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July 7, 2019  |  

Improved draft genome sequence of a monoteliosporic culture of the karnal bunt (Tilletia indica) pathogen of wheat.

Karnal bunt of wheat is an internationally quarantined fungal pathogen disease caused by Tilletia indica and affects the international commercial seed trade of wheat. We announce here the first improved draft genome assembly of a monoteliosporic culture of the Tilletia indica fungus, consisting of 787 scaffolds with an approximate total genome size of 31.83 Mbp, which is more accurate and near to complete than the previous version. Copyright © 2018 Kumar et al.


July 7, 2019  |  

Complete genome sequence of Klebsiella quasipneumoniae strain S05, a fouling-causing bacterium isolated from a membrane bioreactor.

We report here the complete genome sequence of Klebsiella quasipneumoniae strain S05, a bacterium capable of producing membrane fouling-causing soluble substances and capable of respiring on oxygen, nitrate, and an anodic electrode. The genomic information of strain S05 should help predict metabolic pathways associated with these unique biological properties of this bacterium. Copyright © 2018 Kitajima et al.


July 7, 2019  |  

High- quality draft genome sequences of eight bacteria isolated from fungus gardens grown by Trachymyrmex septentrionalis ants.

For their food source, Trachymyrmex septentrionalis ants raise symbiotic fungus gardens that contain bacteria whose functions are poorly understood. Here, we report the genome sequences of eight bacteria isolated from these fungus gardens to better describe the ecology of these strains and their potential to produce secondary metabolites in this niche.


July 7, 2019  |  

Moving forward: recent developments for the ferret biomedical research model.

Since the initial report in 1911, the domestic ferret has become an invaluable biomedical research model. While widely recognized for its utility in influenza virus research, ferrets are used for a variety of infectious and noninfectious disease models due to the anatomical, metabolic, and physiological features they share with humans and their susceptibility to many human pathogens. However, there are limitations to the model that must be overcome for maximal utility for the scientific community. Here, we describe important recent advances that will accelerate biomedical research with this animal model. Copyright © 2018 Albrecht et al.


July 7, 2019  |  

Culture- and metagenomics-enabled analyses of the Methanosphaera genus reveals their monophyletic origin and differentiation according to genome size.

The genus Methanosphaera is a well-recognized but poorly characterized member of the mammalian gut microbiome, and distinctive from Methanobrevibacter smithii for its ability to induce a pro-inflammatory response in humans. Here we have used a combination of culture- and metagenomics-based approaches to expand the representation and information for the genus, which has supported the examination of their phylogeny and physiological capacity. Novel isolates of the genus Methanosphaera were recovered from bovine rumen digesta and human stool, with the bovine isolate remarkable for its large genome size relative to other Methanosphaera isolates from monogastric hosts. To substantiate this observation, we then recovered seven high-quality Methanosphaera-affiliated population genomes from ruminant and human gut metagenomic datasets. Our analyses confirm a monophyletic origin of Methanosphaera spp. and that the colonization of monogastric and ruminant hosts favors representatives of the genus with different genome sizes, reflecting differences in the genome content needed to persist in these different habitats.


July 7, 2019  |  

Genomes and transcriptomes of duckweeds.

Duckweeds (Lemnaceae family) are the smallest flowering plants that adapt to the aquatic environment. They are regarded as the promising sustainable feedstock with the characteristics of high starch storage, fast propagation, and global distribution. The duckweed genome size varies 13-fold ranging from 150 Mb in Spirodela polyrhiza to 1,881 Mb in Wolffia arrhiza. With the development of sequencing technology and bioinformatics, five duckweed genomes from Spirodela and Lemna genera are sequenced and assembled. The genome annotations discover that they share similar protein orthologs, whereas the repeat contents could mainly explain the genome size difference. The gene families responsible for cell growth and expansion, lignin biosynthesis, and flowering are greatly contracted. However, the gene family of glutamate synthase has experienced expansion, indicating their significance in ammonia assimilation and nitrogen transport. The transcriptome is comprehensively sequenced for the genera of Spirodela, Landoltia, and Lemna, including various treatments such as abscisic acid, radiation, heavy metal, and starvation. The analysis of the underlying molecular mechanism and the regulatory network would accelerate their applications in the fields of bioenergy and phytoremediation. The comparative genomics has shown that duckweed genomes contain relatively low gene numbers and more contracted gene families, which may be in parallel with their highly reduced morphology with a simple leaf and primary roots. Still, we are waiting for the advancement of the long read sequencing technology to resolve the complex genomes and transcriptomes for unsequenced Wolffiella and Wolffia due to the large genome sizes and the similarity in their polyploidy.


July 7, 2019  |  

sppIDer: a species identification tool to investigate hybrid genomes with high-throughput sequencing.

The genomics era has expanded our knowledge about the diversity of the living world, yet harnessing high-throughput sequencing data to investigate alternative evolutionary trajectories, such as hybridization, is still challenging. Here we present sppIDer, a pipeline for the characterization of interspecies hybrids and pure species, that illuminates the complete composition of genomes. sppIDer maps short-read sequencing data to a combination genome built from reference genomes of several species of interest and assesses the genomic contribution and relative ploidy of each parental species, producing a series of colorful graphical outputs ready for publication. As a proof-of-concept, we use the genus Saccharomyces to detect and visualize both interspecies hybrids and pure strains, even with missing parental reference genomes. Through simulation, we show that sppIDer is robust to variable reference genome qualities and performs well with low-coverage data. We further demonstrate the power of this approach in plants, animals, and other fungi. sppIDer is robust to many different inputs and provides visually intuitive insight into genome composition that enables the rapid identification of species and their interspecies hybrids. sppIDer exists as a Docker image, which is a reusable, reproducible, transparent, and simple-to-run package that automates the pipeline and installation of the required dependencies (https://github.com/GLBRC/sppIDer; last accessed September 6, 2018).


July 7, 2019  |  

Draft genome sequence of Tuber borchii Vittad., a whitish edible truffle.

The ascomycete Tuber borchii (Pezizomycetes) is a whitish edible truffle that establishes ectomycorrhizal symbiosis with trees and shrubs. This fungus is ubiquitous in Europe and is also cultivated outside Europe. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of T. borchii strain Tbo3840 (97.18 Mb in 969 scaffolds, with 12,346 predicted protein-coding genes).


July 7, 2019  |  

Complete genome sequence of Rhodothermaceae bacterium RA with cellulolytic and xylanolytic activities.

Rhodothermaceae bacterium RA is a halo-thermophile isolated from a saline hot spring. Previously, the genome of this bacterium was sequenced using a HiSeq 2500 platform culminating in 91 contigs. In this report, we report on the resequencing of its complete genome using a PacBio RSII platform. The genome has a GC content of 68.3%, is 4,653,222 bp in size, and encodes 3711 genes. We are interested in understanding the carbohydrate metabolic pathway, in particular the lignocellulosic biomass degradation pathway. Strain RA harbors 57 glycosyl hydrolase (GH) genes that are affiliated with 30 families. The bacterium consists of cellulose-acting (GH 3, 5, 9, and 44) and hemicellulose-acting enzymes (GH 3, 10, and 43). A crude cell-free extract of the bacterium exhibited endoglucanase, xylanase, ß-glucosidase, and ß-xylosidase activities. The complete genome information coupled with biochemical assays confirms that strain RA is able to degrade cellulose and xylan. Therefore, strain RA is another excellent member of family Rhodothermaceae as a repository of novel and thermostable cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes.


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