Towards plant pangenomics

As an increasing number of genome sequences become available for a wide range of species, there is a growing understanding that the genome of a single individual is insufficient to represent the gene diversity within a whole species. Many studies examine the sequence diversity within genes, and this allelic variation is an important source of phenotypic variation which can be selected for by man or nature. However, the significant gene presence/absence variation that has been observed within species and the impact of this variation on traits is only now being studied in detail. The sum of the genes for a species is termed the pangenome, and the determination and characterization of the pangenome is a requirement to understand variation within a species. In this review, we explore the current progress in pangenomics as well as methods and approaches for the characterization of pangenomes for a wide range of plant species

Genome-Wide Association Study of Genetic Control of Seed Fatty Acid Biosynthesis in Brassica napus

Fatty acids and their composition in seeds determine oil value for nutritional or industrial purposes and also affect seed germination as well as seedling establishment. To better understand the genetic basis of seed fatty acid biosynthesis in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) we applied a genome-wide association study, using 91,205 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) characterized across a mapping population with high-resolution skimgenotyping by sequencing (SkimGBS). We identified a cluster of loci on chromosome A05 associated with oleic and linoleic seed fatty acids. The delineated genomic region contained orthologs of the Arabidopsis thaliana genes known to play a role in regulation of seed fatty acid biosynthesis such as Fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase B (FATB) and Fatty Acid Desaturase (FAD5). This approach allowed us to identify potential functional genes regulating fatty acid composition in this important oil producing crop and demonstrates that this approach can be used as a powerful tool for dissecting complex traits for B. napus improvement programs

A comparative map viewer integrating genetic maps for Brassica and Arabidopsis

Background: Molecular genetic maps provide a means to link heritable traits with underlying genome sequence variation. Several genetic maps have been constructed for Brassica species, yet to date, there has been no simple means to compare this information or to associate mapped traits with the genome sequence of the related model plant, Arabidopsis. Description: We have developed a comparative genetic map database for the viewing, comparison and analysis of Brassica and Arabidopsis genetic, physical and trait map information. This web- based tool allows users to view and compare genetic and physical maps, search for traits and markers, and compare genetic linkage groups within and between the amphidiploid and diploid Brassica genomes. The inclusion of Arabidopsis data enables comparison between Brassica maps that share no common markers. Analysis of conserved syntenic blocks between Arabidopsis and collated Brassica genetic maps validates the application of this system. This tool is freely available over the internet on http://bioinformatics.pbcbasc.latrobe.edu.au/cmap. Conclusion: This database enables users to interrogate the relationship between Brassica genetic maps and the sequenced genome of A. thaliana, permitting the comparison of genetic linkage groups and mapped traits and the rapid identification of candidate genes

Brassica ASTRA: an integrated database for Brassica genomic research

Brassica ASTRA is a public database for genomic information on Brassica species. The database incorporates expressed sequences with Swiss-Prot and GenBank comparative sequence annotation as well as secondary Gene Ontology (GO) annotation derived from the comparison with Arabidopsis TAIR GO annotations. Simple sequence repeat molecular markers are identified within resident sequences and mapped onto the closely related Arabidopsis genome sequence. Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) end sequences derived from the Multinational Brassica Genome Project are also mapped onto the Arabidopsis genome sequence enabling users to identify candidate Brassica BACs corresponding to syntenic regions of Arabidopsis. This information is maintained in a MySQL database with a web interface providing the primary means of interrogation. The database is accessible at http://hornbill.cspp.latrobe.edu.au

The pangenome of banana highlights differences between genera and genomes

Banana (Musaceae family) has a complex genetic history and includes a genus Musa with a variety of cultivated clones with edible fruits, Ensete species that are grown for their edible corm, and monospecific Musella whose generic status has been questioned. The most commonly exported banana cultivars belong to Cavendish, a subgroup of Musa triploid cultivars, which is under threat by fungal pathogens, though there are also related species M. balbisiana Colla (B genome), M. textilis Née (T genome), and M. schizocarpa N. W. Simmonds (S genome), along with hybrids of these genomes, which potentially host genes of agronomic interest. Here we present the first cross-genus pangenome of banana, which contains representatives of the Musa and Ensete genera. Clusters based on gene presence–absence variation (PAV) clearly separate Musa and Ensete, while Musa is split further based on species. These results present the first pangenome study across genus boundaries and identifies genes that differentiate between Musaceae species, information that may support breeding programs in these crops

SSRPrimer and SSR Taxonomy Tree: Biome SSR discovery

Simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular genetic markers have become important tools for a broad range of applications such as genome mapping and genetic diversity studies. SSRs are readily identified within DNA sequence data and PCR primers can be designed for their amplification. These PCR primers frequently cross amplify within related species. We report a web-based tool, SSR Primer, that integrates SPUTNIK, an SSR repeat finder, with Primer3, a primer design program, within one pipeline. On submission of multiple FASTA formatted sequences, the script screens each sequence for SSRs using SPUTNIK. Results are then parsed to Primer3 for locus specific primer design. We have applied this tool for the discovery of SSRs within the complete GenBank database, and have designed PCR amplification primers for over 13 million SSRs. The SSR Taxonomy Tree server provides web-based searching and browsing of species and taxa for the visualisation and download of these SSR amplification primers. These tools are available at

SNPServer: a real-time SNP discovery tool

SNPServer is a real-time flexible tool for the discovery of SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) within DNA sequence data. The program uses BLAST, to identify related sequences, and CAP3, to cluster and align these sequences. The alignments are parsed to the SNP discovery software autoSNP, a program that detects SNPs and insertion/deletion polymorphisms (indels). Alternatively, lists of related sequences or pre-assembled sequences may be entered for SNP discovery. SNPServer and autoSNP use redundancy to differentiate between candidate SNPs and sequence errors. For each candidate SNP, two measures of confidence are calculated, the redundancy of the polymorphism at a SNP locus and the co-segregation of the candidate SNP with other SNPs in the alignment. SNPServer is available at