Understanding interactions among plants and the complex communities of organisms living on, in and around them requires more than one experimental approach. A new method for de novo metagenome assembly,…
Paracoccus sp. Arc7-R13, a silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesizing bacterium, was isolated from Arctic Ocean sediment. Here we describe the complete genome of Paracoccus sp. Arc7-R13. The complete genome contains 4,040,012?bp with 66.66?mol%?G?+?C content, including one circular chromosome of 3,231,929?bp (67.45?mol%?G?+?C content), and eight plasmids with length ranging from 24,536?bp to 199,685?bp. The genome contains 3835 protein-coding genes (CDSs), 49 tRNA genes, as well as 3 rRNA operons as 16S-23S-5S rRNA. Based on the gene annotation and Swiss-Prot analysis, a total of 15 genes belonging to 11 kinds, including silver exporting P-type ATPase (SilP), alkaline phosphatase, nitroreductase, thioredoxin reductase, NADPH dehydrogenase and glutathione peroxidase, might be related to the synthesis of AgNPs. Meanwhile, many additional genes associated with synthesis of AgNPs such as protein-disulfide isomerase, c-type cytochrome, glutathione synthase and dehydrogenase reductase were also identified.
Nematode-trapping fungi (NTF) are a large and diverse group of fungi, which may switch from a saprotrophic to a predatory lifestyle if nematodes are present. Different fungi have developed different trapping devices, ranging from adhesive cells to constricting rings. After trapping, fungal hyphae penetrate the worm, secrete lytic enzymes and form a hyphal network inside the body. We sequenced the genome of Duddingtonia flagrans, a biotechnologically important NTF used to control nematode populations in fields. The 36.64 Mb genome encodes 9,927 putative proteins, among which are more than 638 predicted secreted proteins. Most secreted proteins are lytic enzymes, but more than 200 were classified as small secreted proteins (< 300 amino acids). 117 putative effector proteins were predicted, suggesting interkingdom communication during the colonization. As a first step to analyze the function of such proteins or other phenomena at the molecular level, we developed a transformation system, established the fluorescent proteins GFP and mCherry, adapted an assay to monitor protein secretion, and established gene-deletion protocols using homologous recombination or CRISPR/Cas9. One putative virulence effector protein, PefB, was transcriptionally induced during the interaction. We show that the mature protein is able to be imported into nuclei in Caenorhabditis elegans cells. In addition, we studied trap formation and show that cell-to-cell communication is required for ring closure. The availability of the genome sequence and the establishment of many molecular tools will open new avenues to studying this biotechnologically relevant nematode-trapping fungus.
In this work we report the complete sequence and assembly of the estradiol-degrading bacterium Novosphingobium tardaugens NBRC 16725 genome into a single contig using the Pacific Biosciences RS II system.
Marine algae convert a substantial fraction of fixed carbon dioxide into various polysaccharides. Flavobacteriia that are specialized on algal polysaccharide degradation feature genomic clusters termed polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs). As knowledge on extant PUL diversity is sparse, we sequenced the genomes of 53 North Sea Flavobacteriia and obtained 400 PULs. Bioinformatic PUL annotations suggest usage of a large array of polysaccharides, including laminarin, a-glucans, and alginate as well as mannose-, fucose-, and xylose-rich substrates. Many of the PULs exhibit new genetic architectures and suggest substrates rarely described for marine environments. The isolates’ PUL repertoires often differed considerably within genera, corroborating ecological niche-associated glycan partitioning. Polysaccharide uptake in Flavobacteriia is mediated by SusCD-like transporter complexes. Respective protein trees revealed clustering according to polysaccharide specificities predicted by PUL annotations. Using the trees, we analyzed expression of SusC/D homologs in multiyear phytoplankton bloom-associated metaproteomes and found indications for profound changes in microbial utilization of laminarin, a-glucans, ß-mannan, and sulfated xylan. We hence suggest the suitability of SusC/D-like transporter protein expression within heterotrophic bacteria as a proxy for the temporal utilization of discrete polysaccharides.
Plastics contamination in the environment has been an increasing ecological problem. Here we present the complete genome sequence of Bacillus sp. Y-01, isolated from plastic contamination samples in the Yellow Sea, which can utilize the polypropylene as the sole carbon and energy source. The strain has one circular chromosome of 5,130,901?bp in 8 contigs with a 38.24% GC content, consisting of 4996 protein-coding genes, 118 tRNA genes, as well as 40 rRNA operons as 5S-16S-23S rRNA. The complete genome sequence of Bacillus sp. Y-01 will provide useful genetic information to further detect the molecular mechanisms behind marine microplastics degradation.
The phylum Apicomplexa is a quintessentially parasitic lineage, whose members infect a broad range of animals. One exception to this may be the apicomplexan genus Nephromyces, which has been described as having a mutualistic relationship with its host. Here we analyze transcriptome data from Nephromyces and its parasitic sister taxon, Cardiosporidium, revealing an ancestral purine degradation pathway thought to have been lost early in apicomplexan evolution. The predicted localization of many of the purine degradation enzymes to peroxisomes, and the in silico identification of a full set of peroxisome proteins, indicates that loss of both features in other apicomplexans occurred multiple times. The degradation of purines is thought to play a key role in the unusual relationship between Nephromyces and its host. Transcriptome data confirm previous biochemical results of a functional pathway for the utilization of uric acid as a primary nitrogen source for this unusual apicomplexan.
Flavobacteriia are abundant in many marine environments including hadal waters, as demonstrated recently. However, it is unclear how this flavobacterial population adapts to hadal conditions. In this study, extensive comparative genomic analyses were performed for the flavobacterial strain Euzebyella marina RN62 isolated from the Mariana Trench hadal water in low abundance. The complete genome of RN62 possessed a considerable number of carbohydrate-active enzymes with a different composition. There was a predominance of GH family 13 proteins compared to closely related relatives, suggesting that RN62 has preserved a certain capacity for carbohydrate utilization and that the hadal ocean may hold an organic matter reservoir distinct from the surface ocean. Additionally, RN62 possessed potential intracellular cycling of the glycogen/starch pathway, which may serve as a strategy for carbon storage and consumption in response to nutrient pulse and starvation. Moreover, the discovery of higher glycoside hydrolase dissimilarities among Flavobacteriia, compared to peptidases and transporters, suggested variation in polysaccharide utilization related traits as an important ecophysiological factor in response to environmental alterations, such as decreased labile organic carbon in hadal waters. The presence of abundant toxin exporting, transcription and signal transduction related genes in RN62 may further help to survive in hadal conditions, including high pressure/low temperature.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
Arogyapacha, the local name of Trichopus zeylanicus, is a rare, indigenous medicinal plant of India. This plant is famous for its traditional use as an instant energy stimulant. So far, no genomic resource is available for this important plant and hence its metabolic pathways are poorly understood. Here, we report on a high-quality draft assembly of approximately 713.4 Mb genome of T. zeylanicus, first draft genome from the genus Trichopus The assembly was generated in a hybrid approach using Illumina short-reads and Pacbio longer-reads. The total assembly comprised of 22601 scaffolds with an N50 value of 433.3 Kb. We predicted 34452 protein coding genes in T. zeylanicus genome and found that a significant portion of these predicted genes were associated with various secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways. Comparative genome analysis revealed extensive gene collinearity between T. zeylanicus and its closely related plant species. The present genome and annotation data provide an essential resource to speed-up the research on secondary metabolism, breeding and molecular evolution of T. zeylanicus. Copyright © 2019 Chellappan et al.
The Populus shoot undergoes primary growth (longitudinal growth) followed by secondary growth (radial growth), which produces biomass that is an important source of energy worldwide. We adopted joint PacBio Iso-Seq and RNA-seq analysis to identify differentially expressed transcripts along a developmental gradient from the shoot apex to the fifth internode of Populus Nanlin895. We obtained 87 150 full-length transcripts, including 2081 new isoforms and 62 058 new alternatively spliced isoforms, most of which were produced by intron retention, that were used to update the Populus annotation. Among these novel isoforms, there are 1187 long non-coding RNAs and 356 fusion genes. Using this annotation, we found 15 838 differentially expressed transcripts along the shoot developmental gradient, of which 1216 were transcription factors (TFs). Only a few of these genes were reported previously. The differential expression of these TFs suggests that they may play important roles in primary and secondary growth. AP2, ARF, YABBY and GRF TFs are highly expressed in the apex, whereas NAC, bZIP, PLATZ and HSF TFs are likely to be important for secondary growth. Overall, our findings provide evidence that long-read sequencing can complement short-read sequencing for cataloguing and quantifying eukaryotic transcripts and increase our understanding of the vital and dynamic process of shoot development. © 2018 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Lignin is one of the largest carbon reservoirs in the environment, playing an important role in the global carbon cycle. However, lignin degradation in bacteria, especially non-model organisms, has not been well characterized either enzymatically or genetically. Here, a lignin-degrading bacterial strain, Pseudomonas putida A514, was used as the research model. Genomic and proteomic analyses suggested that two B subfamily dye-decolorizing peroxidases (DypBs) were prominent in lignin depolymerization, while the classic O2 -dependent ring cleavage strategy was utilized in central pathways to catabolize lignin-derived aromatic compounds that were funnelled by peripheral pathways. These enzymes, together with a range of transporters, sequential and expression-dose dependent regulation and stress response systems coordinated for lignin metabolism. Catalytic assays indicated these DypBs show unique Mn2+ independent lignin depolymerization activity, while Mn2+ oxidation activity is absent. Furthermore, a high synergy between DypB enzymes and A514 cells was observed to promote cell growth (5 × 1012 cfus/ml) and lignin degradation (27%). This suggested DypBs are competitive lignin biocatalysts and pinpointed limited extracellular secretion capacity as the rate-limiting factor in bacterial lignin degradation. DypB production was, therefore, optimized in recombinant strains and a 14,141-fold increase in DypB activity (56,565?U/l) was achieved, providing novel insights for lignin bioconversion. © 2019 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
The past two decades have witnessed an alarming expansion of staphylococcal disease caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA). The factors underlying the epidemic expansion of CA-MRSA lineages such as USA300, the predominant CA-MRSA clone in the United States, are largely unknown. Previously described virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes that promote the dissemination of CA-MRSA are carried by mobile genetic elements, including phages and plasmids. Here, we used high-resolution genomics and experimental infections to characterize the evolution of a USA300 variant plaguing a patient population at increased risk of infection to understand the mechanisms underlying the emergence of genetic elements that facilitate clonal spread of the pathogen. Genetic analyses provided conclusive evidence that fitness (manifest as emergence of a dominant clone) changed coincidently with the stepwise emergence of (i) a unique prophage and mutation of the regulator of the pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthetic operon that promoted abscess formation and colonization, respectively, thereby priming the clone for success; and (ii) a unique plasmid that conferred resistance to two topical microbiocides, mupirocin and chlorhexidine, frequently used for decolonization and infection prevention. The resistance plasmid evolved through successive incorporation of DNA elements from non-S. aureus spp. into an indigenous cryptic plasmid, suggesting a mechanism for interspecies genetic exchange that promotes antimicrobial resistance. Collectively, the data suggest that clonal spread in a vulnerable population resulted from extensive clinical intervention and intense selection pressure toward a pathogen lifestyle that involved the evolution of consequential mutations and mobile genetic elements.
In a staged anaerobic fluidized-bed ceramic membrane bioreactor, metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses were performed to decipher the microbial interactions on the granular activated carbon. Metagenome bins, representing the predominating microbes in the bioreactor: syntrophic propionate-oxidizing bacteria (SPOB), acetoclastic Methanothrix concilii, and exoelectrogenic Geobacter lovleyi, were successfully recovered for the reconstruction and analysis of metabolic pathways involved in the transformation of fatty acids to methane. In particular, SPOB degraded propionate into acetate, which was further converted into methane and CO2 by M. concilii via the acetoclastic methanogenesis. Concurrently, G. lovleyi oxidized acetate into CO2, releasing electrons into the extracellular environment. By accepting these electrons through direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET), M. concilii was capable of performing CO2 reduction for further methane formation. Most notably, an alternative RuBisCO-mediated CO2 reduction (the reductive hexulose-phosphate (RHP) pathway) is transcriptionally-active in M. concilii. This RHP pathway enables M. concilii dominance and energy gain by carbon fixation and methanogenesis, respectively via a methyl-H4MPT intermediate, constituting the third methanogenesis route. The complete acetate reduction (2 mole methane formation/1 mole acetate consumption), coupling of acetoclastic methanogenesis and two CO2 reduction pathways, are thermodynamically favorable even under very low substrate condition (down to to 10-5?M level). Such tight interactions via both mediated and direct interspecies electron transfer (MIET and DIET), induced by the conductive GAC promote the overall efficiency of bioenergy processes.
Corals comprise a biomineralizing cnidarian, dinoflagellate algal symbionts, and associated microbiome of prokaryotes and viruses. Ongoing efforts to conserve coral reefs by identifying the major stress response pathways and thereby laying the foundation to select resistant genotypes rely on a robust genomic foundation. Here we generated and analyzed a high quality long-read based ~886 Mbp nuclear genome assembly and transcriptome data from the dominant rice coral, Montipora capitata from Hawai’i. Our work provides insights into the architecture of coral genomes and shows how they differ in size and gene inventory, putatively due to population size variation. We describe a recent example of foreign gene acquisition via a bacterial gene transfer agent and illustrate the major pathways of stress response that can be used to predict regulatory components of the transcriptional networks in M. capitata. These genomic resources provide insights into the adaptive potential of these sessile, long-lived species in both natural and human influenced environments and facilitate functional and population genomic studies aimed at Hawaiian reef restoration and conservation.
Gossypium australe F. Mueller (2n?=?2x?=?26, G2 genome) possesses valuable characteristics. For example, the delayed gland morphogenesis trait causes cottonseed protein and oil to be edible while retaining resistance to biotic stress. However, the lack of gene sequences and their alternative splicing (AS) in G. australe remain unclear, hindering to explore species-specific biological morphogenesis.Here, we report the first sequencing of the full-length transcriptome of the Australian wild cotton species, G. australe, using Pacific Biosciences single-molecule long-read isoform sequencing (Iso-Seq) from the pooled cDNA of ten tissues to identify transcript loci and splice isoforms. We reconstructed the G. australe full-length transcriptome and identified 25,246 genes, 86 pre-miRNAs and 1468 lncRNAs. Most genes (12,832, 50.83%) exhibited two or more isoforms, suggesting a high degree of transcriptome complexity in G. australe. A total of 31,448 AS events in five major types were found among the 9944 gene loci. Among these five major types, intron retention was the most frequent, accounting for 68.85% of AS events. 29,718 polyadenylation sites were detected from 14,536 genes, 7900 of which have alternative polyadenylation sites (APA). In addition, based on our AS events annotations, RNA-Seq short reads from germinating seeds showed that differential expression of these events occurred during seed germination. Ten AS events that were randomly selected were further confirmed by RT-PCR amplification in leaf and germinating seeds.The reconstructed gene sequences and their AS in G. australe would provide information for exploring beneficial characteristics in G. australe.
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