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September 22, 2019

The state of play in higher eukaryote gene annotation.

A genome sequence is worthless if it cannot be deciphered; therefore, efforts to describe – or ‘annotate’ – genes began as soon as DNA sequences became available. Whereas early work focused on individual protein-coding genes, the modern genomic ocean is a complex maelstrom of alternative splicing, non-coding transcription and pseudogenes. Scientists – from clinicians to evolutionary biologists – need to navigate these waters, and this has led to the design of high-throughput, computationally driven annotation projects. The catalogues that are being produced are key resources for genome exploration, especially as they become integrated with expression, epigenomic and variation data sets. Their creation, however, remains challenging.


September 22, 2019

A transcriptome atlas of rabbit revealed by PacBio single-molecule long-read sequencing.

It is widely acknowledged that transcriptional diversity largely contributes to biological regulation in eukaryotes. Since the advent of second-generation sequencing technologies, a large number of RNA sequencing studies have considerably improved our understanding of transcriptome complexity. However, it still remains a huge challenge for obtaining full-length transcripts because of difficulties in the short read-based assembly. In the present study we employ PacBio single-molecule long-read sequencing technology for whole-transcriptome profiling in rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). We totally obtain 36,186 high-confidence transcripts from 14,474 genic loci, among which more than 23% of genic loci and 66% of isoforms have not been annotated yet within the current reference genome. Furthermore, about 17% of transcripts are computationally revealed to be non-coding RNAs. Up to 24,797 alternative splicing (AS) and 11,184 alternative polyadenylation (APA) events are detected within this de novo constructed transcriptome, respectively. The results provide a comprehensive set of reference transcripts and hence contribute to the improved annotation of rabbit genome.


September 22, 2019

Investigating bacterial population structure and dynamics in traditional koumiss from Inner Mongolia using single molecule real-time sequencing.

Koumiss is considered as a complete dairy product high in nutrients and with medicinal properties. The bacterial communities involved in production of koumiss play a crucial role in the fermentation cycle. To reveal bacterial biodiversity in koumiss and the dynamics of succession in bacterial populations during fermentation, 22 samples were collected from 5 sampling sites and the full length of the 16S ribosomal RNA genes sequenced using single molecule real-time sequencing technology. One hundred forty-eight species were identified from 82 bacterial genera and 8 phyla. These results suggested that the structural difference in the bacterial community could be attributed to geographical location. The most significant difference in bacterial composition occurred in samples from group D compared with other groups. The sampling location of group D was distant from the city and maintained the primitive local nomadic life. The dynamics of succession in bacterial communities showed that Lactobacillus helveticus increased in abundance from 0 to 9h and reached its peak at 9h and then decreased. In contrast, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus durans, and Enterococcus casseliflavus increased gradually throughout the fermentation process, and reached a maximum after 24h. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


September 22, 2019

Assessment of the physicochemical properties and bacterial composition of Lactobacillus plantarum and Enterococcus faecium-fermented Astragalus membranaceus using single molecule, real-time sequencing technology.

We investigated if fermentation with probiotic cultures could improve the production of health-promoting biological compounds in Astragalus membranaceus. We tested the probiotics Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus plantarum and Enterococcus faecium?+?Lactobacillus plantarum and applied PacBio single molecule, real-time sequencing technology (SMRT) to evaluate the quality of Astragalus fermentation. We found that the production rates of acetic acid, methylacetic acid, aethyl acetic acid and lactic acid using E. faecium?+?L. plantarum were 1866.24?mg/kg on day 15, 203.80?mg/kg on day 30, 996.04?mg/kg on day 15, and 3081.99?mg/kg on day 20, respectively. Other production rates were: polysaccharides, 9.43%, 8.51%, and 7.59% on day 10; saponins, 19.6912?mg/g, 21.6630?mg/g and 20.2084?mg/g on day 15; and flavonoids, 1.9032?mg/g, 2.0835?mg/g, and 1.7086?mg/g on day 20 using E. faecium, L. plantarum and E. faecium?+?L. plantarum, respectively. SMRT was used to analyze microbial composition, and we found that E. faecium and L. plantarum were the most prevalent species after fermentation for 3 days. E. faecium?+?L. plantarum gave more positive effects than single strains in the Astragalus solid state fermentation process. Our data demonstrated that the SMRT sequencing platform is applicable to quality assessment of Astragalus fermentation.


September 22, 2019

Localized electron transfer rates and microelectrode-based enrichment of microbial communities within a phototrophic microbial mat.

Phototrophic microbial mats frequently exhibit sharp, light-dependent redox gradients that regulate microbial respiration on specific electron acceptors as a function of depth. In this work, a benthic phototrophic microbial mat from Hot Lake, a hypersaline, epsomitic lake located near Oroville in north-central Washington, was used to develop a microscale electrochemical method to study local electron transfer processes within the mat. To characterize the physicochemical variables influencing electron transfer, we initially quantified redox potential, pH, and dissolved oxygen gradients by depth in the mat under photic and aphotic conditions. We further demonstrated that power output of a mat fuel cell was light-dependent. To study local electron transfer processes, we deployed a microscale electrode (microelectrode) with tip size ~20 µm. To enrich a subset of microorganisms capable of interacting with the microelectrode, we anodically polarized the microelectrode at depth in the mat. Subsequently, to characterize the microelectrode-associated community and compare it to the neighboring mat community, we performed amplicon sequencing of the V1-V3 region of the 16S gene. Differences in Bray-Curtis beta diversity, illustrated by large changes in relative abundance at the phylum level, suggested successful enrichment of specific mat community members on the microelectrode surface. The microelectrode-associated community exhibited substantially reduced alpha diversity and elevated relative abundances of Prosthecochloris, Loktanella, Catellibacterium, other unclassified members of Rhodobacteraceae, Thiomicrospira, and Limnobacter, compared with the community at an equivalent depth in the mat. Our results suggest that local electron transfer to an anodically polarized microelectrode selected for a specific microbial population, with substantially more abundance and diversity of sulfur-oxidizing phylotypes compared with the neighboring mat community.


September 22, 2019

How far can mitochondrial DNA drive the disease?

Mitochondria are one of the dominant drivers for producing cellular energy to meet a large number of biological functions, of which the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is the control center of energetic driving force and the dominant driver of mitochondrial molecular diversification. mtDNA transcription generates the necessary RNAs to regulate the extent and nature of mtRNA post-transcriptional modifications and the activity of nucleus-encoded enzymes. With a special focus on mtDNA, the current volume aims to overview the biology and structures of mtDNA, regulatory roles of mtDNA in lung diseases, or involvement of mtDNA in metabolism. We explore the significance of mtDNA sequencing, methylation, stability, and mutation in the pathogenesis of the diseases. Molecular mechanisms by which mtDNA contribute to the regulation of mitochondrial homeostasis and drug resistance are also discussed. We also point out the importance of mitochondrial ribosome, single cell biology, and gene editing in the understanding of the development of mitochondrial dysfunction in lung disease.


September 22, 2019

Extensive horizontal gene transfer in cheese-associated bacteria.

Acquisition of genes through horizontal gene transfer (HGT) allows microbes to rapidly gain new capabilities and adapt to new or changing environments. Identifying widespread HGT regions within multispecies microbiomes can pinpoint the molecular mechanisms that play key roles in microbiome assembly. We sought to identify horizontally transferred genes within a model microbiome, the cheese rind. Comparing 31 newly sequenced and 134 previously sequenced bacterial isolates from cheese rinds, we identified over 200 putative horizontally transferred genomic regions containing 4733 protein coding genes. The largest of these regions are enriched for genes involved in siderophore acquisition, and are widely distributed in cheese rinds in both Europe and the US. These results suggest that HGT is prevalent in cheese rind microbiomes, and that identification of genes that are frequently transferred in a particular environment may provide insight into the selective forces shaping microbial communities.


September 22, 2019

Multiscale patterns and drivers of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in the roots and root-associated soil of a wild perennial herb.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form diverse communities and are known to influence above-ground community dynamics and biodiversity. However, the multiscale patterns and drivers of AM fungal composition and diversity are still poorly understood. We sequenced DNA markers from roots and root-associated soil from Plantago lanceolata plants collected across multiple spatial scales to allow comparison of AM fungal communities among neighbouring plants, plant subpopulations, nearby plant populations, and regions. We also measured soil nutrients, temperature, humidity, and community composition of neighbouring plants and nonAM root-associated fungi. AM fungal communities were already highly dissimilar among neighbouring plants (c. 30 cm apart), albeit with a high variation in the degree of similarity at this small spatial scale. AM fungal communities were increasingly, and more consistently, dissimilar at larger spatial scales. Spatial structure and environmental drivers explained a similar percentage of the variation, from 7% to 25%. A large fraction of the variation remained unexplained, which may be a result of unmeasured environmental variables, species interactions and stochastic processes. We conclude that AM fungal communities are highly variable among nearby plants. AM fungi may therefore play a major role in maintaining small-scale variation in community dynamics and biodiversity.© 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.


September 22, 2019

Next generation sequencing data of a defined microbial mock community.

Generating sequence data of a defined community composed of organisms with complete reference genomes is indispensable for the benchmarking of new genome sequence analysis methods, including assembly and binning tools. Moreover the validation of new sequencing library protocols and platforms to assess critical components such as sequencing errors and biases relies on such datasets. We here report the next generation metagenomic sequence data of a defined mock community (Mock Bacteria ARchaea Community; MBARC-26), composed of 23 bacterial and 3 archaeal strains with finished genomes. These strains span 10 phyla and 14 classes, a range of GC contents, genome sizes, repeat content and encompass a diverse abundance profile. Short read Illumina and long-read PacBio SMRT sequences of this mock community are described. These data represent a valuable resource for the scientific community, enabling extensive benchmarking and comparative evaluation of bioinformatics tools without the need to simulate data. As such, these data can aid in improving our current sequence data analysis toolkit and spur interest in the development of new tools.


September 22, 2019

Universal alternative splicing of noncoding exons.

The human transcriptome is so large, diverse, and dynamic that, even after a decade of investigation by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we have yet to resolve its true dimensions. RNA-seq suffers from an expression-dependent bias that impedes characterization of low-abundance transcripts. We performed targeted single-molecule and short-read RNA-seq to survey the transcriptional landscape of a single human chromosome (Hsa21) at unprecedented resolution. Our analysis reaches the lower limits of the transcriptome, identifying a fundamental distinction between protein-coding and noncoding gene content: almost every noncoding exon undergoes alternative splicing, producing a seemingly limitless variety of isoforms. Analysis of syntenic regions of the mouse genome shows that few noncoding exons are shared between human and mouse, yet human splicing profiles are recapitulated on Hsa21 in mouse cells, indicative of regulation by a deeply conserved splicing code. We propose that noncoding exons are functionally modular, with alternative splicing generating an enormous repertoire of potential regulatory RNAs and a rich transcriptional reservoir for gene evolution. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


September 22, 2019

The first whole transcriptomic exploration of pre-oviposited early chicken embryos using single and bulked embryonic RNA-sequencing.

The chicken is a valuable model organism, especially in evolutionary and embryology research because its embryonic development occurs in the egg. However, despite its scientific importance, no transcriptome data have been generated for deciphering the early developmental stages of the chicken because of practical and technical constraints in accessing pre-oviposited embryos.Here, we determine the entire transcriptome of pre-oviposited avian embryos, including oocyte, zygote, and intrauterine embryos from Eyal-giladi and Kochav stage I (EGK.I) to EGK.X collected using a noninvasive approach for the first time. We also compare RNA-sequencing data obtained using a bulked embryo sequencing and single embryo/cell sequencing technique. The raw sequencing data were preprocessed with two genome builds, Galgal4 and Galgal5, and the expression of 17,108 and 26,102 genes was quantified in the respective builds. There were some differences between the two techniques, as well as between the two genome builds, and these were affected by the emergence of long intergenic noncoding RNA annotations.The first transcriptome datasets of pre-oviposited early chicken embryos based on bulked and single embryo sequencing techniques will serve as a valuable resource for investigating early avian embryogenesis, for comparative studies among vertebrates, and for novel gene annotation in the chicken genome.


September 22, 2019

Interpreting microbial biosynthesis in the genomic age: Biological and practical considerations.

Genome mining has become an increasingly powerful, scalable, and economically accessible tool for the study of natural product biosynthesis and drug discovery. However, there remain important biological and practical problems that can complicate or obscure biosynthetic analysis in genomic and metagenomic sequencing projects. Here, we focus on limitations of available technology as well as computational and experimental strategies to overcome them. We review the unique challenges and approaches in the study of symbiotic and uncultured systems, as well as those associated with biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) assembly and product prediction. Finally, to explore sequencing parameters that affect the recovery and contiguity of large and repetitive BGCs assembled de novo, we simulate Illumina and PacBio sequencing of the Salinispora tropica genome focusing on assembly of the salinilactam (slm) BGC.


September 22, 2019

Plant 24-nt reproductive phasiRNAs from intramolecular duplex mRNAs in diverse monocots.

In grasses, two pathways that generate diverse and numerous 21-nt (premeiotic) and 24-nt (meiotic) phased siRNAs are highly enriched in anthers, the male reproductive organs. These “phasiRNAs” are analogous to mammalian piRNAs, yet their functions and evolutionary origins remain largely unknown. The 24-nt meiotic phasiRNAs have only been described in grasses, wherein their biogenesis is dependent on a specialized Dicer (DCL5). To assess how evolution gave rise to this pathway, we examined reproductive phasiRNA pathways in nongrass monocots: garden asparagus, daylily, and lily. The common ancestors of these species diverged approximately 115-117 million years ago (MYA). We found that premeiotic 21-nt and meiotic 24-nt phasiRNAs were abundant in all three species and displayed spatial localization and temporal dynamics similar to grasses. The miR2275-triggered pathway was also present, yielding 24-nt reproductive phasiRNAs, and thus originated more than 117 MYA. In asparagus, unlike in grasses, these siRNAs are largely derived from inverted repeats (IRs); analyses in lily identified thousands of precursor loci, and many were also predicted to form foldback substrates for Dicer processing. Additionally, reproductive phasiRNAs were present in female reproductive organs and thus may function in both male and female germinal development. These data describe several distinct mechanisms of production for 24-nt meiotic phasiRNAs and provide new insights into the evolution of reproductive phasiRNA pathways in monocots.© 2018 Kakrana et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.


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