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Asset Tag: Plant and Animal Sciences,

July 7, 2019  |  

Identification and expression analysis of wheat TaGF14 genes.

The 14-3-3 gene family members play key roles in various cellular processes. However, little is known about the numbers and roles of 14-3-3 genes in wheat. The aims of this study were to identify TaGF14 numbers in wheat by searching its whole genome through blast, to study the phylogenetic relationships with other plant species and to discuss the functions of TaGF14s. The results showed that common wheat harbored 20 TaGF14 genes, located on wheat chromosome groups 2, 3, 4, and 7. Out of them, eighteen TaGF14s are non-e proteins, and two wheat TaGF14 genes, TaGF14i and TaGF14f, are e proteins. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that these genes were divided into six clusters: cluster 1 (TaGF14d, TaGF14g, TaGF14j, TaGF14h, TaGF14c, and TaGF14n); cluster 2 (TaGF14k); cluster 3 (TaGF14b, TaGF14l, TaGF14m, and TaGF14s); cluster 4 (TaGF14a, TaGF14e, and TaGF14r); cluster 5 (TaGF14i and TaGF14f); and cluster 6 (TaGF14o, TaGF14p, TaGF14q, and TaGF14t). Tissue-specific gene expressions suggested that all TaGF14s were likely constitutively expressed, except two genes, i.e., TaGF14p and TaGF14f. And the highest amount of TaGF14 transcripts were observed in developing grains at 20 days post anthesis (DPA), especially for TaGF14j and TaGF14l. After drought stress, five genes, i.e., TaGF14c, TaGF14d, TaGF14g, TaGF14h, and TaGF14j, were up-regulated expression under drought stress for both 1 and 6 h, suggesting these genes played vital role in combating against drought stress. However, all the TaGF14s were down-regulated expression under heat stress for both 1 and 6 h, indicating TaGF14s may be negatively associated with heat stress by reducing the expression to combat heat stress or through other pathways. These results suggested that cluster 1, e.g., TaGF14j, may participate in the whole wheat developing stages, e.g., grain-filling (starch biosynthesis) and may also participate in combating against drought stress. Subsequently, a homolog of TaGF14j, TaGF14-JM22, were cloned by RACE and used to validate its function. Immunoblotting results showed that TaGF14-JM22 protein, closely related to TaGF14d, TaGF14g, and TaGF14j, can interact with AGP-L, SSI, SSII, SBEIIa, and SBEIIb in developing grains, suggesting that TaGF14s located on group 4 may be involved in starch biosynthesis. Therefore, it is possible to develop starch-rich wheat cultivars by modifying TaGF14s.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Oryza rufipogon Griff.

Oryza rufipogon, the progenitor of present-day cultivated rice, O. sativa, is one of the most studied wild species of rice. It is a perennial plant commonly found in a marsh or aquatic habitats of eastern and southern Asia. It has partial outcrossing behavior and is photoperiod sensitive. The flowering time usually ranges between September and November. It has been and is being exploited as a source of valuable genes and QTLs for yield components as well as resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses. A number of populations like chromosome segment substitution lines, backcross inbred lines, near-isogenic lines, and recombinant inbred lines have been developed from crosses between O. rufipogon and O. sativa as a prebreeding resource. These are being employed for broadening the genetic base of cultivated rice and diversify the breeder’s pool. With the advent of sequencing technologies, a number of phylogenetic studies have been conducted to reveal the evolutionary relationship of O. rufipogon with cultivated rice O. sativa. Further, transcriptomic studies characterizing the effect of various abiotic stresses have been conducted on this wild species. Role of miRNA under stress reaction has also been studied. Though the genetic, genomic, and transcriptomic resources are abundant, the proteomic resources for O. rufipogon are limited.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Oryza meridionalis NQ Ng

Oryza meridionalis is an AA genome species found in Northern Australia. Phylogenetic analysis places this as the most distant of the AA genome species from domesticated rice (Oryza sativa). This makes it a key genetic resource for rice improvement. A draft nuclear genome sequence is available, and also the chloroplast genome has been sequenced from many genotypes. The high amylose starch content in these taxa may be useful for developing new rice grain characteristics. Here we have reviewed the all the research advancements that are made till today on this species.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Oryza glaberrima Steud.

Oryza glaberrima is the African cultivated rice species, domesticated from its wild ancestor by farmers living in Inland Delta of Niger River. Several studies indicated that it has extremely narrow genetic diversity compared to both its wild progenitor, Oryza barthii and the Asian rice, Oryza sativa which can mainly be attributed to a severe domestication bottleneck. Despite its scarcity in farmer’s field due to its low yield potential, high shattering and lodging susceptibility, O. glaberrima is of great value not only to Africa but also globally. Perhaps its greatest contribution to regional and global food security is as a source of genes, as it possesses resistance/tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. It also has unique starch-related traits which give it good cooking and eating properties. Advances in DNA sequencing have provided useful genomic resources for African rice, key among them being whole genome sequences. Genomic tools are enabling greater understanding of the useful functional diversity found in this species. These advances have potential of addressing some of the undesirable attributes found in this species which have led to its continued replacement by Asian rice. Development of new generation of rice varieties for African farmers will therefore require the adoption of advanced molecular breeding tools as these will allow efficient utilization of the wealth and resilience found in African rice in rice improvement.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Natural rubber and the Russian dandelion genome

The world needs rubber. Rubber is crucial for the tires on the cars, trucks and airplanes that propel modern transportation. It is equally important for daily tasks: latex gloves in the lab, balloons in angioplasty and wetsuits that warm a cold dip in the ocean. Rubber can be made synthetically from petroleum derivatives, but synthetic rubber is not as strong as rubber iso- lated from plants. The principal plant source for natural rubber (NR) is the sap of the Par´ a tree (Hevea brasiliensis), which is grown throughout Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, the produc- tion capacity of the Par´ a tree is limited by the availability of suitable land and by labor-intensive harvesting methods. The sustainability of the Par´ a crop is also constrained by its narrow genetic base, which may make the crop susceptible to disease.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Rooting for new sources of natural rubber

Global production of natural rubber (NR) depends overwhelmingly on the Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), a slow-growing tropical tree that is threatened by low genetic diversity and high susceptibility to fungal blight [1]. Alternative rubber sources have been sought for more than a century, but very few species have been found that produce rubber of comparable quality [2]. One of the brightest candidates, first noticed by breeders in Soviet-era Russia, is Taraxacum kok-saghyz (commonly called TKS). This close relative of the common weedy dandelion has a number of attractive features. As a native of central Asia, TKS can be cultivated as a hardy, annual field crop in temperate climates. Its natural latex, produced at highest levels in the roots, yields a high-molecular-weight NR that is chemically similar to the rubber tree and far superior to synthetic rubber. And, as an added bonus, TKS produces inulin, a dietary fiber and low-glycemic-index sweetener that can be fermented for industrial bioethanol production. What TKS has lacked—until now—is an assembled reference genome that could be used for genome-enabled crop improvement and elucidation of the pathways for rubber and inulin biosynthesis. In their paper published in this issue, Jiayang Li, Hong Yu and colleagues [3] have taken a major step in rectifying that problem.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Supergene evolution triggered by the introgression of a chromosomal inversion.

Supergenes are groups of tightly linked loci whose variation is inherited as a single Mendelian locus and are a common genetic architecture for complex traits under balancing selection [1-8]. Supergene alleles are long-range haplotypes with numerous mutations underlying distinct adaptive strategies, often maintained in linkage disequilibrium through the suppression of recombination by chromosomal rearrangements [1, 5, 7-9]. However, the mechanism governing the formation of supergenes is not well understood and poses the paradox of establishing divergent functional haplotypes in the face of recombination. Here, we show that the formation of the supergene alleles encoding mimicry polymorphism in the butterfly Heliconius numata is associated with the introgression of a divergent, inverted chromosomal segment. Haplotype divergence and linkage disequilibrium indicate that supergene alleles, each allowing precise wing-pattern resemblance to distinct butterfly models, originate from over a million years of independent chromosomal evolution in separate lineages. These “superalleles” have evolved from a chromosomal inversion captured by introgression and maintained in balanced polymorphism, triggering supergene inheritance. This mode of evolution involving the introgression of a chromosomal rearrangement is likely to be a common feature of complex structural polymorphisms associated with the coexistence of distinct adaptive syndromes. This shows that the reticulation of genealogies may have a powerful influence on the evolution of genetic architectures in nature. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Gapless genome assembly of the potato and tomato early blight pathogen Alternaria solani.

The Alternaria genus consists of saprophytic fungi as well as plant-pathogenic species that have significant economic impact. To date, the genomes of multiple Alternaria species have been sequenced. These studies have yielded valuable data for molecular studies on Alternaria fungi. However, most of the current Alternaria genome assemblies are highly fragmented, thereby hampering the identification of genes that are involved in causing disease. Here, we report a gapless genome assembly of A. solani, the causal agent of early blight in tomato and potato. The genome assembly is a significant step toward a better understanding of pathogenicity of A. solani.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Complete genome sequence of a heavy metal resistant bacterium Maribacter cobaltidurans B1T, isolated from the deep-sea sediment of the South Atlantic Ocean

Many bacteria in the environment have adopted to the presence of toxic heavy metals. Here we present the complete genome sequence of a heavy metal resistant bacterium, Maribacter cobaltidurans B1T (=CGMCC 1.15508T=KCTC 52882T=MCCC 1K03318T), which was isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample collected from the South Atlantic Ocean. Strain B1T is able to resist high concentrations of Co2+ (10.0mM) in Marine Agar 2216. The genome of strain B1T comprises 4,639,957bp in a circular chromosome with G+C content of 39.7mol%. Resistance to Co2+ is mainly based on efflux system in the genome of stain B1T, including czcCBA operons, czcD genes, corC genes, etc. Comparing with the closely related species M. orientalis DSM 16471T, the genome of B1T harbors twenty more copies of genes in czcCBA operon and two copies of the czcD genes related to Co2+ efflux. The function of these genes may contribute to the high level of cobalt resistance, revealing its potential application in biotechnological industry.

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July 7, 2019  |  

The complete genome sequence of Colwellia sp. NB097-1 reveals evidence for the potential genetic basis for its adaptation to cold environment

Colwellia sp. NB097-1, isolated from a marine sediment sample from the Bering Sea, is a psychrophilic bacterium whose optimal and maximal growth temperatures were 13 and 25°C, respectively. Here, we present the complete genome of Colwellia sp. NB097-1, which was 4,661,274bp in length with a GC content of 38.5%. The genome provided evidence for the potential genetic basis for its adaptation to a cold environment, such as producing compatible solutes and cold-shock proteins, increasing membrane fluidity and synthesizing glycogen. Some cold-adaptive proteases were also detected in the genome of Colwellia sp. NB097-1. Protease activity analysis further showed that extracellular proteases of Colwellia sp. NB097-1 remained active at low temperatures. The complete genome sequence may be helpful to reveal how this strain survives at low temperature and to find cold-adaptive proteases that may be useful to industry.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Complete genome of Halomonas aestuarii Hb3, isolated from tidal flat

Halomonas aestuarii Hb3, a moderately halophilic bacterium belonging to the class Gammaproteobacteria, was isolated from a tidal flat. Herein, we report the complete genome sequence of its strain Hb3. Its size is estimated at 3.54Mbp with a mean G+C content of 67.9%. The genome includes 3238 open reading frames, 65 transfer RNAs, and four ribosomal RNA gene operons. Genes related to the degradation of monoaromatic compounds, detoxification of arsenic, and production of polymers were identified. These features indicate that this strain may be important for ecological and industrial application.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Complete genome sequence of Siansivirga zeaxanthinifaciens CC-SAMT-1T, a flavobacterium isolated from coastal surface seawater

Here we present the complete genome sequence of Siansivirga zeaxanthinifaciens CC-SAMT-1T, a flavobacterium isolated from coastal surface seawater. A 3.3Mb genome revealed remarkable specialization of this bacterium particularly in the degradation of sulfated polysaccharides available as detritus or in dissolved phase. Besides utilizing high molecular weight organic biopolymers, this strain appears to accomplish assimilatory sulfate reduction, sulfide oxidation, and acquisition and inter-conversion of inorganic carbon. Genes encoding zeaxanthin and three different kinds of DNA photolyase/cryptochrome (senses blue light) were present, while genes that code for blue light sensing BLUF domain proteins and red/far-red light sensing phytochromes were absent. Furthermore, CC-SAMT-1T lacked the rhodopsin photosystem and all other genes that confer any other known forms of phototrophy. The genomic data revealed that CC-SAMT-1T is highly adapted to sulfur-rich coastal environments, where it most likely contributes to marine carbon and sulfur cycles by metabolizing sulfated polysaccharides as well as inorganic sulfur.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Complete genomes of the marine flavobacterium Nonlabens strains YIK11 and MIC269

Here, we report the complete genome sequences of two strains, which were isolated from sediment samples collected in Korea and Micronesia, and both were classified as members of Nonlabens spp. The complete genome sequence of Nonlabens sp. strain YIK11 consists of 3,260,677bp in two contigs while the one from strain MIC269 consists of 2,884,293bp in one contig, without plasmid. The genomes of YIK11 and MIC269 contain three and two genes encoding rhodopsins of different types, respectively.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Genome sequencing to develop Paenibacillus donghaensis strain JH8T (KCTC 13049T=LMG 23780T) as a microbial fertilizer and correlation to its plant growth-promoting phenotype

Paenibacillus donghaensis JH8T (KCTC 13049T=LMG 23780T) is a Gram-positive, mesophilic, endospore-forming bacterium isolated from East Sea sediment at depth of 500m in Korea. The strain exhibited plant cell wall hydrolytic and plant growth promoting abilities. The complete genome of P. donghaensis strain JH8T contains 7602 protein-coding sequences and an average GC content of 49.7% in its chromosome (8.54Mbp). Genes encoding proteins related to the degradation of plant cell wall, nitrogen-fixation, phosphate solubilization, and synthesis of siderophore were existed in the P. donghaensis strain JH8T genome, indicating that this strain can be used as an eco-friendly microbial agent for increasing agricultural productivity.

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July 7, 2019  |  

Complete genome sequence of Granulosicoccus antarcticus type strain IMCC3135T, a marine gammaproteobacterium with a putative dimethylsulfoniopropionate demethylase gene

Granulosicoccus, the only genus of the family Granulosicoccaceae, occupies a distinct phylogenetic position within the order Chromatiales of the Gammaproteobacteria. The genus has been found in various marine regions, especially associated with diverse marine macroalgae. No genomes have been reported for the genus Granulosicoccus thus far, hampering studies on physiology and lifestyles of this genus. Here we report the complete genome sequence of strain IMCC3135T, the type strain of Granulosicoccus antarcticus isolated from Antarctic coastal seawater. The genome was 7.78Mbp long and harbored many genes involved in sulfur metabolism. In particular, a gene for dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) demethylase was found in the genome, rendering strain IMCC3135T one of the few marine gammaproteobacteria equipped with the potential for DMSP demethylation.

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