AgBioData consortium recommendations for sustainable genomics and genetics databases for agriculture

The future of agricultural research depends on data. The sheer volume of agricultural biological data being produced today makes excellent data management essential. Governmental agencies, publishers and science funders require data management plans for publicly funded research. Furthermore, the value of data increases exponentially when they are properly stored, described, integrated and shared, so that they can be easily utilized in future analyses. AgBioData (https://www.agbiodata.org) is a consortium of people working at agricultural biological databases, data archives and knowledgbases who strive to identify common issues in database development, curation and management, with the goal of creating database products that are more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. We strive to promote authentic, detailed, accurate and explicit communication between all parties involved in scientific data. As a step toward this goal, we present the current state of biocuration, ontologies, metadata and persistence, database platforms, programmatic (machine) access to data, communication and sustainability with regard to data curation. Each section describes challenges and opportunities for these topics, along with recommendations and best practices

Social insect genomes exhibit dramatic evolution in gene composition and regulation while preserving regulatory features linked to sociality.

Genomes of eusocial insects code for dramatic examples of phenotypic plasticity and social organization. We compared the genomes of seven ants, the honeybee, and various solitary insects to examine whether eusocial lineages share distinct features of genomic organization. Each ant lineage contains ∼4000 novel genes, but only 64 of these genes are conserved among all seven ants. Many gene families have been expanded in ants, notably those involved in chemical communication (e.g., desaturases and odorant receptors). Alignment of the ant genomes revealed reduced purifying selection compared with Drosophila without significantly reduced synteny. Correspondingly, ant genomes exhibit dramatic divergence of noncoding regulatory elements; however, extant conserved regions are enriched for novel noncoding RNAs and transcription factor-binding sites. Comparison of orthologous gene promoters between eusocial and solitary species revealed significant regulatory evolution in both cis (e.g., Creb) and trans (e.g., fork head) for nearly 2000 genes, many of which exhibit phenotypic plasticity. Our results emphasize that genomic changes can occur remarkably fast in ants, because two recently diverged leaf-cutter ant species exhibit faster accumulation of species-specific genes and greater divergence in regulatory elements compared with other ants or Drosophila. Thus, while the "socio-genomes" of ants and the honeybee are broadly characterized by a pervasive pattern of divergence in gene composition and regulation, they preserve lineage-specific regulatory features linked to eusociality. We propose that changes in gene regulation played a key role in the origins of insect eusociality, whereas changes in gene composition were more relevant for lineage-specific eusocial adaptations

Estimative of genetic parameters in progeny test of Pinus caribaea Morelet var. hondurensis Barret & Golfari by quantitative traits and microsatellite markers Estimativas de parâmetros genéticos em teste de progênies de Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis por caracteres quantitativos e marcadores microssatélites

The aims of this work were to estimate the coefficient of relatedness within families and the genetic parameters for growth related traits in a progeny test from an open-pollinated variety of Pinus caribaea Morelet hondurensis Barret & Golfari, established in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. The experimental design was the triple 10 x 10 lattice, with 96 families, three replicates, and ten plants per plot. Fourteen years after planting, the trial was measured for the following traits: total height, diameter at breast height (DBH), and true volume. The estimation of coefficients of relatedness within family from microsatellite loci indicated that families are true half-sibs (&#094;r xy = 0.253). Thus, the additive genetic variance (&#963;2A) can be estimated assuming that the genetic variance among progenies (&#963;2p) accounts for ¼ of additive genetic variance (&#094;&#963;2A = 4&#094;&#963;2p). The estimative of heritability coefficients at individual level (h i²) was relatively high (0.28 for DBH and 0.44 for height). The heritability coefficient considering the average families (h m²) was also high, ranging among the traits from 0.50 to 0.58. These results suggest that the population can be improved by both massal and among families selection. Additionally, the estimated genetic gains with sequential selection among and within families were high (ranging from 8.92% for height to 37.56% for volume), demonstrating that this method of selection can generate high genetic improvement.<br>Os objetivos deste trabalho foram estimar o coeficiente de parentesco dentro de famílias e os parâmetros genéticos e fenotípicos para os caracteres de crescimento (altura, diâmetro a altura do peito e volume) em um teste de progênies de polinização aberta de Pinus caribaea Morelet var. hondurensis Barret & Golfari, implantado no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. O teste foi implantado em látice 10 x 10 triplo, com 96 famílias, três repetições e dez plantas por parcela. Quatorze anos após o plantio foram mensurados os caracteres altura total, DAP e volume das árvores. A estimativa dos coeficientes de parentesco dentro das progênies foi calculada por locos microssatélites os quais revelaram que as famílias são de meio-irmãos (&#094;r xy = 0.253). Assim, a variância genética aditiva (&#963;2A) pode ser estimada, assumindo que a variância genética entre progênies (&#963;2p) estima ¼ da variância genética aditiva (&#094;&#963;2A = 4&#094;&#963;2p). As estimativas do coeficiente de herdabilidade em nível de planta (h i²) foram relativamente elevadas (0,28 para DAP e 0,44 para altura). A herdabilidade em nível de média de famílias (h m²) foi também elevada variando entre os caracteres de 0,50, a 0,58. Estes resultados sugerem que a população pode ser melhorada por seleção massal e seleção entre famílias. Adicionalmente, as estimativas dos ganhos genéticos com seleção entre e dentro famílias foram elevados (variando de 8,92% para altura a 37,56% para volume), demonstrando que este esquema de seleção pode trazer grande progresso genético

Pines

Pinus is the most important genus within the Family Pinaceae and also within the gymnosperms by the number of species (109 species recognized by Farjon 2001) and by its contribution to forest ecosystems. All pine species are evergreen trees or shrubs. They are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, from tropical areas to northern areas in America and Eurasia. Their natural range reaches the equator only in Southeast Asia. In Africa, natural occurrences are confined to the Mediterranean basin. Pines grow at various elevations from sea level (not usual in tropical areas) to highlands. Two main regions of diversity are recorded, the most important one in Central America (43 species found in Mexico) and a secondary one in China. Some species have a very wide natural range (e.g., P. ponderosa, P. sylvestris). Pines are adapted to a wide range of ecological conditions: from tropical (e.g., P. merkusii, P. kesiya, P. tropicalis), temperate (e.g., P. pungens, P. thunbergii), and subalpine (e.g., P. albicaulis, P. cembra) to boreal (e.g., P. pumila) climates (Richardson and Rundel 1998, Burdon 2002). They can grow in quite pure stands or in mixed forest with other conifers or broadleaved trees. Some species are especially adapted to forest fires, e.g., P. banksiana, in which fire is virtually essential for cone opening and seed dispersal. They can grow in arid conditions, on alluvial plain soils, on sandy soils, on rocky soils, or on marsh soils. Trees of some species can have a very long life as in P. longaeva (more than 3,000 years)