Complete Genome Sequence of Francisella endociliophora Strain FSC1006, Isolated from a Laboratory Culture of the Marine Ciliate Euplotes raikovi

A strain of Francisella endociliophora was isolated from a laboratory culture of the marine ciliate Euplotes raikovi. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of the bacterial strain FSC1006 (Francisella Strain Collection, Swedish Defence Research Agency, Umeå, Sweden)

Structural Alterations from Multiple Displacement Amplification of a Human Genome Revealed by Mate-Pair Sequencing

Comprehensive identification of the acquired mutations that cause common cancers will require genomic analyses of large sets of tumor samples. Typically, the tissue material available from tumor specimens is limited, which creates a demand for accurate template amplification. We therefore evaluated whether phi29-mediated whole genome amplification introduces false positive structural mutations by massive mate-pair sequencing of a normal human genome before and after such amplification. Multiple displacement amplification led to a decrease in clone coverage and an increase by two orders of magnitude in the prevalence of inversions, but did not increase the prevalence of translocations. While multiple strand displacement amplification may find uses in translocation analyses, it is likely that alternative amplification strategies need to be developed to meet the demands of cancer genomics

The European Reference Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable biodiversity genomics.

ABSTRACT: A global genome database of all of Earth’s species diversity could be a treasure trove of scientific discoveries. However, regardless of the major advances in genome sequencing technologies, only a tiny fraction of species have genomic information available. To contribute to a more complete planetary genomic database, scientists and institutions across the world have united under the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), which plans to sequence and assemble high-quality reference genomes for all ∼1.5 million recognized eukaryotic species through a stepwise phased approach. As the initiative transitions into Phase II, where 150,000 species are to be sequenced in just four years, worldwide participation in the project will be fundamental to success. As the European node of the EBP, the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) seeks to implement a new decentralised, accessible, equitable and inclusive model for producing high-quality reference genomes, which will inform EBP as it scales. To embark on this mission, ERGA launched a Pilot Project to establish a network across Europe to develop and test the first infrastructure of its kind for the coordinated and distributed reference genome production on 98 European eukaryotic species from sample providers across 33 European countries. Here we outline the process and challenges faced during the development of a pilot infrastructure for the production of reference genome resources, and explore the effectiveness of this approach in terms of high-quality reference genome production, considering also equity and inclusion. The outcomes and lessons learned during this pilot provide a solid foundation for ERGA while offering key learnings to other transnational and national genomic resource projects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comparative genomics of cyclic di-GMP metabolism and chemosensory pathways in Shewanella algae strains: novel bacterial sensory domains and functional insights into lifestyle regulation

Shewanella spp. play important ecological and biogeochemical roles, due in part to their versatile metabolism and swift integration of stimuli. While Shewanella spp. are primarily considered environmental microbes, Shewanella algae is increasingly recognized as an occasional human pathogen. S. algae shares the broad metabolic and respiratory repertoire of Shewanella spp. and thrives in similar ecological niches. In S. algae, nitrate and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) respiration promote biofilm formation strain specifically, with potential implication of taxis and cyclic diguanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) signaling. Signal transduction systems in S. algae have not been investigated. To fill these knowledge gaps, we provide here an inventory of the c-di-GMP turnover proteome and chemosensory networks of the type strain S. algae CECT 5071 and compare them with those of 41 whole-genome-sequenced clinical and environmental S. algae isolates. Besides comparative analysis of genetic content and identification of laterally transferred genes, the occurrence and topology of c-di-GMP turnover proteins and chemoreceptors were analyzed. We found S. algae strains to encode 61 to 67 c-di-GMP turnover proteins and 28 to 31 chemoreceptors, placing S. algae near the top in terms of these signaling capacities per Mbp of genome. Most c-di-GMP turnover proteins were predicted to be catalytically active; we describe in them six novel N-terminal sensory domains that appear to control their catalytic activity. Overall, our work defines the c-di-GMP and chemosensory signal transduction pathways in S. algae, contributing to a better understanding of its ecophysiology and establishing S. algae as an auspicious model for the analysis of metabolic and signaling pathways within the genus Shewanella.Funding for this study was provided by grants from Stiftelsen Lars Hiertas Minne (grant FO2019‐0293), Stiftelsen Längmanska Kulturfonden (grant BA20‐0736), the Karolinska Institute Research Foundation (grant 2020‐01556), Stiftelsen Anna och Gunnar Vidfelts fond för biologisk forskning (grant 2019-051-Vidfelts fond/SOJOH) and the Hans Dahlbergs Stiftelse för miljö och hälsa to A.J.M.-R. M.Y.G. was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Library of Medicine, U.S. National Institutes of Health. T.K. was supported by grants from the Junta de Andalucía (P18-FR-1621) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PID2020-112612GB-I00). U.R. was supported by the Swedish Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering (2017-04465) and the Karolinska Institute

Important issues in maintaining personal libraries of Kannada writers

The paper deals with the extent of cooperation of family members in maintaining personal library collections of popular Kannada writers in Karnataka state. Also considered issues related to whether the writers are willing to spend money for maintaining and preserving personal libraries. Paper depicts the assistance of professional librarians availed by the Kannada writers for systematic maintenance and preservation of personal library collections

Fine-mapping of restless legs locus 4 (RLS4) identifies a haplotype over the SPATS2L and KCTD18 genes.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep-related movement disorder that affects up to 15 \% of the population. Linkage studies have identified several genomic loci in single families (12q, 14q, 9p, 2q, 20p and 16p, respectively). However, confirmation of these loci has not always been achieved, and causative mutations have not yet been identified. The locus on chromosome 2q33 (RLS4) was identified in two South Tyrolean families who shared a haplotype of microsatellite marker alleles across an 8.2-cM region. To pinpoint the gene localisation within RLS4, additional families from the same geographic region were evaluated, and linkage was replicated in one family. Within the candidate region, we initially found a haplotype of 23 single nucleotide polymorphism markers spanning 131.6 Kb shared by all affected members of the three linked families. Using a next generation sequencing approach, we further restricted the shared candidate region to 46.9 Kb over the potassium channel-related gene KCTD18 and exons 10-13 of SPATS2L

Evidence for Small RNAs Homologous to Effector-Encoding Genes and Transposable Elements in the Oomycete Phytophthora infestans

Phytophthora infestans is the oomycete pathogen responsible for the devastating late blight disease on potato and tomato. There is presently an intense research focus on the role(s) of effectors in promoting late blight disease development. However, little is known about how they are regulated, or how diversity in their expression may be generated among different isolates. Here we present data from investigation of RNA silencing processes, characterized by non-coding small RNA molecules (sRNA) of 19-40 nt. From deep sequencing of sRNAs we have identified sRNAs matching numerous RxLR and Crinkler (CRN) effector protein genes in two isolates differing in pathogenicity. Effector gene-derived sRNAs were present in both isolates, but exhibited marked differences in abundance, especially for CRN effectors. Small RNAs in P. infestans grouped into three clear size classes of 21, 25/26 and 32 nt. Small RNAs from all size classes mapped to RxLR effector genes, but notably 21 nt sRNAs were the predominant size class mapping to CRN effector genes. Some effector genes, such as PiAvr3a, to which sRNAs were found, also exhibited differences in transcript accumulation between the two isolates. The P. infestans genome is rich in transposable elements, and the majority of sRNAs of all size classes mapped to these sequences, predominantly to long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons. RNA silencing of Dicer and Argonaute genes provided evidence that generation of 21 nt sRNAs is Dicer-dependent, while accumulation of longer sRNAs was impacted by silencing of Argonaute genes. Additionally, we identified six microRNA (miRNA) candidates from our sequencing data, their precursor sequences from the genome sequence, and target mRNAs. These miRNA candidates have features characteristic of both plant and metazoan miRNAs. Citation: Vetukuri RR, Asman AKM, Tellgren-Roth C, Jahan SN, Reimegard J, et al. (2012) Evidence for Small RNAs Homologous to Effector-Encoding Genes and Transposable Elements in the Oomycete Phytophthora infestans

Genome and physiology of the ascomycete filamentous fungus Xeromyces bisporus, the most xerophilic organism isolated to date

Xeromyces bisporus can grow on sugary substrates down to 0.61, an extremely low water activity. Its genome size is approximately 22Mb. Gene clusters encoding for secondary metabolites were conspicuously absent; secondary metabolites were not detected experimentally. Thus, in its dry' but nutrient-rich environment, X.bisporus appears to have relinquished abilities for combative interactions. Elements to sense/signal osmotic stress, e.g. HogA pathway, were present in X.bisporus. However, transcriptomes at optimal (approximate to 0.89) versus low a(w) (0.68) revealed differential expression of only a few stress-related genes; among these, certain (not all) steps for glycerol synthesis were upregulated. Xeromyces bisporus increased glycerol production during hypo- and hyper-osmotic stress, and much of its wet weight comprised water and rinsable solutes; leaked solutes may form a protective slime. Xeromyces bisporus and other food-borne moulds increased membrane fatty acid saturation as water activity decreased. Such modifications did not appear to be transcriptionally regulated in X.bisporus; however, genes modulating sterols, phospholipids and the cell wall were differentially expressed. Xeromyces bisporus was previously proposed to be a chaophile', preferring solutes that disorder biomolecular structures. Both X.bisporus and the closely related xerophile, Xerochrysium xerophilum, with low membrane unsaturation indices, could represent a phylogenetic cluster of chaophiles'

Genome and physiology of the ascomycete filamentous fungus Xeromyces bisporus, the most xerophilic organism isolated to date

Xeromyces bisporus can grow on sugary substrates down to 0.61, an extremely low water activity. Its genome size is approximately 22Mb. Gene clusters encoding for secondary metabolites were conspicuously absent; secondary metabolites were not detected experimentally. Thus, in its dry' but nutrient-rich environment, X.bisporus appears to have relinquished abilities for combative interactions. Elements to sense/signal osmotic stress, e.g. HogA pathway, were present in X.bisporus. However, transcriptomes at optimal (approximate to 0.89) versus low a(w) (0.68) revealed differential expression of only a few stress-related genes; among these, certain (not all) steps for glycerol synthesis were upregulated. Xeromyces bisporus increased glycerol production during hypo- and hyper-osmotic stress, and much of its wet weight comprised water and rinsable solutes; leaked solutes may form a protective slime. Xeromyces bisporus and other food-borne moulds increased membrane fatty acid saturation as water activity decreased. Such modifications did not appear to be transcriptionally regulated in X.bisporus; however, genes modulating sterols, phospholipids and the cell wall were differentially expressed. Xeromyces bisporus was previously proposed to be a chaophile', preferring solutes that disorder biomolecular structures. Both X.bisporus and the closely related xerophile, Xerochrysium xerophilum, with low membrane unsaturation indices, could represent a phylogenetic cluster of chaophiles'