Deterministic evolution and stringent selection during preneoplasia

The earliest events during human tumour initiation, although poorly characterized, may hold clues to malignancy detection and prevention1. Here we model occult preneoplasia by biallelic inactivation of TP53, a common early event in gastric cancer, in human gastric organoids. Causal relationships between this initiating genetic lesion and resulting phenotypes were established using experimental evolution in multiple clonally derived cultures over 2 years. TP53 loss elicited progressive aneuploidy, including copy number alterations and structural variants prevalent in gastric cancers, with evident preferred orders. Longitudinal single-cell sequencing of TP53-deficient gastric organoids similarly indicates progression towards malignant transcriptional programmes. Moreover, high-throughput lineage tracing with expressed cellular barcodes demonstrates reproducible dynamics whereby initially rare subclones with shared transcriptional programmes repeatedly attain clonal dominance. This powerful platform for experimental evolution exposes stringent selection, clonal interference and a marked degree of phenotypic convergence in premalignant epithelial organoids. These data imply predictability in the earliest stages of tumorigenesis and show evolutionary constraints and barriers to malignant transformation, with implications for earlier detection and interception of aggressive, genome-instable tumours

Whole-genome sequencing reveals the extent of heterozygosity in a preferentially self-fertilizing hermaphroditic vertebrate

The mangrove rivulus, Kryptolebias marmoratus, is one of only two self-fertilizing hermaphroditic fish and inhabits mangrove forests. While selfing can be advantageous, it reduces heterozygosity and decreases genetic diversity. Studies using microsatellites found that there are variable levels of selfing among populations of K. marmoratus but overall there is a low rate of outcrossing and therefore, low heterozygosity. In this study, we used whole-genome data to assess the level of genetic diversity in different lineages of the mangrove rivulus and infer the phylogenetic relationships among those lineages. We sequenced whole genomes from 15 lineages that were homozygous at microsatellite loci and used single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to determine heterozygosity levels. More variation was uncovered than in studies using microsatellite data due to the resolution of full genome sequencing data. Inferred phylogenetic relationships suggest that lineages largely group by their geographic distribution. The use of whole-genome data provided further insight into genetic diversity in this unique species. These data suggest that there is previously undescribed variation within lineages of K. marmoratus. Although this study was limited by the number of lineages that were available, these results highlight the need to sequence additional individuals within and among lineages.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Complexities of gene expression patterns in natural populations of an extremophile fish ( Poecilia mexicana

Variation in gene expression can provide insights into organismal responses to environmental stress and physiological mechanisms mediating adaptation to habitats with contrasting environmental conditions. We performed an RNA‐sequencing experiment to quantify gene expression patterns in fish adapted to habitats with different combinations of environmental stressors, including the presence of toxic hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and the absence of light in caves. We specifically asked how gene expression varies among populations living in different habitats, whether population differences were consistent among organs, and whether there is evidence for shared expression responses in populations exposed to the same stressors. We analysed organ‐specific transcriptome‐wide data from four ecotypes of Poecilia mexicana (nonsulphidic surface, sulphidic surface, nonsulphidic cave and sulphidic cave). The majority of variation in gene expression was correlated with organ type, and the presence of specific environmental stressors elicited unique expression differences among organs. Shared patterns of gene expression between populations exposed to the same environmental stressors increased with levels of organismal organization (from transcript to gene to physiological pathway). In addition, shared patterns of gene expression were more common between populations from sulphidic than populations from cave habitats, potentially indicating that physiochemical stressors with clear biochemical consequences can constrain the diversity of adaptive solutions that mitigate their adverse effects. Overall, our analyses provided insights into transcriptional variation in a unique system, in which adaptation to H2S and darkness coincide. Functional annotations of differentially expressed genes provide a springboard for investigating physiological mechanisms putatively underlying adaptation to extreme environments

Complexities of gene expression patterns in natural populations of an extremophile fish (Poecilia mexicana, Poeciliidae)

Variation in gene expression can provide insights into organismal responses to environmental stress and physiological mechanisms mediating adaptation to habitats with contrasting environmental conditions. We performed an RNA‐sequencing experiment to quantify gene expression patterns in fish adapted to habitats with different combinations of environmental stressors, including the presence of toxic hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and the absence of light in caves. We specifically asked how gene expression varies among populations living in different habitats, whether population differences were consistent among organs, and whether there is evidence for shared expression responses in populations exposed to the same stressors. We analysed organ‐specific transcriptome‐wide data from four ecotypes of Poecilia mexicana (nonsulphidic surface, sulphidic surface, nonsulphidic cave and sulphidic cave). The majority of variation in gene expression was correlated with organ type, and the presence of specific environmental stressors elicited unique expression differences among organs. Shared patterns of gene expression between populations exposed to the same environmental stressors increased with levels of organismal organization (from transcript to gene to physiological pathway). In addition, shared patterns of gene expression were more common between populations from sulphidic than populations from cave habitats, potentially indicating that physiochemical stressors with clear biochemical consequences can constrain the diversity of adaptive solutions that mitigate their adverse effects. Overall, our analyses provided insights into transcriptional variation in a unique system, in which adaptation to H2S and darkness coincide. Functional annotations of differentially expressed genes provide a springboard for investigating physiological mechanisms putatively underlying adaptation to extreme environments

Complexities of gene expression patterns in natural populations of an extremophile fish (Poecilia mexicana, Poeciliidae)

Variation in gene expression can provide insights into organismal responses to environmental stress and physiological mechanisms mediating adaptation to habitats with contrasting environmental conditions. We performed an RNA-sequencing experiment to quantify gene expression patterns in fish adapted to habitats with different combinations of environmental stressors, including the presence of toxic hydrogen sulphide (H2 S) and the absence of light in caves. We specifically asked how gene expression varies among populations living in different habitats, whether population differences were consistent among organs, and whether there is evidence for shared expression responses in populations exposed to the same stressors. We analysed organ-specific transcriptome-wide data from four ecotypes of Poecilia mexicana (nonsulphidic surface, sulphidic surface, nonsulphidic cave and sulphidic cave). The majority of variation in gene expression was correlated with organ type, and the presence of specific environmental stressors elicited unique expression differences among organs. Shared patterns of gene expression between populations exposed to the same environmental stressors increased with levels of organismal organization (from transcript to gene to physiological pathway). In addition, shared patterns of gene expression were more common between populations from sulphidic than populations from cave habitats, potentially indicating that physiochemical stressors with clear biochemical consequences can constrain the diversity of adaptive solutions that mitigate their adverse effects. Overall, our analyses provided insights into transcriptional variation in a unique system, in which adaptation to H2 S and darkness coincide. Functional annotations of differentially expressed genes provide a springboard for investigating physiological mechanisms putatively underlying adaptation to extreme environments

GBStools: A Statistical Method for Estimating Allelic Dropout in Reduced Representation Sequencing Data

Reduced representation sequencing methods such as genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) enable low-cost measurement of genetic variation without the need for a reference genome assembly. These methods are widely used in genetic mapping and population genetics studies, especially with non-model organisms. Variant calling error rates, however, are higher in GBS than in standard sequencing, in particular due to restriction site polymorphisms, and few computational tools exist that specifically model and correct these errors. We developed a statistical method to remove errors caused by restriction site polymorphisms, implemented in the software package GBStools. We evaluated it in several simulated data sets, varying in number of samples, mean coverage and population mutation rate, and in two empirical human data sets (N = 8 and N = 63 samples). In our simulations, GBStools improved genotype accuracy more than commonly used filters such as Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium p-values. GBStools is most effective at removing genotype errors in data sets over 100 samples when coverage is 40X or higher, and the improvement is most pronounced in species with high genomic diversity. We also demonstrate the utility of GBS and GBStools for human population genetic inference in Argentine populations and reveal widely varying individual ancestry proportions and an excess of singletons, consistent with recent population growth

In-solution Y-chromosome capture-enrichment on ancient DNA libraries

Abstract Background As most ancient biological samples have low levels of endogenous DNA, it is advantageous to enrich for specific genomic regions prior to sequencing. One approach—in-solution capture-enrichment—retrieves sequences of interest and reduces the fraction of microbial DNA. In this work, we implement a capture-enrichment approach targeting informative regions of the Y chromosome in six human archaeological remains excavated in the Caribbean and dated between 200 and 3000 years BP. We compare the recovery rate of Y-chromosome capture (YCC) alone, whole-genome capture followed by YCC (WGC + YCC) versus non-enriched (pre-capture) libraries. Results The six samples show different levels of initial endogenous content, with very low (< 0.05%, 4 samples) or low (0.1–1.54%, 2 samples) percentages of sequenced reads mapping to the human genome. We recover 12–9549 times more targeted unique Y-chromosome sequences after capture, where 0.0–6.2% (WGC + YCC) and 0.0–23.5% (YCC) of the sequence reads were on-target, compared to 0.0–0.00003% pre-capture. In samples with endogenous DNA content greater than 0.1%, we found that WGC followed by YCC (WGC + YCC) yields lower enrichment due to the loss of complexity in consecutive capture experiments, whereas in samples with lower endogenous content, the libraries’ initial low complexity leads to minor proportions of Y-chromosome reads. Finally, increasing recovery of informative sites enabled us to assign Y-chromosome haplogroups to some of the archeological remains and gain insights about their paternal lineages and origins. Conclusions We present to our knowledge the first in-solution capture-enrichment method targeting the human Y-chromosome in aDNA sequencing libraries. YCC and WGC + YCC enrichments lead to an increase in the amount of Y-DNA sequences, as compared to libraries not enriched for the Y-chromosome. Our probe design effectively recovers regions of the Y-chromosome bearing phylogenetically informative sites, allowing us to identify paternal lineages with less sequencing than needed for pre-capture libraries. Finally, we recommend considering the endogenous content in the experimental design and avoiding consecutive rounds of capture, as clonality increases considerably with each round

GBStools: A Statistical Method for Estimating Allelic Dropout in Reduced Representation Sequencing Data

Reduced representation sequencing methods such as genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) enable low-cost measurement of genetic variation without the need for a reference genome assembly. These methods are widely used in genetic mapping and population genetics studies, especially with non-model organisms. Variant calling error rates, however, are higher in GBS than in standard sequencing, in particular due to restriction site polymorphisms, and few computational tools exist that specifically model and correct these errors. We developed a statistical method to remove errors caused by restriction site polymorphisms, implemented in the software package GBStools. We evaluated it in several simulated data sets, varying in number of samples, mean coverage and population mutation rate, and in two empirical human data sets (N = 8 and N = 63 samples). In our simulations, GBStools improved genotype accuracy more than commonly used filters such as Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium p-values. GBStools is most effective at removing genotype errors in data sets over 100 samples when coverage is 40X or higher, and the improvement is most pronounced in species with high genomic diversity. We also demonstrate the utility of GBS and GBStools for human population genetic inference in Argentine populations and reveal widely varying individual ancestry proportions and an excess of singletons, consistent with recent population growth

Admixture mapping in two Mexican samples identifies significant associations of locus ancestry with triglyceride levels in the BUD13/ZNF259/APOA5 region and fine mapping points to rs964184 as the main driver of the association signal.

We carried out an admixture mapping study of lipid traits in two samples from Mexico City. Native American locus ancestry was significantly associated with triglyceride levels in a broad region of chromosome 11 overlapping the BUD13, ZNF259 and APOA5 genes. In our fine-mapping analysis of this region using dense genome-wide data, rs964184 is the only marker included in the 99% credible set of SNPs, providing strong support for rs964184 as the causal variant within this region. The frequency of the allele associated with increased triglyceride concentrations (rs964184-G) is between 30-40% higher in Native American populations from Mexico than in European populations. The evidence currently available for this variant indicates that it may be exerting its effect through three potential mechanisms: 1) modification of enhancer activity, 2) regulation of the expression of several genes in cis and/or trans, or 3) modification of the methylation patterns of the promoter of the APOA5 gene