Menu
July 7, 2019  |  

BELLA: Berkeley Efficient Long-Read to Long-Read Aligner and Overlapper

De novo assembly is the process of reconstructing genomes from DNA fragments (reads), which may contain redundancy and errors. Longer reads simplify assembly and improve contiguity of the output, but current long-read technologies come with high error rates. A crucial step of de novo genome assembly for long reads consists of finding overlapping reads. We present Berkeley Long-Read to Long-Read Aligner and Overlapper (BELLA), which implement a novel approach to compute overlaps using Sparse Generalized Matrix Multiplication (SpGEMM). We present a probabilistic model which demonstrates the soundness of using short, fixed length k-mers to detect overlaps, avoiding expensive pairwise alignment of all reads against all others. We then introduce a notion of reliable k-mers based on our probabilistic model. The use of reliable k-mers eliminates both the k-mer set explosion that would otherwise happen with highly erroneous reads and the spurious overlaps due to k-mers originating from repetitive regions. Finally, we present a new method to separate true alignments from false positives depending on the alignment score. Using this methodology, which is employed in BELLAtextquoterights precise mode, the probability of false positives drops exponentially as the length of overlap between sequences increases. On simulated data, BELLA achieves an average of 2.26% higher recall than state-of-the-art tools in its sensitive mode and 18.90% higher precision than state-of-the-art tools in its precise mode, while being performance competitive.


July 7, 2019  |  

Genomics and biochemistry investigation on the metabolic pathway of milled wood and alkali lignin-derived aromatic metabolites of Comamonas serinivorans SP-35.

The efficient depolymerization and utilization of lignin are one of the most important goals for the renewable use of lignocelluloses. The degradation and complete mineralization of lignin by bacteria represent a key step for carbon recycling in land ecosystems as well. However, many aspects of this process remain unclear, for example, the complex network of metabolic pathways involved in the degradation of lignin and the catabolic pathway of intermediate aromatic metabolites. To address these subjects, we characterized the deconstruction and mineralization of lignin with milled wood lignin (MWL, the most representative molecule of lignin in its native state) and alkali lignin (AL), and elucidated metabolic pathways of their intermediate metabolites by a bacterium named Comamonas serinivorans SP-35.The degradation rate of MWL reached 30.9%, and its particle size range was decreased from 6 to 30 µm to 2-4 µm-when cultured with C. serinivorans SP35 over 7 days. FTIR analysis showed that the C-C and C-O-C bonds between the phenyl propane structures of lignin were oxidized and cleaved and the side chain structure was modified. More than twenty intermediate aromatic metabolites were identified in the MWL and AL cultures based on GC-MS analysis. Through genome sequencing and annotation, and from GC-MS analysis, 93 genes encoding 33 enzymes and 5 regulatory factors that may be involved in lignin degradation were identified and more than nine metabolic pathways of lignin and its intermediates were predicted. Of particular note is that the metabolic pathway to form the powerful antioxidant 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycol is described for the first time in bacteria.Elucidation of the ß-aryl ether cleavage pathway in the strain SP-35 indicates that the ß-aryl ether catabolic system is not only present in the family of Sphingomonadaceae, but also other species of bacteria kingdom. These newly elucidated catabolic pathways of lignin in strain SP-35 and the enzymes responsible for them provide exciting biotechnological opportunities for lignin valorization in future.


July 7, 2019  |  

Draft genome sequence of Olsenella sp. KGMB 04489 isolated from healthy Korean human feces

The genus of Olsenella has been isolated from vertebrate animal mouth, rumen, and feces. Olsenella sp. KGMB 04489 was isolated from fecal samples obtained from a healthy Korean. The whole-genome sequence of Olsenella sp. KGMB 04489 was analyzed using the PacBio Sequel platform. The genome comprises a 2,108,034 bp chromosome with a G + C content of 65.50%, 1,838 total genes, 13 rRNA genes, and 52 tRNA genes. Also, we found that strain KGMB 04489 had some genes for hydrolysis enzymes, and antibiotic biosynthesis and resistance in its genome based on the result of genome analysis.


July 7, 2019  |  

Complete genome sequence of Bacillus licheniformis strain 0DA23-1, a potential starter culture candidate for soybean fermentation

Bacillus licheniformis strain 0DA23-1, a potential fermentation starter candidate, was isolated from doenjang, a Korean high-salt-fermented soybean food. Strain 0DA23-1 contains a single circular 4,405,373-bp chromosome with a G + C content of 45.96%. The complete genome of strain 0DA23-1 does not include any of the virulence factors found in the well-known pathogens Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, no genes associated with resistance to eight antibiotics (chloramphenicol, clindamycin, erythromycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin, tetracycline, and vancomycin), hemolysis, or biofilm formation were identified.


July 7, 2019  |  

The Draft Genome of the MD-2 Pineapple

The main challenge in assembling plant genome is its ploidy level, repeats content, and polymorphism. The second-generation sequencing delivered the throughput and the accuracy that is crucial to whole-genome sequencing but insufficient and remained challenging for some plant species. It is known that genomes produced by next-gen- eration sequencing produced small contigs that would inflate the number of annotated genes (Varshney et al. 2011) and missed on the transposable elements that are abun- dant in plant genome due to their repetitive nature (Michael and Jackson 2013).


Talk with an expert

If you have a question, need to check the status of an order, or are interested in purchasing an instrument, we're here to help.