PacBio Iso-Seq Improves the Rainbow Trout Genome Annotation and Identifies Alternative Splicing Associated With Economically Important Phenotypes

Rainbow trout is an important model organism that has received concerted international efforts to study the transcriptome. For this purpose, short-read sequencing has been primarily used over the past decade. However, these sequences are too short of resolving the transcriptome complexity. This study reported a first full-length transcriptome assembly of the rainbow trout using single-molecule long-read isoform sequencing (Iso-Seq). Extensive computational approaches were used to refine and validate the reconstructed transcriptome. The study identified 10,640 high-confidence transcripts not previously annotated, in addition to 1,479 isoforms not mapped to the current Swanson reference genome. Most of the identified lncRNAs were non-coding variants of coding transcripts. The majority of genes had multiple transcript isoforms (average ∼3 isoforms/locus). Intron retention (IR) and exon skipping (ES) accounted for 56% of alternative splicing (AS) events. Iso-Seq improved the reference genome annotation, which allowed identification of characteristic AS associated with fish growth, muscle accretion, disease resistance, stress response, and fish migration. For instance, an ES in GVIN1 gene existed in fish susceptible to bacterial cold-water disease (BCWD). Besides, under five stress conditions, there was a commonly regulated exon in prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit alpha-2 (P4HA2) gene. The reconstructed gene models and their posttranscriptional processing in rainbow trout provide invaluable resources that could be further used for future genetics and genomics studies. Additionally, the study identified characteristic transcription events associated with economically important phenotypes, which could be applied in selective breeding.

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AStrap: identification of alternative splicing from transcript sequences without a reference genome

Bioinformatics ◽

10.1093/bioinformatics/bty1008 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 35 (15) ◽

pp. 2654-2656 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Guoli Ji ◽

Wenbin Ye ◽

Yaru Su ◽

Moliang Chen ◽

Guangzao Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Alternative Splicing ◽

Single Molecule ◽

Reference Genome ◽

De Novo ◽

Supplementary Information ◽

Model Organisms ◽

Sequencing Data ◽

Extensive Evaluation ◽

Reference Genomes

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.

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The complexity of alternative splicing and landscape of tissue-specific expression in lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) unveiled by Illumina- and single-molecule real-time-based RNA-sequencing

DNA Research ◽

10.1093/dnares/dsz010 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 301-311 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Yue Zhang ◽

Tonny Maraga Nyong'A ◽

Tao Shi ◽

Pingfang Yang

Keyword(s):

Alternative Splicing ◽

Real Time ◽

Single Molecule ◽

Intron Retention ◽

Critical Role ◽

Full Length ◽

Specific Expression ◽

Splice Isoforms ◽

Tissue Specific ◽

Genomic Studies

Abstract Alternative splicing (AS) plays a critical role in regulating different physiological and developmental processes in eukaryotes, by dramatically increasing the diversity of the transcriptome and the proteome. However, the saturation and complexity of AS remain unclear in lotus due to its limitation of rare obtainment of full-length multiple-splice isoforms. In this study, we apply a hybrid assembly strategy by combining single-molecule real-time sequencing and Illumina RNA-seq to get a comprehensive insight into the lotus transcriptomic landscape. We identified 211,802 high-quality full-length non-chimeric reads, with 192,690 non-redundant isoforms, and updated the lotus reference gene model. Moreover, our analysis identified a total of 104,288 AS events from 16,543 genes, with alternative 3ʹ splice-site being the predominant model, following by intron retention. By exploring tissue datasets, 370 tissue-specific AS events were identified among 12 tissues. Both the tissue-specific genes and isoforms might play important roles in tissue or organ development, and are suitable for ‘ABCE’ model partly in floral tissues. A large number of AS events and isoform variants identified in our study enhance the understanding of transcriptional diversity in lotus, and provide valuable resource for further functional genomic studies.

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The value of genotype-specific reference for transcriptome analyses

10.1101/2021.09.14.460213 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wenbin Guo ◽

Max Coulter ◽

Robbie Waugh ◽

Runxuan Zhang

Keyword(s):

Alternative Splicing ◽

Reference Genome ◽

Transcriptome Assembly ◽

Specific Reference ◽

Rna Seq ◽

High Quality ◽

Common Reference ◽

Transcript Quantification ◽

Gene Level ◽

Reference Transcript

High quality transcriptome assembly using short reads from RNA-seq data still heavily relies upon reference-based approaches, of which the primary step is to align RNA-seq reads to a single reference genome of haploid sequence. However, it is increasingly apparent that while different genotypes within a species share core genes, they also contain variable numbers of specific genes that are only present a subset of individuals. Using a common reference may thus lead to a loss of genotype-specific information in the assembled transcript dataset and the generation of erroneous, incomplete or misleading transcriptomics analysis results. With the recent development of pan-genome information in many species, it is important that we understand the limitations of single genotype references for transcriptomics analysis. In this study, we quantitively evaluated the advantages of using genotype-specific reference genomes for transcriptome assembly and analysis using cultivated barley as a model. We mapped barley cultivar Barke RNA-seq reads to the Barke genome and to the cultivar Morex genome (common barley genome reference) to construct a genotype specific Reference Transcript Dataset (sRTD) and a common Reference Transcript Datasets (cRTD), respectively. We compared the two RTDs according to their transcript diversity, transcript sequence and structure similarity and the accuracy they provided for transcript quantification and differential expression analysis. Our evaluation shows that the sRTD has a significantly higher diversity of transcripts and alternative splicing events. Despite using a high-quality reference genome for assembly of the cRTD, we miss ca. 40% transcripts present in the sRTD and cRTD only has ca. 70% true assemblies. We found that the sRTD is more accurate for transcript quantification as well as differential expression and differential alternative splicing analysis. However, gene level quantification and comparative expression analysis are less affected by the source RTD, which indicates that analysing transcriptomic data at the gene level may be a reasonable compromise when a high-quality genotype-specific reference is not available.

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PacBio and Illumina RNA Sequencing Identify Alternative Splicing Events in Response to Cold Stress in Two Poplar Species

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.737004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Jingli Yang ◽

Wanqiu Lv ◽

Liying Shao ◽

Yanrui Fu ◽

Haimei Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alternative Splicing ◽

Stress Response ◽

Cold Stress ◽

Rna Sequencing ◽

Single Molecule ◽

Intron Retention ◽

Global Analysis ◽

Populus Trichocarpa ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Long Read

In eukaryotes, alternative splicing (AS) is a crucial regulatory mechanism that modulates mRNA diversity and stability. The contribution of AS to stress is known in many species related to stress, but the posttranscriptional mechanism in poplar under cold stress is still unclear. Recent studies have utilized the advantages of single molecular real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology from Pacific Bioscience (PacBio) to identify full-length transcripts. We, therefore, used a combination of single-molecule long-read sequencing and Illumina RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) for a global analysis of AS in two poplar species (Populus trichocarpa and P. ussuriensis) under cold stress. We further identified 1,261 AS events in P. trichocarpa and 2,101 in P. ussuriensis among which intron retention, with a frequency of more than 30%, was the most prominent type under cold stress. RNA-Seq data analysis and annotation revealed the importance of calcium, abscisic acid, and reactive oxygen species signaling in cold stress response. Besides, the low temperature rapidly induced multiple splicing factors, transcription factors, and differentially expressed genes through AS. In P. ussuriensis, there was a rapid occurrence of AS events, which provided a new insight into the complexity and regulation of AS during cold stress response in different poplar species for the first time.

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ClusTrast: a short read de novo transcript isoform assembler guided by clustered contigs

10.1101/2022.01.02.473666 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Karl Johan Westrin ◽

Warren W Kretzschmar ◽

Olof Emanuelsson

Keyword(s):

Alternative Splicing ◽

Reference Genome ◽

De Novo ◽

Transcriptome Assembly ◽

Sequencing Data ◽

Short Read ◽

Transcript Isoforms ◽

Short Reads ◽

Moderate Reduction ◽

Eukaryotic Species

Motivation: Transcriptome assembly from RNA sequencing data in species without a reliable reference genome has to be performed de novo, but studies have shown that de novo methods often have inadequate reconstruction ability of transcript isoforms. This impedes the study of alternative splicing, in particular for lowly expressed isoforms. Result: We present the de novo transcript isoform assembler ClusTrast, which clusters a set of guiding contigs by similarity, aligns short reads to the guiding contigs, and assembles each clustered set of short reads individually. We tested ClusTrast on datasets from six eukaryotic species, and showed that ClusTrast reconstructed more expressed known isoforms than any of the other tested de novo assemblers, at a moderate reduction in precision. An appreciable fraction were reconstructed to at least 95% of their length. We suggest that ClusTrast will be useful for studying alternative splicing in the absence of a reference genome. Availability and implementation: The code and usage instructions are available at https://github.com/karljohanw/clustrast.

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The dynamic landscape of fission yeast meiosis alternative-splice isoforms

10.1101/045922 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zheng Kuang ◽

Jef D. Boeke ◽

Stefan Canzar

Keyword(s):

Alternative Splicing ◽

Fission Yeast ◽

Single Molecule ◽

Intron Retention ◽

Major Type ◽

Splice Isoforms ◽

Long Read ◽

Dynamic Landscape ◽

Yeast Meiosis ◽

Novel Isoforms

AbstractAlternative splicing increases the diversity of transcriptomes and proteomes in metazoans. The extent to which alternative splicing is active and functional in unicellular organisms is less understood. Here we exploit a single-molecule long-read sequencing technique and develop an open-source software program called SpliceHunter, to characterize the transcriptome in the meiosis of fission yeast. We reveal 17017 alternative splicing events in 19741 novel isoforms at different stages of meiosis, including antisense and read-through transcripts. Intron retention is the major type of alternative splicing, followed by “alternate intron in exon”. 887 novel transcription units are detected; 60 of the predicted proteins show homology in other species and form theoretical stable structures. We compare the dynamics of novel isoforms based on the number of supporting full-length reads with those of annotated isoforms and explore the translational capacity and quality of novel isoforms. The evaluation of these factors indicates that the majority of novel isoforms are unlikely to be both condition-specific and translatable but the possibility of functional novel isoforms is not excluded. Moreover, the co-option of these unusual transcripts into newly born genes seems likely. Together, this study highlights the diversity and dynamics at the isoform level in the sexual development of fission yeast.

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Improved reference genome annotation of Brassica rapa by PacBio RNA sequencing

10.1101/2021.11.27.470189 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Zhicheng Zhang ◽

Jing Guo ◽

Xu Cai ◽

Yufang Li ◽

Xi Xi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alternative Splicing ◽

Brassica Rapa ◽

Genome Annotation ◽

Reference Genome ◽

Genomic Analysis ◽

Genomic Research ◽

Vegetable Crops ◽

Structural Variations ◽

Protein Coding ◽

Genome Annotations

The species Brassica rapa includes several important vegetable crops. The draft reference genome of B. rapa ssp. pekinensis was completed in 2011, and it has since been updated twice. The pangenome with structural variations of 18 B. rapa accessions was published in 2021. Although extensive genomic analysis has been conducted on B. rapa, a comprehensive genome annotation including gene structure, alternative splicing events, and non-coding genes is still lacking. Therefore, we used the Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) single-molecular long-read technology to improve gene models and produced the annotated genome version 3.5. In total, we obtained 753,041 full-length non-chimeric (FLNC) reads and collapsed these into 92,810 non-redundant consensus isoforms, capturing 48% of the genes annotated in the B. rapa reference genome annotation v3.1. Based on the isoform data, we identified 830 novel protein-coding genes that were missed in previous genome annotations, defined the UTR regions of 20,340 annotated genes and corrected 886 wrongly-spliced genes. We also identified 28,564 alternative splicing (AS) events and 1,480 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). We produced a relatively complete and high-quality reference transcriptome for B. rapa that can facilitate further functional genomic research.

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Profiling Novel Alternative Splicing within Multiple Tissues Provides Useful Insights into Porcine Genome Annotation

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes11121405 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 1405

Author(s):

Wen Feng ◽

Pengju Zhao ◽

Xianrui Zheng ◽

Zhengzheng Hu ◽

Jianfeng Liu

Keyword(s):

Alternative Splicing ◽

Genome Annotation ◽

Intron Retention ◽

Single Gene ◽

Donor Site ◽

Exon Skipping ◽

Acceptor Site ◽

Porcine Genome ◽

Expression Of Genes ◽

Alternative Donor

Alternative splicing (AS) is a process during gene expression that results in a single gene coding for different protein variants. AS contributes to transcriptome and proteome diversity. In order to characterize AS in pigs, genome-wide transcripts and AS events were detected using RNA sequencing of 34 different tissues in Duroc pigs. In total, 138,403 AS events and 29,270 expressed genes were identified. An alternative donor site was the most common AS form and accounted for 44% of the total AS events. The percentage of the other three AS forms (exon skipping, alternative acceptor site, and intron retention) was approximately 19%. The results showed that the most common AS events involving alternative donor sites could produce different transcripts or proteins that affect the biological processes. The expression of genes with tissue-specific AS events showed that gene functions were consistent with tissue functions. AS increased proteome diversity and resulted in novel proteins that gained or lost important functional domains. In summary, these findings extend porcine genome annotation and highlight roles that AS could play in determining tissue identity.

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SMRT sequencing analysis reveals the full-length transcripts and alternative splicing patterns in Ananas comosus var. bracteatus

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.7062 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. e7062 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jun Ma ◽

Yixuan Xiang ◽

Yingyuan Xiong ◽

Zhen Lin ◽

Yanbin Xue ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alternative Splicing ◽

Single Molecule ◽

Intron Retention ◽

Chlorophyll Biosynthesis ◽

Full Length ◽

Ananas Comosus ◽

Cdna Libraries ◽

Sequencing Analysis ◽

Genomic Complexity ◽

Leaf Phenotype

Background Ananas comosus var. bracteatus is an herbaceous perennial monocot cultivated as an ornamental plant for its chimeric leaves. Because of its genomic complexity, and because no genomic information is available in the public GenBank database, the complete structure of the mRNA transcript is unclear and there are limited molecular mechanism studies for Ananas comosus var. bracteatus. Methods Three size fractionated full-length cDNA libraries (1–2 kb, 2–3 kb, and 3–6 kb) were constructed and subsequently sequenced in five single-molecule real-time (SMRT) cells (2 cells, 2 cells, and 1 cell, respectively). Results In total, 19,838 transcripts were identified for alternative splicing (AS) analysis. Among them, 19,185 (96.7%) transcripts were functionally annotated. A total of 9,921 genes were identified by mapping the non-redundant isoforms to the reference genome. A total of 10,649 AS events were identified, the majority of which were intron retention events. The alternatively spliced genes had functions in the basic metabolism processes of the plant such as carbon metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, and glycolysis. Fourteen genes related to chlorophyll biosynthesis were identified as having AS events. The distribution of the splicing sites and the percentage of conventional and non-canonical AS sites of the genes categorized in pathways related to the albino leaf phenotype (ko00860, ko00195, ko00196, and ko00710) varied greatly. The present results showed that there were 8,316 genes carrying at least one poly (A) site, which generated 21,873 poly (A) sites. These findings indicated that the quality of the gene structure and functional information of the obtained genome was greatly improved, which may facilitate further genetic study of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus.

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Genome-Wide Analysis of Light-Regulated Alternative Splicing in Artemisia annua L.

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.733505 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Tingyu Ma ◽

Han Gao ◽

Dong Zhang ◽

Wei Sun ◽

Qinggang Yin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alternative Splicing ◽

Single Molecule ◽

Artemisia Annua ◽

Intron Retention ◽

Genetic Regulation ◽

Red Light ◽

Light Regulation ◽

Full Length ◽

Common Mechanism ◽

Genome Wide

Artemisinin is currently the most effective ingredient in the treatment of malaria, which is thus of great significance to study the genetic regulation of Artemisia annua. Alternative splicing (AS) is a regulatory process that increases the complexity of transcriptome and proteome. The most common mechanism of alternative splicing (AS) in plant is intron retention (IR). However, little is known about whether the IR isoforms produced by light play roles in regulating biosynthetic pathways. In this work we would explore how the level of AS in A. annua responds to light regulation. We obtained a new dataset of AS by analyzing full-length transcripts using both Illumina- and single molecule real-time (SMRT)-based RNA-seq as well as analyzing AS on various tissues. A total of 5,854 IR isoforms were identified, with IR accounting for the highest proportion (48.48%), affirming that IR is the most common mechanism of AS. We found that the number of up-regulated IR isoforms (1534/1378, blue and red light, respectively) was more than twice that of down-regulated (636/682) after treatment of blue or red light. In the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway, 10 genes produced 16 differentially expressed IR isoforms. This work demonstrated that the differential expression of IR isoforms induced by light has the potential to regulate sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis. This study also provides high accuracy full-length transcripts, which can be a valuable genetic resource for further research of A. annua, including areas of development, breeding, and biosynthesis of active compounds.

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