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April 21, 2020

Full-length transcript sequencing and comparative transcriptomic analysis to evaluate the contribution of osmotic and ionic stress components towards salinity tolerance in the roots of cultivated alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.).

Alfalfa is the most extensively cultivated forage legume. Salinity is a major environmental factor that impacts on alfalfa’s productivity. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying alfalfa responses to salinity, especially the relative contribution of the two important components of osmotic and ionic stress.In this study, we constructed the first full-length transcriptome database for alfalfa root tips under continuous NaCl and mannitol treatments for 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24?h (three biological replicates for each time points, including the control group) via PacBio Iso-Seq. This resulted in the identification of 52,787 full-length transcripts, with an average length of 2551?bp. Global transcriptional changes in the same 33 stressed samples were then analyzed via BGISEQ-500 RNA-Seq. Totals of 8861 NaCl-regulated and 8016 mannitol-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Metabolic analyses revealed that these DEGs overlapped or diverged in the cascades of molecular networks involved in signal perception, signal transduction, transcriptional regulation, and antioxidative defense. Notably, several well characterized signalling pathways, such as CDPK, MAPK, CIPK, and PYL-PP2C-SnRK2, were shown to be involved in osmotic stress, while the SOS core pathway was activated by ionic stress. Moreover, the physiological shifts of catalase and peroxidase activity, glutathione and proline content were in accordance with dynamic transcript profiles of the relevant genes, indicating that antioxidative defense system plays critical roles in response to salinity stress.Overall, our study provides evidence that the response to salinity stress in alfalfa includes both osmotic and ionic components. The key osmotic and ionic stress-related genes are candidates for future studies as potential targets to improve resistance to salinity stress via genetic engineering.

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April 21, 2020

Evaluation of reference genes for normalizing RT-qPCR in leaves and suspension cells of Cephalotaxus hainanensis under various stimuli.

Reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) is a widely used approach for investigating gene expression levels in plants because of its high reproducibility, sensitivity, accuracy and rapidness. Evaluation of reference genes for normalizing RT-qPCR data is a necessary step, especially in new plant varieties. Cephalotaxus hainanensis is a precious medicinal plant belonging to the family of Cephalotaxaceae and no RT-qPCR studies have been reported on it.In this study, 9 candidate reference genes were selected from the transcriptome data of C. hainanensis; 3 statistical algorithms (geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper) were applied to evaluate their expression stabilities through 180 samples under 6 stimuli treatments in leaves and leaf-derived suspension cultured cells; a comprehensive stabilities ranking was also performed by RefFinder. The results showed that suitable reference genes in C. hainanensis should be selected for normalization relative to different experimental sets. 18S showed a higher stability than other candidate reference genes which ranked at the top two suitable genes under all experimental setups in this study.This study is the first to evaluate the stability of reference genes in C. hainanensis and supply an important foundation to use the RT-qPCR for an accurate and far-reaching gene expression analysis in C. hainanensis.

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April 21, 2020

Differential retention of transposable element-derived sequences in outcrossing Arabidopsis genomes.

Transposable elements (TEs) are genomic parasites with major impacts on host genome architecture and host adaptation. A proper evaluation of their evolutionary significance has been hampered by the paucity of short scale phylogenetic comparisons between closely related species. Here, we characterized the dynamics of TE accumulation at the micro-evolutionary scale by comparing two closely related plant species, Arabidopsis lyrata and A. halleri.Joint genome annotation in these two outcrossing species confirmed that both contain two distinct populations of TEs with either ‘recent’ or ‘old’ insertion histories. Identification of rare segregating insertions suggests that diverse TE families contribute to the ongoing dynamics of TE accumulation in the two species. Orthologous TE fragments (i.e. those that have been maintained in both species), tend to be located closer to genes than those that are retained in one species only. Compared to non-orthologous TE insertions, those that are orthologous tend to produce fewer short interfering RNAs, are less heavily methylated when found within or adjacent to genes and these tend to have lower expression levels. These findings suggest that long-term retention of TE insertions reflects their frequent acquisition of adaptive roles and/or the deleterious effects of removing nearly neutral TE insertions when they are close to genes.Our results indicate a rapid evolutionary dynamics of the TE landscape in these two outcrossing species, with an important input of a diverse set of new insertions with variable propensity to resist deletion.

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April 21, 2020

Retrotranspositional landscape of Asian rice revealed by 3000 genomes.

The recent release of genomic sequences for 3000 rice varieties provides access to the genetic diversity at species level for this crop. We take advantage of this resource to unravel some features of the retrotranspositional landscape of rice. We develop software TRACKPOSON specifically for the detection of transposable elements insertion polymorphisms (TIPs) from large datasets. We apply this tool to 32 families of retrotransposons and identify more than 50,000 TIPs in the 3000 rice genomes. Most polymorphisms are found at very low frequency, suggesting that they may have occurred recently in agro. A genome-wide association study shows that these activations in rice may be triggered by external stimuli, rather than by the alteration of genetic factors involved in transposable element silencing pathways. Finally, the TIPs dataset is used to trace the origin of rice domestication. Our results suggest that rice originated from three distinct domestication events.

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April 21, 2020

Identification of genes associated with ricinoleic acid accumulation in Hiptage benghalensis via transcriptome analysis.

Ricinoleic acid is a high-value hydroxy fatty acid with broad industrial applications. Hiptage benghalensis seed oil contains a high amount of ricinoleic acid (~?80%) and represents an emerging source of this unusual fatty acid. However, the mechanism of ricinoleic acid accumulation in H. benghalensis is yet to be explored at the molecular level, which hampers the exploration of its potential in ricinoleic acid production.To explore the molecular mechanism of ricinoleic acid biosynthesis and regulation, H. benghalensis seeds were harvested at five developing stages (13, 16, 19, 22, and 25 days after pollination) for lipid analysis. The results revealed that the rapid accumulation of ricinoleic acid occurred at the early-mid-seed development stages (16-22 days after pollination). Subsequently, the gene transcription profiles of the developing seeds were characterized via a comprehensive transcriptome analysis with second-generation sequencing and single-molecule real-time sequencing. Differential expression patterns were identified in 12,555 transcripts, including 71 enzymes in lipid metabolic pathways, 246 putative transcription factors (TFs) and 124 long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). Twelve genes involved in diverse lipid metabolism pathways, including fatty acid biosynthesis and modification (hydroxylation), lipid traffic, triacylglycerol assembly, acyl editing and oil-body formation, displayed high expression levels and consistent expression patterns with ricinoleic acid accumulation in the developing seeds, suggesting their primary roles in ricinoleic acid production. Subsequent co-expression network analysis identified 57 TFs and 35 lncRNAs, which are putatively involved in the regulation of ricinoleic acid biosynthesis. The transcriptome data were further validated by analyzing the expression profiles of key enzyme-encoding genes, TFs and lncRNAs with quantitative real-time PCR. Finally, a network of genes associated with ricinoleic acid accumulation in H. benghalensis was established.This study was the first step toward the understating of the molecular mechanisms of ricinoleic acid biosynthesis and oil accumulation in H. benghalensis seeds and identified a pool of novel genes regulating ricinoleic acid accumulation. The results set a foundation for developing H. benghalensis into a novel ricinoleic acid feedstock at the transcriptomic level and provided valuable candidate genes for improving ricinoleic acid production in other plants.

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April 21, 2020

Genome sequence and transcriptomic profiles of a marine bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans Hao 2018.

Members of the marine genus Pseudoalteromonas have attracted great interest because of their ability to produce a large number of biologically active substances. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans Hao 2018, a strain isolated from an abalone breeding environment, using second-generation Illumina and third-generation PacBio sequencing technologies. Illumina sequencing offers high quality and short reads, while PacBio technology generates long reads. The scaffolds of the two platforms were assembled to yield a complete genome sequence that included two circular chromosomes and one circular plasmid. Transcriptomic data for Pseudoalteromonas were not available. We therefore collected comprehensive RNA-seq data using Illumina sequencing technology from a fermentation culture of P. agarivorans Hao 2018. Researchers studying the evolution, environmental adaptations and biotechnological applications of Pseudoalteromonas may benefit from our genomic and transcriptomic data to analyze the function and expression of genes of interest.

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April 21, 2020

Comprehensive analysis of full genome sequence and Bd-milRNA/target mRNAs to discover the mechanism of hypovirulence in Botryosphaeria dothidea strains on pear infection with BdCV1 and BdPV1

Pear ring rot disease, mainly caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea, is widespread in most pear and apple-growing regions. Mycoviruses are used for biocontrol, especially in fruit tree disease. BdCV1 (Botryosphaeria dothidea chrysovirus 1) and BdPV1 (Botryosphaeria dothidea partitivirus 1) influence the biological characteristics of B. dothidea strains. BdCV1 is a potential candidate for the control of fungal disease. Therefore, it is vital to explore interactions between B. dothidea and mycovirus to clarify the pathogenic mechanisms of B. dothidea and hypovirulence of B. dothidea in pear. A high-quality full-length genome sequence of the B. dothidea LW-Hubei isolate was obtained using Single Molecule Real-Time sequencing. It has high repeat sequence with 9.3% and DNA methylation existence in the genome. The 46.34?Mb genomes contained 14,091 predicted genes, which of 13,135 were annotated. B. dothidea was predicted to express 3833 secreted proteins. In bioinformatics analysis, 351 CAZy members, 552 transporters, 128 kinases, and 1096 proteins associated with plant-host interaction (PHI) were identified. RNA-silencing components including two endoribonuclease Dicer, four argonaute (Ago) and three RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) molecules were identified and expressed in response to mycovirus infection. Horizontal transfer of the LW-C and LW-P strains indicated that BdCV1 induced host gene silencing in LW-C to suppress BdPV1 transmission. To investigate the role of RNA-silencing in B. dothidea defense, we constructed four small RNA libraries and sequenced B. dothidea micro-like RNAs (Bd-milRNAs) produced in response to BdCV1 and BdPV1 infection. Among these, 167 conserved and 68 candidate novel Bd-milRNAs were identified, of which 161 conserved and 20 novel Bd-milRNA were differentially expressed. WEGO analysis revealed involvement of the differentially expressed Bd-milRNA-targeted genes in metabolic process, catalytic activity, cell process and response to stress or stimulus. BdCV1 had a greater effect on the phenotype, virulence, conidiomata, vertical and horizontal transmission ability, and mycelia cellular structure biological characteristics of B. dothidea strains than BdPV1 and virus-free strains. The results obtained in this study indicate that mycovirus regulates biological processes in B. dothidea through the combined interaction of antiviral defense mediated by RNA-silencing and milRNA-mediated regulation of target gene mRNA expression.

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