scholarly journals The Aquilegia genome provides insight into adaptive radiation and reveals an extraordinarily polymorphic chromosome with a unique history

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danièle L Filiault ◽  
Evangeline S Ballerini ◽  
Terezie Mandáková ◽  
Gökçe Aköz ◽  
Nathan J Derieg ◽  
...  

The columbine genus Aquilegia is a classic example of an adaptive radiation, involving a wide variety of pollinators and habitats. Here we present the genome assembly of A. coerulea ‘Goldsmith’, complemented by high-coverage sequencing data from 10 wild species covering the world-wide distribution. Our analyses reveal extensive allele sharing among species and demonstrate that introgression and selection played a role in the Aquilegia radiation. We also present the remarkable discovery that the evolutionary history of an entire chromosome differs from that of the rest of the genome – a phenomenon that we do not fully understand, but which highlights the need to consider chromosomes in an evolutionary context.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danièle Filiault ◽  
Evangeline S. Ballerini ◽  
Terezie Mandáková ◽  
Gökçe Aköz ◽  
Nathan Derieg ◽  
...  

AbstractThe columbine genus Aquilegia is a classic example of an adaptive radiation, involving a wide variety of pollinators and habitats. Here we present the genome assembly of A. coerulea ‘Goldsmith’, complemented by high-coverage sequencing data from 10 wild species covering the world-wide distribution. Our analyses reveal extensive allele sharing among species and demonstrate that introgression and selection played a role in the Aquilegia radiation. We also present the remarkable discovery that the evolutionary history of an entire chromosome differs from that of the rest of the genome – a phenomenon which we do not fully understand, but which highlights the need to consider chromosomes in an evolutionary context.


Author(s):  
Dave Lutgen ◽  
Raphael Ritter ◽  
Remi-André Olsen ◽  
Holger Schielzeth ◽  
Joel Gruselius ◽  
...  

AbstractThe feasibility to sequence entire genomes of virtually any organism provides unprecedented insights into the evolutionary history of populations and species. Nevertheless, many population genomic inferences – including the quantification and dating of admixture, introgression and demographic events, and the inference of selective sweeps – are still limited by the lack of high-quality haplotype information. In this respect, the newest generation of sequencing technology now promises significant progress. To establish the feasibility of haplotype-resolved genome resequencing at population scale, we investigated properties of linked-read sequencing data of songbirds of the genus Oenanthe across a range of sequencing depths. Our results based on the comparison of downsampled (25x, 20x, 15x, 10x, 7x, and 5x) with high-coverage data (46-68x) of seven bird genomes suggest that phasing contiguities and accuracies adequate for most population genomic analyses can be reached already with moderate sequencing effort. At 15x coverage, phased haplotypes span about 90% of the genome assembly, with 50 and 90 percent of the phased sequence located in phase blocks longer than 1.25-4.6 Mb (N50) and 0.27-0.72 Mb (N90), respectively. Phasing accuracy reaches beyond 99% starting from 15x coverage. Higher coverages yielded higher contiguities (up to about 7 Mb/1Mb (N50/N90) at 25x coverage), but only marginally improved phasing accuracy. Finally, phasing contiguity improved with input DNA molecule length; thus, higher-quality DNA may help keeping sequencing costs at bay. In conclusion, even for organisms with gigabase-sized genomes like birds, linked-read sequencing at moderate depth opens an affordable avenue towards haplotype-resolved genome resequencing data at population scale.


Author(s):  
Olga Kozhar ◽  
Mee-Sook Kim ◽  
Jorge Ibarra Caballero ◽  
Ned Klopfenstein ◽  
Phil Cannon ◽  
...  

Emerging pathogens have been increasing exponentially over the last century. The knowledge on whether these organisms are native to ecosystems or have been recently introduced is often of great importance. Understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes promoting emergence can help to control their spread and forecast epidemics. Using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing data, we studied genetic relationships, pathways of spread, and evolutionary history of Phellinus noxius, an emerging root-rotting fungus of unknown origin, in eastern Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. We analyzed patterns of genetic variation using Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood phylogeny, populations splits and mixtures measuring correlations in allele frequencies and genetic drift, and finally applied coalescent based theory using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) with supervised machine learning. Population structure analyses revealed five genetic groups with signatures of complex recent and ancient migration histories. The most probable scenario of ancient pathogen spread is movement from west to east: from Malaysia to the Pacific Islands, with subsequent spread to Taiwan and Australia. Furthermore, ABC analyses indicate that P. noxius spread occurred thousands of generations ago, contradicting previous assumptions that it was recently introduced in multiple areas. Our results suggest that recent emergence of P. noxius in east Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands is likely driven by anthropogenic and natural disturbances, including deforestation, land-use change, severe weather events, and introduction of exotic plants. This study provides a novel example of utilization of genome wide allele frequency data to unravel dynamics of pathogen emergence under conditions of changing ecosystems.


2019 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 366-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan M. Gee ◽  
Robert R. Reisz

AbstractNanobamus macrorhinus Schoch and Milner, 2014 is a small amphibamiform temnospondyl from the early Permian Arroyo Formation of Texas. It is most readily characterized by an elongate and partially subdivided naris. This condition is superficially reminiscent of that seen in the coeval trematopids, the group to which N. macrorhinus was originally referred to under an interpretation of the holotype as a larval form. This was discounted by later workers, but the amphibamiform affinities of the specimen were not formalized until recently. The specimen has never been described in the context of its amphibamiform affinities and remains poorly characterized, never having been sampled in a phylogenetic analysis. Here we present a complete, updated osteological description of N. macrorhinus, including an improved characterization of its unique mosaic of plesiomorphic and apomorphic features and clarification of the taxon's autapomorphies. Our analysis of the taxon's phylogenetic position within Amphibamiformes shows that N. macrorhinus was recovered as diverging after basal amphibamiforms, e.g., the micropholids, and before derived amphibamiforms, e.g., the amphibamids. This is supported by the unique mixture of retained plesiomorphies, e.g., nonforeshortened postparietals and an oval choana, and apomorphies, e.g., a narrow interorbital region and slender palatal rami of the pterygoid. These results reflect the complexity of terrestrial amphibamiform diversity and provide further insight into the evolutionary history of the lissamphibian stem in terrestrial environments.


IMA Fungus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Li ◽  
Lan Jiang ◽  
Ke Wang ◽  
Hai-Jun Wu ◽  
Rui-Heng Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Different hypotheses have been proposed to interpret the observed unusual ITS (internal transcribed spacer) sequences in Ophiocordyceps sinensis. The coexistence of diverged ITS paralogs in a single genome was previously shown by amplifying the ITS region from mono-ascospore isolates using specific primers designed for different ITS paralog groups. Among those paralogs, are AT-biased ITS sequences which were hypothesized to result from repeat-induced point mutation (RIP). This is a process that detects and mutates repetitive DNA and frequently leads to epigenetic silencing, and these mutations have been interpreted as pseudogenes. Here we investigate the occurrence and frequency of ITS pseudogenes in populations of O. sinensis using large-scale sampling, and discusses the implications of ITS pseudogenes for fungal phylogenetic and evolutionary studies. Our results demonstrate a wide distribution of ITS pseudogenes amongst different geographic populations, and indicate how ITS pseudogenes can contribute to the reconstruction of the evolutionary history of the species.


2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1788) ◽  
pp. 20140806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Thomas ◽  
Kevin J. McGraw ◽  
Michael W. Butler ◽  
Matthew T. Carrano ◽  
Odile Madden ◽  
...  

The broad palette of feather colours displayed by birds serves diverse biological functions, including communication and camouflage. Fossil feathers provide evidence that some avian colours, like black and brown melanins, have existed for at least 160 million years (Myr), but no traces of bright carotenoid pigments in ancient feathers have been reported. Insight into the evolutionary history of plumage carotenoids may instead be gained from living species. We visually surveyed modern birds for carotenoid-consistent plumage colours (present in 2956 of 9993 species). We then used high-performance liquid chromatography and Raman spectroscopy to chemically assess the family-level distribution of plumage carotenoids, confirming their presence in 95 of 236 extant bird families (only 36 family-level occurrences had been confirmed previously). Using our data for all modern birds, we modelled the evolutionary history of carotenoid-consistent plumage colours on recent supertrees. Results support multiple independent origins of carotenoid plumage pigmentation in 13 orders, including six orders without previous reports of plumage carotenoids. Based on time calibrations from the supertree, the number of avian families displaying plumage carotenoids increased throughout the Cenozoic, and most plumage carotenoid originations occurred after the Miocene Epoch (23 Myr). The earliest origination of plumage carotenoids was reconstructed within Passeriformes, during the Palaeocene Epoch (66–56 Myr), and not at the base of crown-lineage birds.


Author(s):  
Olga Kozhar ◽  
Mee-Sook Kim ◽  
Jorge Ibarra Caballero ◽  
Ned Klopfenstein ◽  
Phil Cannon ◽  
...  

Emerging plant pathogens have been increasing exponentially over the last century. To address this issue, it is critical to determine whether these pathogens are native to ecosystems or have been recently introduced. Understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes fostering emergence can help to manage their spread and predict epidemics/epiphytotics. Using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing data, we studied genetic relationships, pathways of spread, and evolutionary history of Phellinus noxius, an emerging root-rotting fungus of unknown origin, in eastern Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. We analyzed patterns of genetic variation using Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood phylogeny, populations splits and mixtures measuring correlations in allele frequencies and genetic drift, and finally applied coalescent based theory using Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) with supervised machine learning. Population structure analyses revealed five genetic groups with signatures of complex recent and ancient migration histories. The most probable scenario of ancient pathogen spread is movement from ghost population to Malaysia and the Pacific Islands, with subsequent spread to Taiwan and Australia. Furthermore, ABC analyses indicate that P. noxius spread occurred thousands of generations ago, contradicting previous assumptions that this pathogen was recently introduced to multiple geographic regions. Our results suggest that recent emergence of P. noxius in eastern Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands is likely driven by anthropogenic and natural disturbances, such as deforestation, land-use change, severe weather events, and/or introduction of exotic plants. This study provides a novel example of applying genome-wide allele frequency data to unravel dynamics of pathogen emergence under changing ecosystem conditions.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Moest ◽  
Steven M. Van Belleghem ◽  
Jennifer E. James ◽  
Camilo Salazar ◽  
Simon H. Martin ◽  
...  

AbstractNatural selection leaves distinct signatures in the genome that can reveal the targets and history of adaptive evolution. By analysing high-coverage genome sequence data from four major colour pattern loci sampled from nearly 600 individuals in 53 populations, we show pervasive selection on wing patterns across the Heliconius adaptive radiation. The strongest signatures correspond to loci with the greatest phenotypic effects, consistent with visual selection by predators, and are found in colour patterns with geographically restricted distributions. These recent sweeps are similar between co-mimics and indicate colour pattern turn-over events despite strong stabilizing selection. Using simulations we compare sweep signatures expected under classic hard sweeps with those resulting from adaptive introgression, an important aspect of mimicry evolution in Heliconius. Simulated recipient populations show a distinct ‘volcano’ pattern with peaks of increased genetic diversity around the selected target, consistent with patterns found in some populations. Our genomic data provide unprecedented insights into the recent history of selection across the Heliconius adaptive radiation.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Hartfield

AbstractGenome studies of facultative sexual species, which can either reproduce sexually or asexually, are providing insight into the evolutionary consequences of mixed reproductive modes. It is currently unclear to what extent the evolutionary history of facultative sexuals’ genomes can be approximated by the standard coalescent, and if a coalescent effective population size Ne exists. Here, I determine if and when these approximations can be made. When sex is frequent (occurring at a frequency much greater than 1/N per reproduction per generation, for N the actual population size), the underlying genealogy can be approximated by the standard coalescent, with a coalescent Ne ≈ N. When sex is very rare (at frequency much lower than 1/N), approximations for the pairwise coalescent time can be obtained, which is strongly influenced by the frequencies of sex and mitotic gene conversion, rather than N. However, these terms do not translate into a coalescent Ne. These results are used to discuss the best sampling strategies for investigating the evolutionary history of facultative sexual species.


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