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  1. Deeply Altered Genome Architecture in the Endoparasitic Flowering Plant Sapria himalayana Griff. (Rafflesiaceae)
    Cai L, Arnold BJ, Xi Z, Khost DE, Patel N, Hartmann CB, et al.
    Curr Biol, 2021 03 08;31(5):1002-1011.e9.
    PMID: 33485466 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.045
    Despite more than 2,000-fold variation in genome size, key features of genome architecture are largely conserved across angiosperms. Parasitic plants have elucidated the many ways in which genomes can be modified, yet we still lack comprehensive genome data for species that represent the most extreme form of parasitism. Here, we present the highly modified genome of the iconic endophytic parasite Sapria himalayana Griff. (Rafflesiaceae), which lacks a typical plant body. First, 44% of the genes conserved in eurosids are lost in Sapria, dwarfing previously reported levels of gene loss in vascular plants. These losses demonstrate remarkable functional convergence with other parasitic plants, suggesting a common genetic roadmap underlying the evolution of plant parasitism. Second, we identified extreme disparity in intron size among retained genes. This includes a category of genes with introns longer than any so far observed in angiosperms, nearing 100 kb in some cases, and a second category of genes with exceptionally short or absent introns. Finally, at least 1.2% of the Sapria genome, including both genic and intergenic content, is inferred to be derived from host-to-parasite horizontal gene transfers (HGTs) and includes genes potentially adaptive for parasitism. Focused phylogenomic reconstruction of HGTs reveals a hidden history of former host-parasite associations involving close relatives of Sapria's modern hosts in the grapevine family. Our findings offer a unique perspective into how deeply angiosperm genomes can be altered to fit an extreme form of plant parasitism and demonstrate the value of HGTs as DNA fossils to investigate extinct symbioses.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics*
  2. Integrated consensus genetic map and genomic scaffold re-ordering of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) genome
    Mohd Sanusi NSN, Rosli R, Chan KL, Halim MAA, Ting NC, Singh R, et al.
    Comput Biol Chem, 2023 Feb;102:107801.
    PMID: 36528019 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2022.107801
    A high-quality reference genome is an important resource that can help decipher the genetic basis of traits in combination with linkage or association analyses. The publicly available oil palm draft genome sequence of AVROS pisifera (EG5) accounts for 1.535 Gb of the 1.8 Gb oil palm genome. However, the assemblies are fragmented, and the earlier assembly only had 43% of the sequences placed on pseudo-chromosomes. By integrating a number of SNP and SSR-based genetic maps, a consensus map (AM_EG5.1), comprising of 828.243 Mb genomic scaffolds anchored to 16 pseudo-chromosomes, was generated. This accounted for 54% of the genome assembly, which is a significant improvement to the original assembly. The total length of N50 scaffolds anchored to the pseudo-chromosomes increased by ∼18% compared to the previous assembly. A total of 139 quantitative trait loci for agronomically important quantitative traits, sourced from literature, were successfully mapped on the new pseudo-chromosomes. The improved assembly could also be used as a reference to identify potential errors in placement of specific markers in the linkage groups of the genetic maps used to assemble the consensus map. The 3422 unique markers from five genetic maps, anchored to the pseudo-chromosomes of AM_EG5.1, are an important resource that can be used preferentially to either construct new maps or fill gaps in existing genetic maps. Synteny analysis further revealed that the AM_EG5.1 had high collinearity with the date palm genome cultivar 'Barhee BC4' and shared most of its segmental duplications. This improved chromosomal-level genome is a valuable resource for genetic research in oil palm.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics
  3. Fulltext Oil palm genome sequence reveals divergence of interfertile species in Old and New worlds
    Singh R, Ong-Abdullah M, Low ET, Manaf MA, Rosli R, Nookiah R, et al.
    Nature, 2013 Aug 15;500(7462):335-9.
    PMID: 23883927 DOI: 10.1038/nature12309
    Oil palm is the most productive oil-bearing crop. Although it is planted on only 5% of the total world vegetable oil acreage, palm oil accounts for 33% of vegetable oil and 45% of edible oil worldwide, but increased cultivation competes with dwindling rainforest reserves. We report the 1.8-gigabase (Gb) genome sequence of the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis, the predominant source of worldwide oil production. A total of 1.535 Gb of assembled sequence and transcriptome data from 30 tissue types were used to predict at least 34,802 genes, including oil biosynthesis genes and homologues of WRINKLED1 (WRI1), and other transcriptional regulators, which are highly expressed in the kernel. We also report the draft sequence of the South American oil palm Elaeis oleifera, which has the same number of chromosomes (2n = 32) and produces fertile interspecific hybrids with E. guineensis but seems to have diverged in the New World. Segmental duplications of chromosome arms define the palaeotetraploid origin of palm trees. The oil palm sequence enables the discovery of genes for important traits as well as somaclonal epigenetic alterations that restrict the use of clones in commercial plantings, and should therefore help to achieve sustainability for biofuels and edible oils, reducing the rainforest footprint of this tropical plantation crop.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics*
  4. Fulltext Development and Validation of a High-Density SNP Genotyping Array for African Oil Palm
    Kwong QB, Teh CK, Ong AL, Heng HY, Lee HL, Mohamed M, et al.
    Mol Plant, 2016 Aug 01;9(8):1132-1141.
    PMID: 27112659 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2016.04.010
    High-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping arrays are powerful tools that can measure the level of genetic polymorphism within a population. To develop a whole-genome SNP array for oil palms, SNP discovery was performed using deep resequencing of eight libraries derived from 132 Elaeis guineensis and Elaeis oleifera palms belonging to 59 origins, resulting in the discovery of >3 million putative SNPs. After SNP filtering, the Illumina OP200K custom array was built with 170 860 successful probes. Phenetic clustering analysis revealed that the array could distinguish between palms of different origins in a way consistent with pedigree records. Genome-wide linkage disequilibrium declined more slowly for the commercial populations (ranging from 120 kb at r(2) = 0.43 to 146 kb at r(2) = 0.50) when compared with the semi-wild populations (19.5 kb at r(2) = 0.22). Genetic fixation mapping comparing the semi-wild and commercial population identified 321 selective sweeps. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) detected a significant peak on chromosome 2 associated with the polygenic component of the shell thickness trait (based on the trait shell-to-fruit; S/F %) in tenera palms. Testing of a genomic selection model on the same trait resulted in good prediction accuracy (r = 0.65) with 42% of the S/F % variation explained. The first high-density SNP genotyping array for oil palm has been developed and shown to be robust for use in genetic studies and with potential for developing early trait prediction to shorten the oil palm breeding cycle.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics
  5. Fulltext The rubber tree genome shows expansion of gene family associated with rubber biosynthesis
    Lau NS, Makita Y, Kawashima M, Taylor TD, Kondo S, Othman AS, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2016 06 24;6:28594.
    PMID: 27339202 DOI: 10.1038/srep28594
    Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg, a member of the family Euphorbiaceae, is the sole natural resource exploited for commercial production of high-quality natural rubber. The properties of natural rubber latex are almost irreplaceable by synthetic counterparts for many industrial applications. A paucity of knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of rubber biosynthesis in high yield traits still persists. Here we report the comprehensive genome-wide analysis of the widely planted H. brasiliensis clone, RRIM 600. The genome was assembled based on ~155-fold combined coverage with Illumina and PacBio sequence data and has a total length of 1.55 Gb with 72.5% comprising repetitive DNA sequences. A total of 84,440 high-confidence protein-coding genes were predicted. Comparative genomic analysis revealed strong synteny between H. brasiliensis and other Euphorbiaceae genomes. Our data suggest that H. brasiliensis's capacity to produce high levels of latex can be attributed to the expansion of rubber biosynthesis-related genes in its genome and the high expression of these genes in latex. Using cap analysis gene expression data, we illustrate the tissue-specific transcription profiles of rubber biosynthesis-related genes, revealing alternative means of transcriptional regulation. Our study adds to the understanding of H. brasiliensis biology and provides valuable genomic resources for future agronomic-related improvement of the rubber tree.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics*
  6. Fulltext Seqping: gene prediction pipeline for plant genomes using self-training gene models and transcriptomic data
    Chan KL, Rosli R, Tatarinova TV, Hogan M, Firdaus-Raih M, Low EL
    BMC Bioinformatics, 2017 Jan 27;18(Suppl 1):1426.
    PMID: 28466793 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-016-1426-6
    BACKGROUND: Gene prediction is one of the most important steps in the genome annotation process. A large number of software tools and pipelines developed by various computing techniques are available for gene prediction. However, these systems have yet to accurately predict all or even most of the protein-coding regions. Furthermore, none of the currently available gene-finders has a universal Hidden Markov Model (HMM) that can perform gene prediction for all organisms equally well in an automatic fashion.

    RESULTS: We present an automated gene prediction pipeline, Seqping that uses self-training HMM models and transcriptomic data. The pipeline processes the genome and transcriptome sequences of the target species using GlimmerHMM, SNAP, and AUGUSTUS pipelines, followed by MAKER2 program to combine predictions from the three tools in association with the transcriptomic evidence. Seqping generates species-specific HMMs that are able to offer unbiased gene predictions. The pipeline was evaluated using the Oryza sativa and Arabidopsis thaliana genomes. Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO) analysis showed that the pipeline was able to identify at least 95% of BUSCO's plantae dataset. Our evaluation shows that Seqping was able to generate better gene predictions compared to three HMM-based programs (MAKER2, GlimmerHMM and AUGUSTUS) using their respective available HMMs. Seqping had the highest accuracy in rice (0.5648 for CDS, 0.4468 for exon, and 0.6695 nucleotide structure) and A. thaliana (0.5808 for CDS, 0.5955 for exon, and 0.8839 nucleotide structure).

    CONCLUSIONS: Seqping provides researchers a seamless pipeline to train species-specific HMMs and predict genes in newly sequenced or less-studied genomes. We conclude that the Seqping pipeline predictions are more accurate than gene predictions using the other three approaches with the default or available HMMs.

    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics*
  7. Metabolomics and its role in understanding cellular responses in plants
    Bhalla R, Narasimhan K, Swarup S
    Plant Cell Rep, 2005 Dec;24(10):562-71.
    PMID: 16220342
    A natural shift is taking place in the approaches being adopted by plant scientists in response to the accessibility of systems-based technology platforms. Metabolomics is one such field, which involves a comprehensive non-biased analysis of metabolites in a given cell at a specific time. This review briefly introduces the emerging field and a range of analytical techniques that are most useful in metabolomics when combined with computational approaches in data analyses. Using cases from Arabidopsis and other selected plant systems, this review highlights how information can be integrated from metabolomics and other functional genomics platforms to obtain a global picture of plant cellular responses. We discuss how metabolomics is enabling large-scale and parallel interrogation of cell states under different stages of development and defined environmental conditions to uncover novel interactions among various pathways. Finally, we discuss selected applications of metabolomics.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics
  8. Fulltext Epigenetic Distribution of Recombinant Plant Chromosome Fragments in a Human-Arabidopsis Hybrid Cell Line
    Liaw Y, Liu Y, Teo C, Cápal P, Wada N, Fukui K, et al.
    Int J Mol Sci, 2021 May 21;22(11).
    PMID: 34063996 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22115426
    Methylation systems have been conserved during the divergence of plants and animals, although they are regulated by different pathways and enzymes. However, studies on the interactions of the epigenomes among evolutionarily distant organisms are lacking. To address this, we studied the epigenetic modification and gene expression of plant chromosome fragments (~30 Mb) in a human-Arabidopsis hybrid cell line. The whole-genome bisulfite sequencing results demonstrated that recombinant Arabidopsis DNA could retain its plant CG methylation levels even without functional plant methyltransferases, indicating that plant DNA methylation states can be maintained even in a different genomic background. The differential methylation analysis showed that the Arabidopsis DNA was undermethylated in the centromeric region and repetitive elements. Several Arabidopsis genes were still expressed, whereas the expression patterns were not related to the gene function. We concluded that the plant DNA did not maintain the original plant epigenomic landscapes and was under the control of the human genome. This study showed how two diverging genomes can coexist and provided insights into epigenetic modifications and their impact on the regulation of gene expressions between plant and animal genomes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics
  9. Fulltext Genome-Wide Novel Genic Microsatellite Marker Resource Development and Validation for Genetic Diversity and Population Structure Analysis of Banana
    Biswas MK, Bagchi M, Biswas D, Harikrishna JA, Liu Y, Li C, et al.
    Genes (Basel), 2020 12 09;11(12).
    PMID: 33317074 DOI: 10.3390/genes11121479
    Trait tagging through molecular markers is an important molecular breeding tool for crop improvement. SSR markers encoded by functionally relevant parts of a genome are well suited for this task because they may be directly related to traits. However, a limited number of these markers are known for Musa spp. Here, we report 35136 novel functionally relevant SSR markers (FRSMs). Among these, 17,561, 15,373 and 16,286 FRSMs were mapped in-silico to the genomes of Musa acuminata, M. balbisiana and M. schizocarpa, respectively. A set of 273 markers was validated using eight accessions of Musa spp., from which 259 markers (95%) produced a PCR product of the expected size and 203 (74%) were polymorphic. In-silico comparative mapping of FRSMs onto Musa and related species indicated sequence-based orthology and synteny relationships among the chromosomes of Musa and other plant species. Fifteen FRSMs were used to estimate the phylogenetic relationships among 50 banana accessions, and the results revealed that all banana accessions group into two major clusters according to their genomic background. Here, we report the first large-scale development and characterization of functionally relevant Musa SSR markers. We demonstrate their utility for germplasm characterization, genetic diversity studies, and comparative mapping in Musa spp. and other monocot species. The sequences for these novel markers are freely available via a searchable web interface called Musa Marker Database.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics
  10. The 172-kb genomic DNA region of the O. rufipogon yld1.1 locus: comparative sequence analysis with O. sativa ssp. japonica and O. sativa ssp. indica
    Song BK, Hein I, Druka A, Waugh R, Marshall D, Nadarajah K, et al.
    Funct Integr Genomics, 2009 Feb;9(1):97-108.
    PMID: 18633654 DOI: 10.1007/s10142-008-0091-x
    Common wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) plays an important role by contributing to modern rice breeding. In this paper, we report the sequence and analysis of a 172-kb genomic DNA region of wild rice around the RM5 locus, which is associated with the yield QTL yld1.1. Comparative sequence analysis between orthologous RM5 regions from Oryza sativa ssp. japonica, O. sativa ssp. indica and O. rufipogon revealed a high level of conserved synteny in the content, homology, structure, orientation, and physical distance of all 14 predicted genes. Twelve of the putative genes were supported by matches to proteins with known function, whereas two were predicted by homology to rice and other plant expressed sequence tags or complementary DNAs. The remarkably high level of conservation found in coding, intronic and intergenic regions may indicate high evolutionary selection on the RM5 region. Although our analysis has not defined which gene(s) determine the yld1.1 phenotype, allelic variation and the insertion of transposable elements, among other nucleotide changes, represent potential variation responsible for the yield QTL. However, as suggested previously, two putative receptor-like protein kinase genes remain the key suspects for yld1.1.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics*
  11. Fulltext Genomic insights into the evolution of Echinochloa species as weed and orphan crop
    Wu D, Shen E, Jiang B, Feng Y, Tang W, Lao S, et al.
    Nat Commun, 2022 02 03;13(1):689.
    PMID: 35115514 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28359-9
    As one of the great survivors of the plant kingdom, barnyard grasses (Echinochloa spp.) are the most noxious and common weeds in paddy ecosystems. Meanwhile, at least two Echinochloa species have been domesticated and cultivated as millets. In order to better understand the genomic forces driving the evolution of Echinochloa species toward weed and crop characteristics, we assemble genomes of three Echinochloa species (allohexaploid E. crus-galli and E. colona, and allotetraploid E. oryzicola) and re-sequence 737 accessions of barnyard grasses and millets from 16 rice-producing countries. Phylogenomic and comparative genomic analyses reveal the complex and reticulate evolution in the speciation of Echinochloa polyploids and provide evidence of constrained disease-related gene copy numbers in Echinochloa. A population-level investigation uncovers deep population differentiation for local adaptation, multiple target-site herbicide resistance mutations of barnyard grasses, and limited domestication of barnyard millets. Our results provide genomic insights into the dual roles of Echinochloa species as weeds and crops as well as essential resources for studying plant polyploidization, adaptation, precision weed control and millet improvements.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics*
  12. Fulltext Genetical and comparative genomics of Brassica under altered Ca supply identifies Arabidopsis Ca-transporter orthologs
    Graham NS, Hammond JP, Lysenko A, Mayes S, O Lochlainn S, Blasco B, et al.
    Plant Cell, 2014 Jul;26(7):2818-30.
    PMID: 25082855 DOI: 10.1105/tpc.114.128603
    Although Ca transport in plants is highly complex, the overexpression of vacuolar Ca(2+) transporters in crops is a promising new technology to improve dietary Ca supplies through biofortification. Here, we sought to identify novel targets for increasing plant Ca accumulation using genetical and comparative genomics. Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping to 1895 cis- and 8015 trans-loci were identified in shoots of an inbred mapping population of Brassica rapa (IMB211 × R500); 23 cis- and 948 trans-eQTLs responded specifically to altered Ca supply. eQTLs were screened for functional significance using a large database of shoot Ca concentration phenotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana. From 31 Arabidopsis gene identifiers tagged to robust shoot Ca concentration phenotypes, 21 mapped to 27 B. rapa eQTLs, including orthologs of the Ca(2+) transporters At-CAX1 and At-ACA8. Two of three independent missense mutants of BraA.cax1a, isolated previously by targeting induced local lesions in genomes, have allele-specific shoot Ca concentration phenotypes compared with their segregating wild types. BraA.CAX1a is a promising target for altering the Ca composition of Brassica, consistent with prior knowledge from Arabidopsis. We conclude that multiple-environment eQTL analysis of complex crop genomes combined with comparative genomics is a powerful technique for novel gene identification/prioritization.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics*
  13. Fulltext Draft genome sequence of the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis
    Rahman AY, Usharraj AO, Misra BB, Thottathil GP, Jayasekaran K, Feng Y, et al.
    BMC Genomics, 2013;14:75.
    PMID: 23375136 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-14-75
    Hevea brasiliensis, a member of the Euphorbiaceae family, is the major commercial source of natural rubber (NR). NR is a latex polymer with high elasticity, flexibility, and resilience that has played a critical role in the world economy since 1876.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics
  14. Fulltext Loss of Karma transposon methylation underlies the mantled somaclonal variant of oil palm
    Ong-Abdullah M, Ordway JM, Jiang N, Ooi SE, Kok SY, Sarpan N, et al.
    Nature, 2015 Sep 24;525(7570):533-7.
    PMID: 26352475 DOI: 10.1038/nature15365
    Somaclonal variation arises in plants and animals when differentiated somatic cells are induced into a pluripotent state, but the resulting clones differ from each other and from their parents. In agriculture, somaclonal variation has hindered the micropropagation of elite hybrids and genetically modified crops, but the mechanism responsible remains unknown. The oil palm fruit 'mantled' abnormality is a somaclonal variant arising from tissue culture that drastically reduces yield, and has largely halted efforts to clone elite hybrids for oil production. Widely regarded as an epigenetic phenomenon, 'mantling' has defied explanation, but here we identify the MANTLED locus using epigenome-wide association studies of the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis. DNA hypomethylation of a LINE retrotransposon related to rice Karma, in the intron of the homeotic gene DEFICIENS, is common to all mantled clones and is associated with alternative splicing and premature termination. Dense methylation near the Karma splice site (termed the Good Karma epiallele) predicts normal fruit set, whereas hypomethylation (the Bad Karma epiallele) predicts homeotic transformation, parthenocarpy and marked loss of yield. Loss of Karma methylation and of small RNA in tissue culture contributes to the origin of mantled, while restoration in spontaneous revertants accounts for non-Mendelian inheritance. The ability to predict and cull mantling at the plantlet stage will facilitate the introduction of higher performing clones and optimize environmentally sensitive land resources.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genome, Plant/genetics*
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