Whole-genome sequencing of <em>Oryza brachyantha</em> reveals mechanisms underlying <em>Oryza</em> genome evolution

The wild species of the genus Oryza contain a largely untapped reservoir of agronomically important genes for rice improvement. Here we report the 261-Mb de novo assembled genome sequence of Oryza brachyantha. Low activity of long-terminal repeat retrotransposons and massive internal deletions of ancient long-terminal repeat elements lead to the compact genome of Oryza brachyantha. We model 32,038 protein-coding genes in the Oryza brachyantha genome, of which only 70% are located in collinear positions in comparison with the rice genome. Analysing breakpoints of non-collinear genes suggests that double-strand break repair through non-homologous end joining has an important role in gene movement and erosion of collinearity in the Oryza genomes. Transition of euchromatin to heterochromatin in the rice genome is accompanied by segmental and tandem duplications, further expanded by transposable element insertions. The high-quality reference genome sequence of Oryza brachyantha provides an important resource for functional and evolutionary studies in the genus Oryza

Draft genome sequence of the Tibetan antelope

The Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) is endemic to the extremely inhospitable high-altitude environment of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, a region that has a low partial pressure of oxygen and high ultraviolet radiation. Here we generate a draft genome of this artiodactyl and use it to detect the potential genetic bases of highland adaptation. Compared with other plain-dwelling mammals, the genome of the Tibetan antelope shows signals of adaptive evolution and gene-family expansion in genes associated with energy metabolism and oxygen transmission. Both the highland American pika, and the Tibetan antelope have signals of positive selection for genes involved in DNA repair and the production of ATPase. Genes associated with hypoxia seem to have experienced convergent evolution. Thus, our study suggests that common genetic mechanisms might have been utilized to enable high-altitude adaptation

Draft genome sequence of the mulberry tree Morus notabilis

Human utilization of the mulberry–silkworm interaction started at least 5,000 years ago and greatly influenced world history through the Silk Road. Complementing the silkworm genome sequence, here we describe the genome of a mulberry species Morus notabilis. In the 330-Mb genome assembly, we identify 128 Mb of repetitive sequences and 29,338 genes, 60.8% of which are supported by transcriptome sequencing. Mulberry gene sequences appear to evolve ~3 times faster than other Rosales, perhaps facilitating the species’ spread worldwide. The mulberry tree is among a few eudicots but several Rosales that have not preserved genome duplications in more than 100 million years; however, a neopolyploid series found in the mulberry tree and several others suggest that new duplications may confer benefits. Five predicted mulberry miRNAs are found in the haemolymph and silk glands of the silkworm, suggesting interactions at molecular levels in the plant–herbivore relationship. The identification and analyses of mulberry genes involved in diversifying selection, resistance and protease inhibitor expressed in the laticifers will accelerate the improvement of mulberry plants

Vanadium-catalyzed enantioselective sulfoxidation and concomitant, highly efficient kinetic resolution provide high enantioselectivity and acceptable yields of sulfoxides

Simple, inexpensive, preformed vanadium-Schiff base complexes were facilely prepared and used in enantioselective sulfoxidation. Both the amount of aqueous H2O2 and reaction time greatly influenced the ee values and yields of chiral sulfoxides. High enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) and reasonable yields (> 40%) for various chiral sulfoxides were achieved by combining enantioselective sulfoxidation and appropriate concomitant kinetic resolution

Reference-assisted chromosome assembly

One of the most difficult problems in modern genomics is the assembly of full-length chromosomes using next generation sequencing (NGS) data. To address this problem, we developed “reference-assisted chromosome assembly” (RACA), an algorithm to reliably order and orient sequence scaffolds generated by NGS and assemblers into longer chromosomal fragments using comparative genome information and paired-end reads. Evaluation of results using simulated and real genome assemblies indicates that our approach can substantially improve genomes generated by a wide variety of de novo assemblers if a good reference assembly of a closely related species and outgroup genomes are available. We used RACA to reconstruct 60 Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) chromosome fragments from 1,434 SOAPdenovo sequence scaffolds, of which 16 chromosome fragments were homologous to complete cattle chromosomes. Experimental validation by PCR showed that predictions made by RACA are highly accurate. Our results indicate that RACA will significantly facilitate the study of chromosome evolution and genome rearrangements for the large number of genomes being sequenced by NGS that do not have a genetic or physical map

Genome sequence of ground tit Pseudopodoces humilis and its adaptation to high altitude

Background: The mechanism of high-altitude adaptation has been studied in certain mammals. However, in avian species like the ground tit Pseudopodoces humilis, the adaptation mechanism remains unclear. The phylogeny of the ground tit is also controversial.Results: Using next generation sequencing technology, we generated and assembled a draft genome sequence of the ground tit. The assembly contained 1.04 Gb of sequence that covered 95.4% of the whole genome and had higher N50 values, at the level of both scaffolds and contigs, than other sequenced avian genomes. About 1.7 million SNPs were detected, 16,998 protein-coding genes were predicted and 7% of the genome was identified as repeat sequences. Comparisons between the ground tit genome and other avian genomes revealed a conserved genome structure and confirmed the phylogeny of ground tit as not belonging to the Corvidae family. Gene family expansion and positively selected gene analysis revealed genes that were related to cardiac function. Our findings contribute to our understanding of the adaptation of this species to extreme environmental living conditions.Conclusions: Our data and analysis contribute to the study of avian evolutionary history and provide new insights into the adaptation mechanisms to extreme conditions in animals

Comparison of long-range PE sequencing methods.

<p>(A–D) Long-range PE sequencing with linker oligonucleotides. In these methods, biotin-labeled linker oligonucleotides are added to the two ends of long-range DNA fragments, followed by enzymes-induced intra-molecule circularization, and recovery of the paired-end for sequencing. The addition of linker oligonucleotides and subsequent complex enzyme reactions require 5–8 recoveries before capturing the paired-ends from circularized DNA fragments. In addition, the use of expensive enzymes involves additional costs. (E), Long-range PE sequencing by direct intra-molecule ligation or molecular linker-free circularization. In the method, the 3′ends of long-range DNA fragments were biotin-labeled, followed by direct intra-molecule circularization and recovery of PE ends. This method requires less recovery steps (3–4) and no complex enzyme reaction system. The steps for DNA recovery are in bold. We applied the method E in this research.</p

Two long insertions in YH genome detected by long-range PE.

<p>Mapping the long-range PE reads back to the human genome (NCBI build 37) resulted in the detection of a previously identified ∼8 kb insertion in chromosome 7 (A) and a novel ∼7 kb insertion in chromosome 14 (B) in the YH genome. The abnormally mapped PE reads that supported the insertions by showing unexpected short insert size are shown.</p