The ocean sampling day consortium.

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world's oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits

The ocean sampling day consortium

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits

First draft genome assembly of the Argane tree (Argania spinosa)

Background: The Argane tree (Argania spinosa L. Skeels) is an endemic tree of southwestern Morocco that plays an important socioeconomic and ecologic role for a dense human population in an arid zone. Several studies confirmed the importance of this species as a food and feed source and as a resource for both pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds. Unfortunately, the argane tree ecosystem is facing significant threats from environmental changes (global warming, over-population) and over-exploitation. Limited research has been conducted, however, on argane tree genetics and genomics, which hinders its conservation and genetic improvement. Methods: Here, we present a draft genome assembly of A. spinosa. A reliable reference genome of A. spinosa was created using a hybrid de novo assembly approach combining short and long sequencing reads. Results: In total, 144 Gb Illumina HiSeq reads and 7.2 Gb PacBio reads were produced and assembled. The final draft genome comprises 75 327 scaffolds totaling 671 Mb with an N50 of 49 916 kb. The draft assembly is close to the genome size estimated by k-mers distribution and covers 89% of complete and 4.3 % of partial Arabidopsis orthologous groups in BUSCO. Conclusion: The A. spinosa genome will be useful for assessing biodiversity leading to efficient conservation of this endangered endemic tree. Furthermore, the genome may enable genome-assisted cultivar breeding, and provide a better understanding of important metabolic pathways and their underlying genes for both cosmetic and pharmacological purposes

The Ocean Sampling Day Consortium

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits

First draft genome assembly of the Argane tree (Argania spinosa) [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

BACKGROUND : The Argane tree (Argania spinosa L. Skeels) is an endemic tree of mid-western Morocco that plays an important socioeconomic and ecologic role for a dense human population in an arid zone. Several studies confirmed the importance of this species as a food and feed source and as a resource for both pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds. Unfortunately, the argane tree ecosystem is facing significant threats from environmental changes (global warming, over-population) and over-exploitation. Limited research has been conducted, however, on argane tree genetics and genomics, which hinders its conservation and genetic improvement. METHODS : Here, we present a draft genome assembly of A. spinosa. A reliable reference genome of A. spinosa was created using a hybrid de novo assembly approach combining short and long sequencing reads. RESULTS : In total, 144 Gb Illumina HiSeq reads and 7.6 Gb PacBio reads were produced and assembled. The final draft genome comprises 75 327 scaffolds totaling 671 Mb with an N50 of 49 916 kb. The draft assembly is close to the genome size estimated by k-mers distribution and covers 89% of complete and 4.3 % of partial Arabidopsis orthologous groups in BUSCO. CONCLUSION : The A. spinosa genome will be useful for assessing biodiversity leading to efficient conservation of this endangered endemic tree. Furthermore, the genome may enable genome-assisted cultivar breeding, and provide a better understanding of important metabolic pathways and their underlying genes for both cosmetic and pharmacological.DATA AVAILABILITY: All of the A. spinosa datasets can be retrieved under BioProject accession number PRJNA294096: http://identifiers.org/ bioproject:PRJNA294096. The raw reads are available at NCBI Sequence Reads Archive under accession number SRP077839: http://identifiers.org/insdc.sra:SRP077839. The complete genome sequence assembly project has been deposited at GenBank under accession number QLOD00000000: http://identifiers. org/ncbigi/GI:1408199612. Data can also be retrieved via the International Argane Genome Consortium (IAGC) website: http://www.arganome.org.https://f1000research.compm2021BiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Studies of general relativity with quantum sensors

We present two projects aiming to probe key aspects of the theory of General Relativity with high-precision quantum sensors. These projects use cold-atom interferometry with the aim of measuring gravitational waves and testing the equivalence principle. To detect gravitational waves, a large multi-sensor demonstrator is currently under construction that will exploit correlations between three atom interferometers spread along a 200 m optical cavity. Similarly, a test of the weak equivalence principle is currently underway using a compact and mobile dual-species interferometer, which will serve as a prototype for future high-precision tests onboard an orbiting satellite. We present recent results and improvements related to both projects

Studies of general relativity with quantum sensors

We present two projects aiming to probe key aspects of the theory of General Relativity with high-precision quantum sensors. These projects use cold-atom interferometry with the aim of measuring gravitational waves and testing the equivalence principle. To detect gravitational waves, a large multi-sensor demonstrator is currently under construction that will exploit correlations between three atom interferometers spread along a 200 m optical cavity. Similarly, a test of the weak equivalence principle is currently underway using a compact and mobile dual-species interferometer, which will serve as a prototype for future high-precision tests onboard an orbiting satellite. We present recent results and improvements related to both projects

Studies of general relativity with quantum sensors

We present two projects aiming to probe key aspects of the theory of General Relativity with high-precision quantum sensors. These projects use cold-atom interferometry with the aim of measuring gravitational waves and testing the equivalence principle. To detect gravitational waves, a large multi-sensor demonstrator is currently under construction that will exploit correlations between three atom interferometers spread along a 200 m optical cavity. Similarly, a test of the weak equivalence principle is currently underway using a compact and mobile dual-species interferometer, which will serve as a prototype for future high-precision tests onboard an orbiting satellite. We present recent results and improvements related to both projects

First draft genome assembly of the Argane tree (Argania spinosa) [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 1 approved with reservations]

Background: The Argane tree (Argania spinosa L. Skeels) is an endemic tree of southwestern Morocco that plays an important socioeconomic and ecologic role for a dense human population in an arid zone. Several studies confirmed the importance of this species as a food and feed source and as a resource for both pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds. Unfortunately, the argane tree ecosystem is facing significant threats from environmental changes (global warming, over-population) and over-exploitation. Limited research has been conducted, however, on argane tree genetics and genomics, which hinders its conservation and genetic improvement. Methods: Here, we present a draft genome assembly of A. spinosa. A reliable reference genome of A. spinosa was created using a hybrid de novo assembly approach combining short and long sequencing reads. Results: In total, 144 Gb Illumina HiSeq reads and 7.2 Gb PacBio reads were produced and assembled. The final draft genome comprises 75 327 scaffolds totaling 671 Mb with an N50 of 49 916 kb. The draft assembly is close to the genome size estimated by k-mers distribution and covers 89% of complete and 4.3% of partial Arabidopsis orthologous groups in BUSCO. Conclusion: The A. spinosa genome will be useful for assessing biodiversity leading to efficient conservation of this endangered endemic tree. Furthermore, the genome may enable genome-assisted cultivar breeding, and provide a better understanding of important metabolic pathways and their underlying genes for both cosmetic and pharmacological purposes.This work was supported by the Iridian Genome Foundation (MD, USA). H.G. is supported by a Grant from the NIH (MD, USA) for H3ABioNet/H3Africa (grant numbers U41HG006941 and U24 HG006941). O.B. and B.C. are Fulbright JSD (USA) grant recipients. This work also benefited from support of Midterm Research Program of INRA-Morocco through the use of its bioinformatics platform

First draft genome assembly of the Argane tree (Argania spinosa)

BACKGROUND : The Argane tree (Argania spinosa L. Skeels) is an endemic tree of southwestern Morocco that plays an important socioeconomic and ecologic role for a dense human population in an arid zone. Several studies confirmed the importance of this species as a food and feed source and as a resource for both pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds. Unfortunately, the argane tree ecosystem is facing significant threats from environmental changes (global warming, over-population) and over-exploitation. Limited research has been conducted, however, on argane tree genetics and genomics, which hinders its conservation and genetic improvement. METHODS : Here, we present a draft genome assembly of A. spinosa. A reliable reference genome of A. spinosa was created using a hybrid de novo assembly approach combining short and long sequencing reads. RESULTS : In total, 144 Gb Illumina HiSeq reads and 7.2 Gb PacBio reads were produced and assembled. The final draft genome comprises 75 327 scaffolds totaling 671 Mb with an N50 of 49 916 kb. The draft assembly is close to the genome size estimated by k-mers distribution and covers 89% of complete and 4.3 % of partial Arabidopsis orthologous groups in BUSCO. CONCLUSION : The A. spinosa genome will be useful for assessing biodiversity leading to efficient conservation of this endangered endemic tree. Furthermore, the genome may enable genome-assisted cultivar breeding, and provide a better understanding of important metabolic pathways and their underlying genes for both cosmetic and pharmacological purposes.This work was supported by the Iridian Genome Foundation (MD, USA). H.G. is supported by a Grant from the NIH (MD, USA) for H3ABioNet/H3Africa (grant numbers U41HG006941 and U24 HG006941). O.B. and B.C. are Fulbright JSD (USA) grant recipients. This work also benefited from support of Midterm Research Program of INRA-Morocco through the use of its bioinformatics platform.https://f1000research.comam2019Genetic