BAC library resources for map-based cloning and physical map construction in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Background: Although second generation sequencing (2GS) technologies allow re-sequencing of previously gold-standard-sequenced genomes, whole genome shotgun sequencing and de novo assembly of large and complex eukaryotic genomes is still difficult. Availability of a genome-wide physical map is therefore still a prerequisite for whole genome sequencing for genomes like barley. To start such an endeavor, large insert genomic libraries, i.e. Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) libraries, which are unbiased and representing deep haploid genome coverage, need to be ready in place. Result: Five new BAC libraries were constructed for barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivar Morex. These libraries were constructed in different cloning sites (HindIII, EcoRI, MboI and BstXI) of the respective vectors. In order to enhance unbiased genome representation and to minimize the number of gaps between BAC contigs, which are often due to uneven distribution of restriction sites, a mechanically sheared library was also generated. The new BAC libraries were fully characterized in depth by scrutinizing the major quality parameters such as average insert size, degree of contamination (plate wide, neighboring, and chloroplast), empty wells and off-scale clones (clones with 250 fragments). Additionally a set of gene-based probes were hybridized to high density BAC filters and showed that genome coverage of each library is between 2.4 and 6.6 X. Conclusion: BAC libraries representing >20 haploid genomes are available as a new resource to the barley research community. Systematic utilization of these libraries in high-throughput BAC fingerprinting should allow developing a genome-wide physical map for the barley genome, which will be instrumental for map-based gene isolation and genome sequencing.Daniela Schulte, Ruvini Ariyadasa, Bujun Shi, Delphine Fleury, Chris Saski, Michael Atkins, Pieter deJong, Cheng-Cang Wu, Andreas Graner, Peter Langridge and Nils Stei

Curated genome annotation of Oryza sativa ssp. japonica and comparative genome analysis with Arabidopsis thaliana

We present here the annotation of the complete genome of rice Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica cultivar Nipponbare. All functional annotations for proteins and non-protein-coding RNA (npRNA) candidates were manually curated. Functions were identified or inferred in 19,969 (70%) of the proteins, and 131 possible npRNAs (including 58 antisense transcripts) were found. Almost 5000 annotated protein-coding genes were found to be disrupted in insertional mutant lines, which will accelerate future experimental validation of the annotations. The rice loci were determined by using cDNA sequences obtained from rice and other representative cereals. Our conservative estimate based on these loci and an extrapolation suggested that the gene number of rice is ~32,000, which is smaller than previous estimates. We conducted comparative analyses between rice and Arabidopsis thaliana and found that both genomes possessed several lineage-specific genes, which might account for the observed differences between these species, while they had similar sets of predicted functional domains among the protein sequences. A system to control translational efficiency seems to be conserved across large evolutionary distances. Moreover, the evolutionary process of protein-coding genes was examined. Our results suggest that natural selection may have played a role for duplicated genes in both species, so that duplication was suppressed or favored in a manner that depended on the function of a gene

High-Throughput Sequencing of Six Bamboo Chloroplast Genomes: Phylogenetic Implications for Temperate Woody Bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae)

BACKGROUND: Bambusoideae is the only subfamily that contains woody members in the grass family, Poaceae. In phylogenetic analyses, Bambusoideae, Pooideae and Ehrhartoideae formed the BEP clade, yet the internal relationships of this clade are controversial. The distinctive life history (infrequent flowering and predominance of asexual reproduction) of woody bamboos makes them an interesting but taxonomically difficult group. Phylogenetic analyses based on large DNA fragments could only provide a moderate resolution of woody bamboo relationships, although a robust phylogenetic tree is needed to elucidate their evolutionary history. Phylogenomics is an alternative choice for resolving difficult phylogenies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we present the complete nucleotide sequences of six woody bamboo chloroplast (cp) genomes using Illumina sequencing. These genomes are similar to those of other grasses and rather conservative in evolution. We constructed a phylogeny of Poaceae from 24 complete cp genomes including 21 grass species. Within the BEP clade, we found strong support for a sister relationship between Bambusoideae and Pooideae. In a substantial improvement over prior studies, all six nodes within Bambusoideae were supported with ≥0.95 posterior probability from Bayesian inference and 5/6 nodes resolved with 100% bootstrap support in maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses. We found that repeats in the cp genome could provide phylogenetic information, while caution is needed when using indels in phylogenetic analyses based on few selected genes. We also identified relatively rapidly evolving cp genome regions that have the potential to be used for further phylogenetic study in Bambusoideae. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The cp genome of Bambusoideae evolved slowly, and phylogenomics based on whole cp genome could be used to resolve major relationships within the subfamily. The difficulty in resolving the diversification among three clades of temperate woody bamboos, even with complete cp genome sequences, suggests that these lineages may have diverged very rapidly

Implications of the Plastid Genome Sequence of Typha (Typhaceae, Poales) for Understanding Genome Evolution in Poaceae

Plastid genomes of the grasses (Poaceae) are unusual in their organization and rates of sequence evolution. There has been a recent surge in the availability of grass plastid genome sequences, but a comprehensive comparative analysis of genome evolution has not been performed that includes any related families in the Poales. We report on the plastid genome of Typha latifolia, the first non-grass Poales sequenced to date, and we present comparisons of genome organization and sequence evolution within Poales. Our results confirm that grass plastid genomes exhibit acceleration in both genomic rearrangements and nucleotide substitutions. Poaceae have multiple structural rearrangements, including three inversions, three genes losses (accD, ycf1, ycf2), intron losses in two genes (clpP, rpoC1), and expansion of the inverted repeat (IR) into both large and small single-copy regions. These rearrangements are restricted to the Poaceae, and IR expansion into the small single-copy region correlates with the phylogeny of the family. Comparisons of 73 protein-coding genes for 47 angiosperms including nine Poaceae genera confirm that the branch leading to Poaceae has significantly accelerated rates of change relative to other monocots and angiosperms. Furthermore, rates of sequence evolution within grasses are lower, indicating a deceleration during diversification of the family. Overall there is a strong correlation between accelerated rates of genomic rearrangements and nucleotide substitutions in Poaceae, a phenomenon that has been noted recently throughout angiosperms. The cause of the correlation is unknown, but faulty DNA repair has been suggested in other systems including bacterial and animal mitochondrial genomes

The complete sequence of the Acacia ligulata chloroplast genome reveals a highly divergent clpP1 gene

Legumes are a highly diverse angiosperm family that include many agriculturally important species. To date, 21 complete chloroplast genomes have been sequenced from legume crops confined to the Papilionoideae subfamily. Here we report the first chloroplast genome from the Mimosoideae, Acacia ligulata, and compare it to the previously sequenced legume genomes. The A. ligulata chloroplast genome is 158,724 bp in size, comprising inverted repeats of 25,925 bp and single-copy regions of 88,576 bp and 18,298 bp. Acacia ligulata lacks the inversion present in many of the Papilionoideae, but is not otherwise significantly different in terms of gene and repeat content. The key feature is its highly divergent clpP1 gene, normally considered essential in chloroplast genomes. In A. ligulata, although transcribed and spliced, it probably encodes a catalytically inactive protein. This study provides a significant resource for further genetic research into Acacia and the Mimosoideae. The divergent clpP1 gene suggests that Acacia will provide an interesting source of information on the evolution and functional diversity of the chloroplast Clp protease comple

A Set of 100 Chloroplast DNA Primer Pairs to Study Population Genetics and Phylogeny in Monocotyledons

Chloroplast DNA sequences are of great interest for population genetics and phylogenetic studies. However, only a small set of markers are commonly used. Most of them have been designed for amplification in a large range of Angiosperms and are located in the Large Single Copy (LSC). Here we developed a new set of 100 primer pairs optimized for amplification in Monocotyledons. Primer pairs amplify coding (exon) and non-coding regions (intron and intergenic spacer). They span the different chloroplast regions: 72 are located in the LSC, 13 in the Small Single Copy (SSC) and 15 in the Inverted Repeat region (IR). Amplification and sequencing were tested in 13 species of Monocotyledons: Dioscorea abyssinica, D. praehensilis, D. rotundata, D. dumetorum, D. bulbifera, Trichopus sempervirens (Dioscoreaceae), Phoenix canariensis, P. dactylifera, Astrocaryum scopatum, A. murumuru, Ceroxylon echinulatum (Arecaceae), Digitaria excilis and Pennisetum glaucum (Poaceae). The diversity found in Dioscorea, Digitaria and Pennisetum mainly corresponded to Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) while the diversity found in Arecaceae also comprises Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR). We observed that the most variable loci (rps15-ycf1, rpl32-ccsA, ndhF-rpl32, ndhG-ndhI and ccsA) are located in the SSC. Through the analysis of the genetic structure of a wild-cultivated species complex in Dioscorea, we demonstrated that this new set of primers is of great interest for population genetics and we anticipate that it will also be useful for phylogeny and bar-coding studies

The evolution of the plastid chromosome in land plants: gene content, gene order, gene function

This review bridges functional and evolutionary aspects of plastid chromosome architecture in land plants and their putative ancestors. We provide an overview on the structure and composition of the plastid genome of land plants as well as the functions of its genes in an explicit phylogenetic and evolutionary context. We will discuss the architecture of land plant plastid chromosomes, including gene content and synteny across land plants. Moreover, we will explore the functions and roles of plastid encoded genes in metabolism and their evolutionary importance regarding gene retention and conservation. We suggest that the slow mode at which the plastome typically evolves is likely to be influenced by a combination of different molecular mechanisms. These include the organization of plastid genes in operons, the usually uniparental mode of plastid inheritance, the activity of highly effective repair mechanisms as well as the rarity of plastid fusion. Nevertheless, structurally rearranged plastomes can be found in several unrelated lineages (e.g. ferns, Pinaceae, multiple angiosperm families). Rearrangements and gene losses seem to correlate with an unusual mode of plastid transmission, abundance of repeats, or a heterotrophic lifestyle (parasites or myco-heterotrophs). While only a few functional gene gains and more frequent gene losses have been inferred for land plants, the plastid Ndh complex is one example of multiple independent gene losses and will be discussed in detail. Patterns of ndh-gene loss and functional analyses indicate that these losses are usually found in plant groups with a certain degree of heterotrophy, might rendering plastid encoded Ndh1 subunits dispensable

A Genome-Wide Survey of Switchgrass Genome Structure and Organization

The perennial grass, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), is a promising bioenergy crop and the target of whole genome sequencing. We constructed two bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries from the AP13 clone of switchgrass to gain insight into the genome structure and organization, initiate functional and comparative genomic studies, and assist with genome assembly. Together representing 16 haploid genome equivalents of switchgrass, each library comprises 101,376 clones with average insert sizes of 144 (HindIII-generated) and 110 kb (BstYI-generated). A total of 330,297 high quality BAC-end sequences (BES) were generated, accounting for 263.2 Mbp (16.4%) of the switchgrass genome. Analysis of the BES identified 279,099 known repetitive elements, >50,000 SSRs, and 2,528 novel repeat elements, named switchgrass repetitive elements (SREs). Comparative mapping of 47 full-length BAC sequences and 330K BES revealed high levels of synteny with the grass genomes sorghum, rice, maize, and Brachypodium. Our data indicate that the sorghum genome has retained larger microsyntenous regions with switchgrass besides high gene order conservation with rice. The resources generated in this effort will be useful for a broad range of applications