Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Dissecting Gq/11-mediated plasma membrane translocation of sphingosine kinase-1

Diverse extracellular signals induce plasma membrane translocation of sphingosine kinase-1 (SphK1), thereby enabling inside-out signaling of sphingosine-1-phosphate. We have shown before that Gq-coupled receptors and constitutively active Gαq/11 specifically induced a rapid and long-lasting SphK1 translocation, independently of canonical Gq/phospholipase C (PLC) signaling. Here, we further characterized Gq/11 regulation of SphK1. SphK1 translocation by the M3 receptor in HEK-293 cells was delayed by expression of catalytically inactive G-protein-coupled receptor kinase-2, p63Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (p63RhoGEF), and catalytically inactive PLCβ3, but accelerated by wild-type PLCβ3 and the PLCδ PH domain. Both wild-type SphK1 and catalytically inactive SphK1-G82D reduced M3 receptor-stimulated inositol phosphate production, suggesting competition at Gαq. Embryonic fibroblasts from Gαq/11 double-deficient mice were used to show that amino acids W263 and T257 of Gαq, which interact directly with PLCβ3 and p63RhoGEF, were important for bradykinin B2 receptor-induced SphK1 translocation. Finally, an AIXXPL motif was identified in vertebrate SphK1 (positions 100–105 in human SphK1a), which resembles the Gαq binding motif, ALXXPI, in PLCβ and p63RhoGEF. After M3 receptor stimulation, SphK1-A100E-I101E and SphK1-P104A-L105A translocated in only 25% and 56% of cells, respectively, and translocation efficiency was significantly reduced. The data suggest that both the AIXXPL motif and currently unknown consequences of PLCβ/PLCδ(PH) expression are important for regulation of SphK1 by Gq/11

A 12-Mb Complete Coverage BAC Contig Map in Human Chromosome 16p13.1–p11.2

We have constructed a complete coverage BAC contig map that spans a 12-Mb genomic segment in the human chromosome 16p13.1–p11.2 region. The map consists of 68 previously mapped STSs and 289 BAC clones, 51 of which—corresponding to a total of 7.721 Mb of genomic DNA—have been sequenced, and provides a high resolution physical map of the region. Contigs were initially built based mainly on the analysis of STS contents and restriction fingerprint patterns of the clones. To close the gaps, probes derived from BAC clone ends were used to screen deeper BAC libraries. Clone end sequence data obtained from chromosome 16-specific BACs, as well as from public databases, were used for the identification of BACs that overlap with fully sequenced BACs by means of sequence match. This approach allowed precise alignment of clone overlaps in addition to restriction fingerprint comparison. A freehand contig drawing software tool was developed and used to manage the map data graphically and generate a real scale physical map. The map we present here is ∼3.5 × deep and provides a minimal tiling path that covers the region in an array of contigous, overlapping BACs

The Pathogenomic Sequence Analysis of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis Isolates Closely Related to Bacillus anthracis

The sequencing and analysis of two close relatives of Bacillus anthracis are reported. AFLP analysis of over 300 isolates of B. cereus, B. thuringiensis and B. anthracis identified two isolates as being very closely related to B. anthracis. One, a B. cereus, BcE33L, was isolated from a zebra carcass in Nambia; the second, a B. thuringiensis, 97-27, was isolated from a necrotic human wound. The B. cereus appears to be the closest anthracis relative sequenced to date. A core genome of over 3,900 genes was compiled for the Bacillus cereus group, including B anthracis. Comparative analysis of these two genomes with other members of the B. cereus group provides insight into the evolutionary relationships among these organisms. Evidence is presented that differential regulation modulates virulence, rather than simple acquisition of virulence factors. These genome sequences provide insight into the molecular mechanisms contributing to the host range and virulence of this group of organisms

Pathogenomic Sequence Analysis of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis Isolates Closely Related to Bacillus anthracis

Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus thuringiensis are closely related gram-positive, spore-forming bacteria of the B. cereus sensu lato group. While independently derived strains of B. anthracis reveal conspicuous sequence homogeneity, environmental isolates of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis exhibit extensive genetic diversity. Here we report the sequencing and comparative analysis of the genomes of two members of the B. cereus group, B. thuringiensis 97-27 subsp. konkukian serotype H34, isolated from a necrotic human wound, and B. cereus E33L, which was isolated from a swab of a zebra carcass in Namibia. These two strains, when analyzed by amplified fragment length polymorphism within a collection of over 300 of B. cereus, B. thuringiensis, and B. anthracis isolates, appear closely related to B. anthracis. The B. cereus E33L isolate appears to be the nearest relative to B. anthracis identified thus far. Whole-genome sequencing of B. thuringiensis 97-27and B. cereus E33L was undertaken to identify shared and unique genes among these isolates in comparison to the genomes of pathogenic strains B. anthracis Ames and B. cereus G9241 and nonpathogenic strains B. cereus ATCC 10987 and B. cereus ATCC 14579. Comparison of these genomes revealed differences in terms of virulence, metabolic competence, structural components, and regulatory mechanisms

The Complete Genome Sequence of Bacillus thuringiensis Al Hakam

Bacillus thuringiensis is an insect pathogen that is widely used as a biopesticide (3). Here we report the finished, annotated genome sequence of B. thuringiensis Al Hakam, which was collected in Iraq by the United Nations Special Commission (2)

The Complete Genome Sequence of Bacillus thuringiensis Al Hakam

Bacillus thuringiensis is an insect pathogen that is widely used as a biopesticide (3). Here we report the finished, annotated genome sequence of B. thuringiensis Al Hakam, which was collected in Iraq by the United Nations Special Commission (2)

The sequence and analysis of duplication rich human chromosome 16

We report here the 78,884,754 base pairs of finished human chromosome 16 sequence, representing over 99.9 percent of its euchromatin. Manual annotation revealed 880 protein coding genes confirmed by 1,637 aligned transcripts, 19 tRNA genes, 341 pseudogenes and 3 RNA pseudogenes. These genes include metallothionein, cadherin and iroquois gene families, as well as the disease genes for polycystic kidney disease and acute myelomonocytic leukemia. Several large-scale structural polymorphisms spanning hundreds of kilobasepairs were identified and result in gene content differences across humans. One of the unique features of chromosome 16 is its high level of segmental duplication, ranked among the highest of the human autosomes. While the segmental duplications are enriched in the relatively gene poor pericentromere of the p-arm, some are involved in recent gene duplication and conversion events which are likely to have had an impact on the evolution of primates and human disease susceptibility

The sequence and analysis of duplication-rich human chromosome 16

Human chromosome 16 features one of the highest levels of segmentally duplicated sequence among the human autosomes. We report here the 78,884,754 base pairs of finished chromosome 16 sequence, representing over 99.9% of its euchromatin. Manual annotation revealed 880 protein-coding genes confirmed by 1,670 aligned transcripts, 19 transfer RNA genes, 341 pseudogenes and three RNA pseudogenes. These genes include metallothionein, cadherin and iroquois gene families, as well as the disease genes for polycystic kidney disease and acute myelomonocytic leukaemia. Several large-scale structural polymorphisms spanning hundreds of kilobase pairs were identified and result in gene content differences among humans. Whereas the segmental duplications of chromosome 16 are enriched in the relatively gene-poor pericentromere of the p arm, some are involved in recent gene duplication and conversion events that are likely to have had an impact on the evolution of primates and human disease susceptibility.Joel Martin, Cliff Han, Laurie A. Gordon, Astrid Terry, Shyam Prabhakar, Xinwei She, Gary Xie, Uffe Hellsten, Yee Man Chan, Michael Altherr, Olivier Couronne, Andrea Aerts, Eva Bajorek, Stacey Black, Heather Blumer, Elbert Branscomb, Nancy C. Brown, William J. Bruno, Judith M. Buckingham, David F. Callen, Connie S. Campbell, Mary L. Campbell, Evelyn W. Campbell, Chenier Caoile, Jean F. Challacombe, Leslie A. Chasteen, Olga Chertkov, Han C. Chi, Mari Christensen, Lynn M. Clark, Judith D. Cohn, Mirian Denys, John C. Detter, Mark Dickson, Mira Dimitrijevic-Bussod, Julio Escobar, Joseph J. Fawcett, Dave Flowers, Dea Fotopulos, Tijana Glavina, Maria Gomez, Eidelyn Gonzales, David Goodstein, Lynne A. Goodwin, Deborah L. Grady, Igor Grigoriev, Matthew Groza, Nancy Hammon, Trevor Hawkins, Lauren Haydu, Carl E. Hildebrand, Wayne Huang, Sanjay Israni, Jamie Jett, Phillip B. Jewett, Kristen Kadner, Heather Kimball, Arthur Kobayashi, Marie-Claude Krawczyk, Tina Leyba, Jonathan L. Longmire, Frederick Lopez, Yunian Lou, Steve Lowry, Thom Ludeman, Chitra F. Manohar, Graham A. Mark, Kimberly L. McMurray, Linda J. Meincke, Jenna Morgan, Robert K. Moyzis, Mark O. Mundt, A. Christine Munk, Richard D. Nandkeshwar, Sam Pitluck, Martin Pollard Paul Predki, Beverly Parson-Quintana, Lucia Ramirez, Sam Rash, James Retterer, Darryl O. Ricke, Donna L. Robinson, Alex Rodriguez, Asaf Salamov, Elizabeth H. Saunders, Duncan Scott, Timothy Shough, Raymond L. Stallings, Malinda Stalvey, Robert D. Sutherland, Roxanne Tapia, Judith G. Tesmer, Nina Thayer, Linda S. Thompson, Hope Tice, David C. Torney, Mary Tran-Gyamfi, Ming Tsai, Levy E. Ulanovsky, Anna Ustaszewska, Nu Vo, P. Scott White, Albert L. Williams, Patricia L. Wills, Jung-Rung Wu, Kevin Wu, Joan Yang, Pieter DeJong, David Bruce, Norman A. Doggett, Larry Deaven, Jeremy Schmutz, Jane Grimwood, Paul Richardson, Daniel S. Rokhsar, Evan E. Eichler, Paul Gilna, Susan M. Lucas, Richard M. Myers, Edward M. Rubin and Len A. Pennacchi