Menu
July 7, 2019

Draft genome sequence of the plant pathogen Streptomyces sp. strain 11-1-2.

Streptomyces sp. strain 11-1-2 is a Gram-positive filamentous bacterium that was isolated from a common scab lesion on a potato tuber. The strain is highly pathogenic to plants but does not produce the virulence-associated Streptomyces phytotoxin thaxtomin A. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. 11-1-2. Copyright © 2017 Bown and Bignell.


July 7, 2019

Complete genome sequence of the fruiting myxobacterium Myxococcus macrosporus strain DSM 14697, generated by PacBio sequencing.

Members of the Myxococcales order initiate a developmental program in response to starvation that culminates in formation of spore-filled fruiting bodies. To investigate the genetic basis for fruiting body formation, we present the complete 8.9-Mb genome sequence of Myxococcus macrosporus strain DSM 14697, generated using the PacBio sequencing platform. Copyright © 2017 Treuner-Lange et al.


July 7, 2019

Key features of mcr-1-bearing plasmids from Escherichia coli isolated from humans and food.

Mcr-1-harboring Enterobacteriaceae are reported worldwide since their first discovery in 2015. However, a limited number of studies are available that compared full-length plasmid sequences of human and animal origins.In this study, mcr-1-bearing plasmids from seven Escherichia coli isolates recovered from patients (n = 3), poultry meat (n = 2) and turkey meat (n = 2) in Switzerland were further analyzed and compared. Isolates were characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The mcr-1-bearing plasmids were transferred by transformation into reference strain E. coli DH5a and MCR-1-producing transformants were selected on LB-agar supplemented with 2 mg/L colistin. Purified plasmids were then sequenced and compared.MLST revealed six distinct STs, illustrating the high clonal diversity among mcr-1-positive E. coli isolates of different origins. Two different mcr-1-positive plasmids were identified from a single E. coli ST48 human isolate. All other isolates possessed a single mcr-1 harboring plasmid. Transferable IncI2 (size ca. 60-61 kb) and IncX4 (size ca. 33-35 kb) type plasmids each bearing mcr-1 were found associated with human and food isolates. None of the mcr-1-positive IncI2 and IncX4 plasmids possessed any additional resistance determinants. Surprisingly, all but one of the sequenced mcr-1-positive plasmids lacked the ISApl1 element, which is a key element mediating acquisition of mcr-1 into various plasmid backbones.There is strong evidence that the food chain may be an important transmission route for mcr-1-bearing plasmids. Our data suggest that some “epidemic” plasmids rather than specific E. coli clones might be responsible for the spread of the mcr-1 gene along the food chain.


July 7, 2019

Convergent evolution of Y chromosome gene content in flies.

Sex-chromosomes have formed repeatedly across Diptera from ordinary autosomes, and X-chromosomes mostly conserve their ancestral genes. Y-chromosomes are characterized by abundant gene-loss and an accumulation of repetitive DNA, yet the nature of the gene repertoire of fly Y-chromosomes is largely unknown. Here we trace gene-content evolution of Y-chromosomes across 22 Diptera species, using a subtraction pipeline that infers Y genes from male and female genome, and transcriptome data. Few genes remain on old Y-chromosomes, but the number of inferred Y-genes varies substantially between species. Young Y-chromosomes still show clear evidence of their autosomal origins, but most genes on old Y-chromosomes are not simply remnants of genes originally present on the proto-sex-chromosome that escaped degeneration, but instead were recruited secondarily from autosomes. Despite almost no overlap in Y-linked gene content in different species with independently formed sex-chromosomes, we find that Y-linked genes have evolved convergent gene functions associated with testis expression. Thus, male-specific selection appears as a dominant force shaping gene-content evolution of Y-chromosomes across fly species.While X-chromosome gene content tends to be conserved, Y-chromosome evolution is dynamic and difficult to reconstruct. Here, Mahajan and Bachtrog use a subtraction pipeline to identify Y-linked genes in 22 Diptera species, revealing patterns of Y-chromosome gene-content evolution.


July 7, 2019

LOGAN: A framework for LOssless Graph-based ANalysis of high throughput sequence data

Recent massive growth in the production of sequencing data necessitates matching improvements in bioinformatics tools to effectively utilize it. Existing tools suffer from limitations in both scalability and applicability which are inherent to their underlying algorithms and data structures. We identify the key requirements for the ideal data structure for sequence analyses: it should be informationally lossless, locally updatable, and memory efficient; requirements which are not met by data structures underlying the major assembly strategies Overlap Layout Consensus and De Bruijn Graphs. We therefore propose a new data structure, the LOGAN graph, which is based on a memory efficient Sparse De Bruijn Graph with routing information. Innovations in storing routing information and careful implementation allow sequence datasets for Escherichia coli (4.6Mbp, 117x coverage), Arabidopsis thaliana (135Mbp, 17.5x coverage) and Solanum pennellii (1.2Gbp, 47x coverage) to be loaded into memory on a desktop computer in seconds, minutes, and hours respectively. Memory consumption is competitive with state of the art alternatives, while losslessly representing the reads in an indexed and updatable form. Both Second and Third Generation Sequencing reads are supported. Thus, the LOGAN graph is positioned to be the backbone for major breakthroughs in sequence analysis such as integrated hybrid assembly, assembly of exceptionally large and repetitive genomes, as well as assembly and representation of pan-genomes.


July 7, 2019

The Mobile Element Locator Tool (MELT): population-scale mobile element discovery and biology.

Mobile element insertions (MEIs) represent ~25% of all structural variants in human genomes. Moreover, when they disrupt genes, MEIs can influence human traits and diseases. Therefore, MEIs should be fully discovered along with other forms of genetic variation in whole genome sequencing (WGS) projects involving population genetics, human diseases, and clinical genomics. Here, we describe the Mobile Element Locator Tool (MELT), which was developed as part of the 1000 Genomes Project to perform MEI discovery on a population scale. Using both Illumina WGS data and simulations, we demonstrate that MELT outperforms existing MEI discovery tools in terms of speed, scalability, specificity, and sensitivity, while also detecting a broader spectrum of MEI-associated features. Several run modes were developed to perform MEI discovery on local and cloud systems. In addition to using MELT to discover MEIs in modern humans as part of the 1000 Genomes Project, we also used it to discover MEIs in chimpanzees and ancient (Neanderthal and Denisovan) hominids. We detected diverse patterns of MEI stratification across these populations that likely were caused by (1) diverse rates of MEI production from source elements, (2) diverse patterns of MEI inheritance, and (3) the introgression of ancient MEIs into modern human genomes. Overall, our study provides the most comprehensive map of MEIs to date spanning chimpanzees, ancient hominids, and modern humans and reveals new aspects of MEI biology in these lineages. We also demonstrate that MELT is a robust platform for MEI discovery and analysis in a variety of experimental settings.© 2017 Gardner et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.


July 7, 2019

The rapid in vivo evolution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in ventilator-associated pneumonia patients leads to attenuated virulence.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes severe airway infections in humans. These infections are usually difficult to treat and associated with high mortality rates. While colonizing the human airways, P. aeruginosa could accumulate genetic mutations that often lead to its better adaptability to the host environment. Understanding these evolutionary traits may provide important clues for the development of effective therapies to treat P. aeruginosa infections. In this study, 25 P. aeruginosa isolates were longitudinally sampled from the airways of four ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) patients. Pacbio and Illumina sequencing were used to analyse the in vivo evolutionary trajectories of these isolates. Our analysis showed that positive selection dominantly shaped P. aeruginosa genomes during VAP infections and led to three convergent evolution events, including loss-of-function mutations of lasR and mpl, and a pyoverdine-deficient phenotype. Specifically, lasR encodes one of the major transcriptional regulators in quorum sensing, whereas mpl encodes an enzyme responsible for recycling cell wall peptidoglycan. We also found that P. aeruginosa isolated at late stages of VAP infections produce less elastase and are less virulent in vivo than their earlier isolated counterparts, suggesting the short-term in vivo evolution of P. aeruginosa leads to attenuated virulence.© 2017 The Authors.


July 7, 2019

Draft genome sequences of Trichophyton rubrum CMCC(F)T1i and Trichophyton violaceum CMCC(F)T3l by Illumina 2000 and Pacific Biosciences.

One strain of Trichophyton rubrum CMCC(F)T1i (=CBS 139224) isolated from onychomycosis and one strain of Trichophyton violaceum CMCC(F)T3l (=CBS 141829) isolated from tinea capitis in China were whole-genome sequenced by Illumina/Solexa, while the former was also sequenced by Pacific Biosciences sequencing in parallel. Copyright © 2017 Zhan et al.


July 7, 2019

Complete genome sequence of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae strain KM014, a clinical isolate from South Korea.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is the etiological agent of swine enzootic pneumonia, resulting in considerable economic losses in the swine industry. A few genome sequences of M. hyopneumoniae have been reported to date, implying that additional genome data are needed for further genetic studies. Here, we present the annotated genome sequence of M. hyopneumoniae strain KM014. Copyright © 2017 Han et al.


July 7, 2019

Complete genome of Arthrobacter alpinus strain R3.8, bioremediation potential unraveled with genomic analysis.

Arthrobacter alpinus R3.8 is a psychrotolerant bacterial strain isolated from a soil sample obtained at Rothera Point, Adelaide Island, close to the Antarctic Peninsula. Strain R3.8 was sequenced in order to help discover potential cold active enzymes with biotechnological applications. Genome analysis identified various cold adaptation genes including some coding for anti-freeze proteins and cold-shock proteins, genes involved in bioremediation of xenobiotic compounds including naphthalene, and genes with chitinolytic and N-acetylglucosamine utilization properties and also plant-growth-influencing properties. In this genome report, we present a complete genome sequence of A. alpinus strain R3.8 and its annotation data, which will facilitate exploitation of potential novel cold-active enzymes.


July 7, 2019

Multiple hybrid de novo genome assembly of finger millet, an orphan allotetraploid crop.

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) is an important crop for food security because of its tolerance to drought, which is expected to be exacerbated by global climate changes. Nevertheless, it is often classified as an orphan/underutilized crop because of the paucity of scientific attention. Among several small millets, finger millet is considered as an excellent source of essential nutrient elements, such as iron and zinc; hence, it has potential as an alternate coarse cereal. However, high-quality genome sequence data of finger millet are currently not available. One of the major problems encountered in the genome assembly of this species was its polyploidy, which hampers genome assembly compared with a diploid genome. To overcome this problem, we sequenced its genome using diverse technologies with sufficient coverage and assembled it via a novel multiple hybrid assembly workflow that combines next-generation with single-molecule sequencing, followed by whole-genome optical mapping using the Bionano Irys® system. The total number of scaffolds was 1,897 with an N50 length?>2.6?Mb and detection of 96% of the universal single-copy orthologs. The majority of the homeologs were assembled separately. This indicates that the proposed workflow is applicable to the assembly of other allotetraploid genomes.© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Kazusa DNA Research Institute.


July 7, 2019

Genetic plasticity of the Shigella virulence plasmid is mediated by intra- and inter-molecular events between insertion sequences.

Acquisition of a single copy, large virulence plasmid, pINV, led to the emergence of Shigella spp. from Escherichia coli. The plasmid encodes a Type III secretion system (T3SS) on a 30 kb pathogenicity island (PAI), and is maintained in a bacterial population through a series of toxin:antitoxin (TA) systems which mediate post-segregational killing (PSK). The T3SS imposes a significant cost on the bacterium, and strains which have lost the plasmid and/or genes encoding the T3SS grow faster than wild-type strains in the laboratory, and fail to bind the indicator dye Congo Red (CR). Our aim was to define the molecular events in Shigella flexneri that cause loss of Type III secretion (T3S), and to examine whether TA systems exert positional effects on pINV. During growth at 37°C, we found that deletions of regions of the plasmid including the PAI lead to the emergence of CR-negative colonies; deletions occur through intra-molecular recombination events between insertion sequences (ISs) flanking the PAI. Furthermore, by repositioning MvpAT (which belongs to the VapBC family of TA systems) near the PAI, we demonstrate that the location of this TA system alters the rearrangements that lead to loss of T3S, indicating that MvpAT acts both globally (by reducing loss of pINV through PSK) as well as locally (by preventing loss of adjacent sequences). During growth at environmental temperatures, we show for the first time that pINV spontaneously integrates into different sites in the chromosome, and this is mediated by inter-molecular events involving IS1294. Integration leads to reduced PAI gene expression and impaired secretion through the T3SS, while excision of pINV from the chromosome restores T3SS function. Therefore, pINV integration provides a reversible mechanism for Shigella to circumvent the metabolic burden imposed by pINV. Intra- and inter-molecular events between ISs, which are abundant in Shigella spp., mediate plasticity of S. flexneri pINV.


July 7, 2019

Complete genome sequence of acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease-causing Vibrio campbellii LA16-V1, isolated from Penaeus vannamei cultured in a Latin American country.

We report here the complete genome sequence of Vibrio campbellii, isolated from Penaeus vannamei cultured in a Latin American country. The Tn3-like transposon and pirAB genes were encoded on the plasmid pLA16-2. These data support the geographical variations in the virulence plasmid found among acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND)-causing Vibrio isolates from Latin America and Asia. Copyright © 2017 Ahn et al.


Talk with an expert

If you have a question, need to check the status of an order, or are interested in purchasing an instrument, we're here to help.