Orthology guided transcriptome assembly of Italian ryegrass and meadow fescue for single-nucleotide polymorphism discovery

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) represent natural DNA sequence variation. They can be used for various applications including the construction of high-density genetic maps, analysis of genetic variability, genome-wide association studies, and mapbased cloning. Here we report on transcriptome sequencing in the two forage grasses, meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), and identification of various classes of SNPs. Using the Orthology Guided Assembly (OGA) strategy, we assembled and annotated a total of 18,952 and 19,036 transcripts for Italian ryegrass and meadow fescue, respectively. In addition, we used transcriptome sequence data of perennial ryegrass (L. perenne L.) from a previous study to identify 16,613 transcripts shared across all three species. Large numbers of intraspecific SNPs were identified in all three species: 248,000 in meadow fescue, 715,000 in Italian ryegrass, and 529,000 in perennial ryegrass. Moreover, we identified almost 25,000 interspecific SNPs located in 5343 genes that can distinguish meadow fescue from Italian ryegrass and 15,000 SNPs located in 3976 genes that discriminate meadow fescue from both Lolium species. All identified SNPs were positioned in silico on the seven linkage groups (LGs) of L. perenne using the GenomeZipper approach. With the identification and positioning of interspecific SNPs, our study provides a valuable resource for the grass research and breeding community and will enable detailed characterization of genomic composition and gene expression analysis in prospective Festuca Lolium hybrids

Creating a root architecture model: taprooted or adventitious-rooted Plantago lanceolata

Herbaceous plants can form root systems by investing in one main taproot or many adventitious roots. While monocots have adventitious systems, eudicots can have either type in different species and even within a single species depending on its age, environment, or injury. Although clearly different, we know little about their relationship to ecological functions and response. We used Plantago lanceolata, a species that can have either root system and forms adventitious buds on roots, to test methods to form plants with a taproot, adventitious roots, or that grow from a root fragment, to obtain individuals of comparable size. We first evaluated injury response and root traits, then used selected models in a pilot study. For the pilot study, we selected an adventitious root model procedure with root removal from approximately 5-day-old seedlings at 1-2 mm below the stem base (hypocotyl) and rootsprout model of the topmost 4 cm of the taproot from 4-week-old plants. We planted adventitious and taprooted plants in three urban lawns and harvested them after three months. Adventitious and tap-rooted plants were similarly affected by competition, producing lower biomass of leaves and stem in more competitive lawns. Root and leaf traits were consistent regardless of architecture type. Plantago lanceolata fully compensated early loss of the taproot when injured at about 10 days old, and in mesic conditions both root architectures perform similarly. These model systems can be used for investigating the role of root architecture in a variety of ecological topics, for example, its function along a moisture gradient.publishedVersio

An Increasing Need for Productive and Stress Resilient Festulolium Amphiploids:What Can Be Learnt from the Stable Genomic Composition of Festuca pratensis subsp. apennina (De Not.) Hegi?

Genome composition of Festuca pratensis subsp. apennina (De Not.) Hegi, a tetraploid fescue species native to the tall forbs communities of south-eastern Europe at altitudes between 1100 and 2200m a.s.l. has been the subject of some debate by grass taxonomists. Our cytogenetic analyses including fluorescence in situ hybridisation with probes for genomic DNA and selected DNA repeats revealed the species to be allotetraploid and derived from interspecific hybridization between F. pratensis Huds., a species confined to grassland at lower altitudes, and a so far unknown Festuca species. Besides tetraploids, triploids and pentaploids were found growing in Alpine meadows in close association with F. pratensis subsp. apennina. Triploid cytotypes predominated at many sites in Switzerland and Romania, and in some localities, they were the only cytotypes observed. Cytogenetic analyses revealed the triploids to be hybrids between diploid F. pratensis and tetraploid Festuca pratensis subsp. apennina, while the pentaploid cytotypes originated from hybridization between F. pratensis subsp. apennina and hexaploid F. arundinacea Schreb., a closely-related species growing in a close vicinity to F. pratensis subsp. apennina. Parental genomes of F. pratensis subsp. apennina and of the triploid and pentaploid hybrids showed no evidence of homoeologous chromosome pairing and interspecific recombination, supporting previous observation of a disomic inheritance at meiosis, where chromosome pairing was restricted to bivalent associations. A hypothesis is presented that a chromosome pairing regulator(s), reported previously in other polyploid broad-leaved fescue species of the Festuca subg. Schedonorus, is present and functional in F. pratensis subsp. apennina. It is likely that a common ancestors’ genome that carries the chromosome pairing regulator(s) is present in all polyploid broad-leaved fescue species, and its acquisition was a key event that enabled speciation, and development of a polyploid series within Festuca. Identification of a functional chromosome pairing regulator capable of stabilizing advantageous genome combinations in hybrids within the Lolium-Festuca complex would greatly assist in development of stable Festulolium cultivars. Its expression within Festulolium amphiploid cultivars would assist strategies aimed at climate-proofing productive European grasslands to combat exposures to stress conditions

A many-analysts approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N=10,535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β=0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β=0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates

A Many-analysts Approach to the Relation Between Religiosity and Well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N = 10, 535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β = 0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β = 0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates

Insights into the accuracy of social scientists' forecasts of societal change

How well can social scientists predict societal change, and what processes underlie their predictions? To answer these questions, we ran two forecasting tournaments testing the accuracy of predictions of societal change in domains commonly studied in the social sciences: ideological preferences, political polarization, life satisfaction, sentiment on social media, and gender–career and racial bias. After we provided them with historical trend data on the relevant domain, social scientists submitted pre-registered monthly forecasts for a year (Tournament 1; N = 86 teams and 359 forecasts), with an opportunity to update forecasts on the basis of new data six months later (Tournament 2; N = 120 teams and 546 forecasts). Benchmarking forecasting accuracy revealed that social scientists’ forecasts were on average no more accurate than those of simple statistical models (historical means, random walks or linear regressions) or the aggregate forecasts of a sample from the general public (N = 802). However, scientists were more accurate if they had scientific expertise in a prediction domain, were interdisciplinary, used simpler models and based predictions on prior data

Shifting the limits in wheat research and breeding using a fully annotated reference genome

Introduction: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most widely cultivated crop on Earth, contributing about a fifth of the total calories consumed by humans. Consequently, wheat yields and production affect the global economy, and failed harvests can lead to social unrest. Breeders continuously strive to develop improved varieties by fine-tuning genetically complex yield and end-use quality parameters while maintaining stable yields and adapting the crop to regionally specific biotic and abiotic stresses. Rationale: Breeding efforts are limited by insufficient knowledge and understanding of wheat biology and the molecular basis of central agronomic traits. To meet the demands of human population growth, there is an urgent need for wheat research and breeding to accelerate genetic gain as well as to increase and protect wheat yield and quality traits. In other plant and animal species, access to a fully annotated and ordered genome sequence, including regulatory sequences and genome-diversity information, has promoted the development of systematic and more time-efficient approaches for the selection and understanding of important traits. Wheat has lagged behind, primarily owing to the challenges of assembling a genome that is more than five times as large as the human genome, polyploid, and complex, containing more than 85% repetitive DNA. To provide a foundation for improvement through molecular breeding, in 2005, the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium set out to deliver a high-quality annotated reference genome sequence of bread wheat. Results: An annotated reference sequence representing the hexaploid bread wheat genome in the form of 21 chromosome-like sequence assemblies has now been delivered, giving access to 107,891 high-confidence genes, including their genomic context of regulatory sequences. This assembly enabled the discovery of tissue- and developmental stage–related gene coexpression networks using a transcriptome atlas representing all stages of wheat development. The dynamics of change in complex gene families involved in environmental adaptation and end-use quality were revealed at subgenome resolution and contextualized to known agronomic single-gene or quantitative trait loci. Aspects of the future value of the annotated assembly for molecular breeding and research were exemplarily illustrated by resolving the genetic basis of a quantitative trait locus conferring resistance to abiotic stress and insect damage as well as by serving as the basis for genome editing of the flowering-time trait. Conclusion: This annotated reference sequence of wheat is a resource that can now drive disruptive innovation in wheat improvement, as this community resource establishes the foundation for accelerating wheat research and application through improved understanding of wheat biology and genomics-assisted breeding. Importantly, the bioinformatics capacity developed for model-organism genomes will facilitate a better understanding of the wheat genome as a result of the high-quality chromosome-based genome assembly. By necessity, breeders work with the genome at the whole chromosome level, as each new cross involves the modification of genome-wide gene networks that control the expression of complex traits such as yield. With the annotated and ordered reference genome sequence in place, researchers and breeders can now easily access sequence-level information to precisely define the necessary changes in the genomes for breeding programs. This will be realized through the implementation of new DNA marker platforms and targeted breeding technologies, including genome editing