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July 7, 2019

De novo genome assembly of the economically important weed horseweed using integrated data from multiple sequencing platforms.

Horseweed (Conyza canadensis), a member of the Compositae (Asteraceae) family, was the first broadleaf weed to evolve resistance to glyphosate. Horseweed, one of the most problematic weeds in the world, is a true diploid (2n = 2x = 18), with the smallest genome of any known agricultural weed (335 Mb). Thus, it is an appropriate candidate to help us understand the genetic and genomic bases of weediness. We undertook a draft de novo genome assembly of horseweed by combining data from multiple sequencing platforms (454 GS-FLX, Illumina HiSeq 2000, and PacBio RS) using various libraries with different insertion sizes (approximately 350 bp, 600 bp, 3 kb, and 10 kb) of a Tennessee-accessed, glyphosate-resistant horseweed biotype. From 116.3 Gb (approximately 350× coverage) of data, the genome was assembled into 13,966 scaffolds with 50% of the assembly = 33,561 bp. The assembly covered 92.3% of the genome, including the complete chloroplast genome (approximately 153 kb) and a nearly complete mitochondrial genome (approximately 450 kb in 120 scaffolds). The nuclear genome is composed of 44,592 protein-coding genes. Genome resequencing of seven additional horseweed biotypes was performed. These sequence data were assembled and used to analyze genome variation. Simple sequence repeat and single-nucleotide polymorphisms were surveyed. Genomic patterns were detected that associated with glyphosate-resistant or -susceptible biotypes. The draft genome will be useful to better understand weediness and the evolution of herbicide resistance and to devise new management strategies. The genome will also be useful as another reference genome in the Compositae. To our knowledge, this article represents the first published draft genome of an agricultural weed.© 2014 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.


July 7, 2019

Complete genome sequence of the cyanide-degrading bacterium Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes CECT5344.

Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes CECT5344, a Gram-negative bacterium isolated from the Guadalquir River (Córdoba, Spain), is able to utilize different cyano-derivatives. Here, the complete genome sequence of P. pseudoalcaligenes CECT5344 harboring a 4,686,340bp circular chromosome encoding 4513 genes and featuring a GC-content of 62.34% is reported. Necessarily, remaining gaps in the genome had to be closed by assembly of few long reads obtained from PacBio single molecule real-time sequencing. Here, the first complete genome sequence for the species P. pseudoalcaligenes is presented. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


July 7, 2019

Draft genome sequence of Pantoea agglomerans R190, a producer of antibiotics against phytopathogens and foodborne pathogens.

Pantoea agglomerans R190, isolated from an apple orchard, showed antibacterial activity against various spoilage bacteria, including Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, and foodborne pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7. Here, we report the genome sequence of P. agglomerans R190. This report will raise the value of P. agglomerans as an agent for biocontrol of disease. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.


July 7, 2019

Genomics of wood-degrading fungi.

Woody plants convert the energy of the sun into lignocellulosic biomass, which is an abundant substrate for bioenergy production. Fungi, especially wood decayers from the class Agaricomycetes, have evolved ways to degrade lignocellulose into its monomeric constituents, and understanding this process may facilitate the development of biofuels. Over the past decade genomics has become a powerful tool to study the Agaricomycetes. In 2004 the first sequenced genome of the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium revealed a rich catalog of lignocellulolytic enzymes. In the decade that followed the number of genomes of Agaricomycetes grew to more than 75 and revealed a diversity of wood-decaying strategies. New technologies for high-throughput functional genomics are now needed to further study these organisms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


July 7, 2019

The odd one out: Bacillus ACT bacteriophage CP-51 exhibits unusual properties compared to related Spounavirinae W.Ph. and Bastille.

The Bacillus ACT group includes three important pathogenic species of Bacillus: anthracis, cereus and thuringiensis. We characterized three virulent bacteriophages, Bastille, W.Ph. and CP-51, that infect various strains of these three species. We have determined the complete genome sequences of CP-51, W.Ph. and Bastille, and their physical genome structures. The CP-51 genome sequence could only be obtained using a combination of conventional and second and third next generation sequencing technologies – illustrating the problems associated with sequencing highly modified DNA. We present evidence that the generalized transduction facilitated by CP-51 is independent of a specific genome structure, but likely due to sporadic packaging errors of the terminase. There is clear correlation of the genetic and morphological features of these phages validating their placement in the Spounavirinae subfamily (SPO1-related phages) of the Myoviridae. This study also provides tools for the development of phage-based diagnostics/therapeutics for this group of pathogens. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


July 7, 2019

De novo assembly and characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of radish (Raphanus sativus L.).

Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is an edible root vegetable crop that is cultivated worldwide and whose genome has been sequenced. Here we report the complete nucleotide sequence of the radish cultivar WK10039 chloroplast (cp) genome, along with a de novo assembly strategy using whole genome shotgun sequence reads obtained by next generation sequencing. The radish cp genome is 153,368 bp in length and has a typical quadripartite structure, composed of a pair of inverted repeat regions (26,217 bp each), a large single copy region (83,170 bp), and a small single copy region (17,764 bp). The radish cp genome contains 87 predicted protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of 91 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in the radish cp genome. Phylogenetic analysis of 62 protein-coding gene sequences from the 17 cp genomes of the Brassicaceae family suggested that the radish cp genome is most closely related to the cp genomes of Brassica rapa and Brassicanapus. Comparisons with the B. rapa and B. napus cp genomes revealed highly divergent intergenic sequences and introns that can potentially be developed as diagnostic cp markers. Synonymous and nonsynonymous substitutions of cp genes suggested that nucleotide substitutions have occurred at similar rates in most genes. The complete sequence of the radish cp genome would serve as a valuable resource for the development of new molecular markers and the study of the phylogenetic relationships of Raphanus species in the Brassicaceae family. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


July 7, 2019

Get your high-quality low-cost genome sequence.

The study of whole-genome sequences has become essential for almost all branches of biological research. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized the scalability, speed, and resolution of sequencing and brought genomic science within reach of academic laboratories that study non-model organisms. Here, we show that a high-quality draft genome of a eukaryote can be obtained at relatively low cost by exploiting a hybrid combination of sequencing strategies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


July 7, 2019

Expansion of the genetic toolkit for metabolic engineering of Clostridium pasteurianum: chromosomal gene disruption of the endogenous CpaAI restriction enzyme.

Clostridium pasteurianum is one of the most promising biofuel producers within the genus Clostridium owing to its unique metabolic ability to ferment glycerol into butanol. Although an efficient means is available for introducing foreign DNA to C. pasteurianum, major genetic tools, such as gene knockout, knockdown, or genome editing, are lacking, preventing metabolic engineering of C. pasteurianum.Here we present a methodology for performing chromosomal gene disruption in C. pasteurianum using the programmable lactococcus Ll.ltrB group II intron. Gene disruption was initially found to be impeded by inefficient electrotransformation of Escherichia coli-C. pasteurianum shuttle vectors, presumably due to host restriction. By assessing the ability of various vector deletion derivatives to electrotransform C. pasteurianum and probing the microorganism’s methylome using next-generation sequence data, we identified a new C. pasteurianum Type I restriction-methylation system, CpaAII, with a predicted recognition sequence of 5′-AAGNNNNNCTCC-3′ (N?=?A, C, G, or T). Following rescue of high-level electrotransformation via mutation of the sole CpaAII site within the shuttle vectors, we retargeted the intron to the cpaAIR gene encoding the CpaAI Type II restriction endonuclease (recognition site of 5′-CGCG-3′). Intron insertion was potentially hindered by low retrohoming efficiency, yet this limitation could be overcome by a procedure for enrichment of the intron insertion. The resulting ?cpaAIR mutant strain was efficiently electrotransformed with M.FnuDII-unmethylated plasmid DNA.The markerless and plasmidless ?cpaAIR mutant strain of C. pasteurianum developed in this study can serve as a general host strain for future genetic and metabolic manipulation. Further, the associated gene disruption protocol should not only serve as a guide for chromosomal gene inactivation studies involving mobile group II introns, but also prove invaluable for applying metabolic engineering strategies to C. pasteurianum.


July 7, 2019

Whole-genome assemblies of 56 Burkholderia species.

Burkholderia is a genus of betaproteobacteria that includes three notable human pathogens: B. cepacia, B. pseudomallei, and B. mallei. While B. pseudomallei and B. mallei are considered potential biowarfare agents, B. cepacia infections are largely limited to cystic fibrosis patients. Here, we present 56 Burkholderia genomes from 8 distinct species. Copyright © 2014 Daligault et al.


July 7, 2019

Pilon: an integrated tool for comprehensive microbial variant detection and genome assembly improvement.

Advances in modern sequencing technologies allow us to generate sufficient data to analyze hundreds of bacterial genomes from a single machine in a single day. This potential for sequencing massive numbers of genomes calls for fully automated methods to produce high-quality assemblies and variant calls. We introduce Pilon, a fully automated, all-in-one tool for correcting draft assemblies and calling sequence variants of multiple sizes, including very large insertions and deletions. Pilon works with many types of sequence data, but is particularly strong when supplied with paired end data from two Illumina libraries with small e.g., 180 bp and large e.g., 3-5 Kb inserts. Pilon significantly improves draft genome assemblies by correcting bases, fixing mis-assemblies and filling gaps. For both haploid and diploid genomes, Pilon produces more contiguous genomes with fewer errors, enabling identification of more biologically relevant genes. Furthermore, Pilon identifies small variants with high accuracy as compared to state-of-the-art tools and is unique in its ability to accurately identify large sequence variants including duplications and resolve large insertions. Pilon is being used to improve the assemblies of thousands of new genomes and to identify variants from thousands of clinically relevant bacterial strains. Pilon is freely available as open source software.


July 7, 2019

Genome annotation provides insight into carbon monoxide and hydrogen metabolism in Rubrivivax gelatinosus.

We report here the sequencing and analysis of the genome of the purple non-sulfur photosynthetic bacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus CBS. This microbe is a model for studies of its carboxydotrophic life style under anaerobic condition, based on its ability to utilize carbon monoxide (CO) as the sole carbon substrate and water as the electron acceptor, yielding CO2 and H2 as the end products. The CO-oxidation reaction is known to be catalyzed by two enzyme complexes, the CO dehydrogenase and hydrogenase. As expected, analysis of the genome of Rx. gelatinosus CBS reveals the presence of genes encoding both enzyme complexes. The CO-oxidation reaction is CO-inducible, which is consistent with the presence of two putative CO-sensing transcription factors in its genome. Genome analysis also reveals the presence of two additional hydrogenases, an uptake hydrogenase that liberates the electrons in H2 in support of cell growth, and a regulatory hydrogenase that senses H2 and relays the signal to a two-component system that ultimately controls synthesis of the uptake hydrogenase. The genome also contains two sets of hydrogenase maturation genes which are known to assemble the catalytic metallocluster of the hydrogenase NiFe active site. Collectively, the genome sequence and analysis information reveals the blueprint of an intricate network of signal transduction pathways and its underlying regulation that enables Rx. gelatinosus CBS to thrive on CO or H2 in support of cell growth.


July 7, 2019

Co-option of Sox3 as the male-determining factor on the Y chromosome in the fish Oryzias dancena.

Sex chromosomes harbour a primary sex-determining signal that triggers sexual development of the organism. However, diverse sex chromosome systems have been evolved in vertebrates. Here we use positional cloning to identify the sex-determining locus of a medaka-related fish, Oryzias dancena, and find that the locus on the Y chromosome contains a cis-regulatory element that upregulates neighbouring Sox3 expression in developing gonad. Sex-reversed phenotypes in Sox3(Y) transgenic fish, and Sox3(Y) loss-of-function mutants all point to its critical role in sex determination. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Sox3 initiates testicular differentiation by upregulating expression of downstream Gsdf, which is highly conserved in fish sex differentiation pathways. Our results not only provide strong evidence for the independent recruitment of Sox3 to male determination in distantly related vertebrates, but also provide direct evidence that a novel sex determination pathway has evolved through co-option of a transcriptional regulator potentially interacted with a conserved downstream component.


July 7, 2019

Draft genome sequences of Escherichia coli strains isolated from septic patients.

We present the draft genome sequences of six strains of Escherichia coli isolated from blood cultures collected from patients with sepsis. The strains were collected from two patient sets, those with a high severity of illness, and those with a low severity of illness. Each genome was sequenced by both Illumina and PacBio for comparison. Copyright © 2014 Dunitz et al.


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