomenclature covering the main phylogenetic groups within M. bovis, M. caprae and M. orygis. Methods We gathered a total of 8,747 whole-genome sequences (WGS) from public sources and 39 newly sequenced strains, and selected a subset of 839 WGS, representative of the worldwide diversity of M. bovis, M. caprae and M. orygis. We used phylogenetics and genetic diversity patterns inferred from WGS to define groups. Results We propose to divide M. bovis, M. caprae and M. orygis, in three main phylogenetic lineages, which we named La1, La2 and La3, respectively. Within La1, we identified several monophyletic groups, which we propose to classify into eight sublineages (La1.1-La1.8). These differed in geographic distribution, with some being geographically restricted and others globally widespread, suggesting different expansion abilities. To ease molecular characterization of these MTBC groups by the community, we provide phylogenetically informed, single nucleotide polymorphisms that can be used as barcodes for genotyping. These makers were implemented in a new test suit in KvarQ, a platform-independent, open-source tool. Conclusions Our results contribute to an improved classification of the genetic diversity within the livestock-associated MTBC, which will benefit future molecular epidemiological and evolutionary studies.


Author(s):  
Neha Rajput ◽  
Gagandeep Kaur Gahlay

ZP2, an important component of the zona matrix, surrounds mammalian oocytes and facilitates fertilization. Recently, some studies have documented the association of mutations in genes encoding the zona matrix with the infertile status of human females. Single nucleotide polymorphisms are the most common type of genetic variations observed in a population and as per the dbSNP database, around 5,152 SNPs are reported to exist in the human ZP2 (hZP2) gene. Although a wide range of computational tools are publicly available, yet no computational studies have been done to date to identify and analyze structural and functional effects of deleterious SNPs on hZP2. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive in silico analysis of all the SNPs found in hZP2. Six different computational tools including SIFT and PolyPhen-2 predicted 18 common nsSNPs as deleterious of which 12 were predicted to most likely affect the structure/functional properties. These were either present in the N-term region crucial for sperm-zona interaction or in the zona domain. 31 additional SNPs in both coding and non-coding regions were also identified. Interestingly, some of these SNPs have been found to be present in infertile females in some recent studies.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2233
Author(s):  
Yoel Rodríguez-Valera ◽  
Dominique Rocha ◽  
Michel Naves ◽  
Gilles Renand ◽  
Eliecer Pérez-Pineda ◽  
...  

Inbreeding and effective population size (Ne) are fundamental indicators for the management and conservation of genetic diversity in populations. Genomic inbreeding gives accurate estimates of inbreeding, and the Ne determines the rate of the loss of genetic variation. The objective of this work was to study the distribution of runs of homozygosity (ROHs) in order to estimate genomic inbreeding (FROH) and an effective population size using 38,789 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) from the Illumina Bovine 50K BeadChip in 86 samples from populations of Charolais de Cuba (n = 40) cattle and to compare this information with French (n = 20) and British Charolais (n = 26) populations. In the Cuban, French, and British Charolais populations, the average estimated genomic inbreeding values using the FROH statistics were 5.7%, 3.4%, and 4%, respectively. The dispersion measured by variation coefficient was high at 43.9%, 37.0%, and 54.2%, respectively. The effective population size experienced a very similar decline during the last century in Charolais de Cuba (from 139 to 23 individuals), in French Charolais (from 142 to 12), and in British Charolais (from 145 to 14) for the ~20 last generations. However, the high variability found in the ROH indicators and FROH reveals an opportunity for maintaining the genetic diversity of this breed with an adequate mating strategy, which can be favored with the use of molecular markers. Moreover, the detected ROH were compared to previous results obtained on the detection of signatures of selection in the same breed. Some of the observed signatures were confirmed by the ROHs, emphasizing the process of adaptation to tropical climate experienced by the Charolais de Cuba population.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Mtunguja ◽  
A. Ranjan ◽  
H. S. Laswai ◽  
Y. Muzanila ◽  
J. Ndunguru ◽  
...  

Cassava germplasm collection is important for the preservation of genetic variability, allowing the development of improved cultivars with desirable traits such as drought and disease tolerance, better starch quality and yield. Therefore, the assessment of diversity in cassava germplasm maintained by farmers is important for maintaining biodiversity and crop improvement. Herein, we report genetic diversity relationships of 52 farmer-preferred cassava landraces from the eastern zone of Tanzania based on morphological descriptors and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Cluster analysis was performed for both morphological traits (genetic distance 1.18–0.15) and SNPs (genetic distance 0.078–0.002). The analysis revealed that there were a total of 17,393 variant positions, and that several of the SNPs were distributed across all the chromosomes. The abundance of SNP varied remarkably among the 18 cassava chromosomes, with chromosome 2 having the highest number of SNPs (1335) and chromosome 18 having the lowest number of SNPs (734). The power of SNPs in distinguishing morphologically similar landraces was shown. Both analyses did not group landraces according to geographical locations, suggesting that farmers were moving cassava germplasm to different areas. Their diversity was mainly due to adaptation and preferential selection by farmers. This further implied that within a geographical location, the cultivars were more diverse and there was no misnaming of cassava cultivars by farmers. The collection revealed a wide range of genetic diversity, and represented a valuable resource for trait improvement, allowing the capture of farmer-preferred traits in future cassava breeding programmes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (14) ◽  
pp. 4398-4413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Crauwels ◽  
Bo Zhu ◽  
Jan Steensels ◽  
Pieter Busschaert ◽  
Gorik De Samblanx ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBrettanomycesyeasts, with the speciesBrettanomyces(Dekkera)bruxellensisbeing the most important one, are generally reported to be spoilage yeasts in the beer and wine industry due to the production of phenolic off flavors. However,B. bruxellensisis also known to be a beneficial contributor in certain fermentation processes, such as the production of certain specialty beers. Nevertheless, despite its economic importance,Brettanomycesyeasts remain poorly understood at the genetic and genomic levels. In this study, the genetic relationship between more than 50Brettanomycesstrains from all presently known species and from several sources was studied using a combination of DNA fingerprinting techniques. This revealed an intriguing correlation between theB. bruxellensisfingerprints and the respective isolation source. To further explore this relationship, we sequenced a (beneficial) beer isolate ofB. bruxellensis(VIB X9085; ST05.12/22) and compared its genome sequence with the genome sequences of two wine spoilage strains (AWRI 1499 and CBS 2499). ST05.12/22 was found to be substantially different from both wine strains, especially at the level of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In addition, there were major differences in the genome structures between the strains investigated, including the presence of large duplications and deletions. Gene content analysis revealed the presence of 20 genes which were present in both wine strains but absent in the beer strain, including many genes involved in carbon and nitrogen metabolism, and vice versa, no genes that were missing in both AWRI 1499 and CBS 2499 were found in ST05.12/22. Together, this study provides tools to discriminateBrettanomycesstrains and provides a first glimpse at the genetic diversity and genome plasticity ofB. bruxellensis.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanaa Afroz Ahmed ◽  
Chien-Chi Lo ◽  
Po-E Li ◽  
Karen W Davenport ◽  
Patrick S.G. Chain

Next-generation sequencing is increasingly being used to examine closely related organisms. However, while genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) provide an excellent resource for phylogenetic reconstruction, to date evolutionary analyses have been performed using different ad hoc methods that are not often widely applicable across different projects. To facilitate the construction of robust phylogenies, we have developed a method for genome-wide identification/characterization of SNPs from sequencing reads and genome assemblies. Our phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary (PhaME) analysis software is unique in its ability to take reads and draft/complete genome(s) as input, derive core genome alignments, identify SNPs, construct phylogenies and perform evolutionary analyses. Several examples using genomes and read datasets for bacterial, eukaryotic and viral linages demonstrate the broad and robust functionality of PhaME. Furthermore, the ability to incorporate raw metagenomic reads from clinical samples with suspected infectious agents shows promise for the rapid phylogenetic characterization of pathogens within complex samples.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (34) ◽  
pp. e2104315118
Author(s):  
Pasquale Tripodi ◽  
Mark Timothy Rabanus-Wallace ◽  
Lorenzo Barchi ◽  
Sandip Kale ◽  
Salvatore Esposito ◽  
...  

Genebanks collect and preserve vast collections of plants and detailed passport information, with the aim of preserving genetic diversity for conservation and breeding. Genetic characterization of such collections has the potential to elucidate the genetic histories of important crops, use marker–trait associations to identify loci controlling traits of interest, search for loci undergoing selection, and contribute to genebank management by identifying taxonomic misassignments and duplicates. We conducted a genomic scan with genotyping by sequencing (GBS) derived single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of 10,038 pepper (Capsicum spp.) accessions from worldwide genebanks and investigated the recent history of this iconic staple. Genomic data detected up to 1,618 duplicate accessions within and between genebanks and showed that taxonomic ambiguity and misclassification often involve interspecific hybrids that are difficult to classify morphologically. We deeply interrogated the genetic diversity of the commonly consumed Capsicum annuum to investigate its history, finding that the kinds of peppers collected in broad regions across the globe overlap considerably. The method ReMIXTURE—using genetic data to quantify the similarity between the complement of peppers from a focal region and those from other regions—was developed to supplement traditional population genetic analyses. The results reflect a vision of pepper as a highly desirable and tradable cultural commodity, spreading rapidly throughout the globe along major maritime and terrestrial trade routes. Marker associations and possible selective sweeps affecting traits such as pungency were observed, and these traits were shown to be distributed nonuniformly across the globe, suggesting that human preferences exerted a primary influence over domesticated pepper genetic structure.


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