Braun, E.L.

Bronikowski, A.M.

Castoe, T.A.

Cox, C.L.

Dobry, J.

Fujita, M.K.

Giorgianni, M.W.

Hargreaves, A.

Henkel, C.V.

Jason de Koning, A.P.

Mackessy, S.P.

O'Meally, D.

Pollock, D.D.

Rabosky, A.R.

Rokyta, D.R.

Secor, S.M.

Streicher, J.W.

Wray, K.P.

Yokoyama, K.D.

Leiden University Scholary Publications

Standards in Genomic Sciences (2012) 7:150-152 DOI:10.4056/sigs.3106480  The Genomic Standards Consortium Report from the First Snake Genomics and Integrative Biology Meeting Todd A. Castoe1‡, Edward L. Braun2, Anne M. Bronikowski3, Christian L. Cox4, Alison R.  Davis Rabosky5, A.P. Jason de Koning1, Jason Dobry6, Matthew K. Fujita7, 4, Matt W Giorgianni8, Adam Hargreaves9, Christiaan V. Henkel10, Stephen P. Mackessy11, Denis O’Meally12, Darin R. Rokyta13, Stephen M. Secor14, Jeffrey W. Streicher4, Kenneth P. Wray13, Ken D. Yokoyama1, and David D. Pollock1 1Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of  Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA 2Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA 3Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA 4Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA 5Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA 6Amplicon Express, Pullman, WA, USA 7Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA 8Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin Madison,  Madison, WI, USA 9School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK 10LZF-screens BV and Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, NL 11School of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, USA 12Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, AUS 13Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA 14Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA ‡Corresponding Author: Todd A. Castoe, (todd.castoe@ucdenver.edu) This report summarizes the proceedings of the 1st Snake Genomics and Integrative Biology Meeting held in Vail, CO USA, 5-8 October 2011. The meeting had over twenty registered participants, and was conducted as a single session of presentations. Goals of the meeting in-cluded coordination of genomic data collection and fostering collaborative interactions among researchers using snakes as model systems. A community using snakes as model systems Snakes are gaining importance as model systems for a diversity of research. They are valued models for studying extreme physiological and morpho-logical plasticity, evolutionary ecology, molecular evolution, developmental biology, and venom evo-lution. Despite the importance of snakes as models for basic and biomedical research, there is little known about the genomes of snakes, and there are minimal genomic resources currently available. These limitations, however, will soon be lifted as numerous groups are making progress in estab-lishing complete snake genomes and genomic re-sources, thereby enabling numerous new areas of research utilizing snakes. The first Snake Genomics and Integrative Biology meeting was held October 5-8, 2011 in Vail, Colo-rado USA to bring together an international collec-tion of researchers from diverse backgrounds that share a common interest in snake genomics and comparative biology. A core aim of the meeting was to showcase ongoing and potential projects that utilize (or aim to utilize) snake genomic and transcriptomic data for integrative and compara-tive biology. The meeting was organized around the goals of catalyzing collaborative research, identify-ing shared interests in research and data collection, and coordinating among research groups to max-imize scientific impact, collaboration, fundability, Castoe et al. http://standardsingenomics.org 151 and utility of data generated to the community. Ad-ditional goals of the meeting included the coordina-tion future goals and integration with the Ge-nome10K project and other planned snake genome projects. Snake genomics David Pollock (University of Colorado School of Medicine, USA) opened the meeting by detail-ing the many ways in which a broad understand-ing of snake genomics can contribute to a wide diversity of research efforts in applied and theo-retical biology. Todd Castoe (University of Colo-rado School of Medicine, USA) updated the group on the progress of sequencing the genome of the Burmese Python (Python molurus bivittatus). As part of this project, Castoe showed data demonstrating how extensive changes in gene expression accompany the extreme physio-logical remodeling of the python when fed a large meal after being fasted. Christiaan Henkel (ZF-screens BV and Leiden University, NL) updated the group on the status of the King Cobra genome (Ophiophagus hannah), including analyses of the copy number of genes encoding toxic venom pro-teins. Henkel also discussed analyses he and col-leagues have done on a lower-coverage draft se-quence of the genome of the blindsnake (Typhlops murius). Matt Giorgianni (University of Wiscon-sin – Madison, USA) discussed plans to sequence the genome of the Western Diamondback Rattle-snake (Crotalus atrox) in order to study the evolu-tion of venom-related genes. Adam Hargreaves (Bangor University, UK) discussed research on snake development and pigmentation, and the generation of draft genome sequences of Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus) and Saw-scaled Vi-per (Echis coloratus) as well as transcriptomic re-sources for these and other species. Jason Dobry (Amplicon Express, USA) discussed methods for utilizing the custom-made PMB-Python molurus bacterial artificial chromosome library for study-ing specific sets of genes, as well as assisting in the whole genome assembly. Edward Braun (Uni-versity of Florida, USA) addressed the potential for including reptilian genomics in science peda-gogy. In addition to examples of successes of the concept, Braun presented the group with the open question of whether genome annotation could be accomplished through pedagogical interactions with undergraduate classes. There is little published information on the struc-ture and function of snake genomes, although data shown by contributors at this meeting provided an exciting window into the apparently dynamic structure of snake genomes. Matthew Fujita (Harvard University, USA) discussed the evolu-tion of genomic nucleotide content and isochore structure in vertebrates, and showed new data on isochore structure in snakes. Todd Castoe (Uni-versity of Colorado School of Medicine, USA) showed data describing the evolution genomic repeat element landscapes in snakes, including evidence of a shift in transposable element activity within snakes. Ken Yokoyama (University of Colorado School of Medicine, USA) presented an overview of cis-regulatory element characteristics in vertebrates, and evidence for the relative uniqueness of features of snake cis-regulatory el-ements based on analyses of the python. Denis O'Meally (University of Canberra, AUS) dis-cussed the evolution of sex chromosomes in rep-tiles, highlighting the insights into sex-specific regulation and dosage compensation that the in-dependently evolved sex chromosomes of snakes can provide. Jason de Koning (University of Col-orado School of Medicine, USA) discussed meth-ods for analyzing protein-coding genes to detect positive selection indicative of adaptation, includ-ing pitfalls of existing approaches and suggestions for alternatives that are planned for analysis of the python genome. Evolution and genetic basis of  important traits in snakes Genomic approaches to the study of color and pigmentation patterns also figured prominently at the meeting. Color pattern is important because it is intimately linked to snake ecology, as pigmenta-tion controls predator avoidance through crypsis, regulation of body temperature, and warning col-oration in venomous coral snakes and their harm-less mimics. Adam Hargreaves (Bangor Univer-sity, UK) presented data on the genomics and transcriptomics of pigmentation pattern devel-opment in multiple snake and lizard species, with foci on Corn Snakes, Saw-scaled Vipers, and Leop-ard Geckos. Collaborators Christian Cox (Univer-sity of Texas at Arlington, USA) and Alison Da-vis Rabosky (University of California Berkeley, USA) focused on the role of color in mimicry sys-tems, including their work on the genetics of red and black pigmentation in the mimetic Ground 1st Snake Genomics  and Integrative Biology Meeting 152 Standards in Genomic Sciences Snake (Sonora semiannulata). They then present-ed an ongoing transcriptomics project to identify expression differences of color genes in multiple color morphs of mimetic species across the snake radiation. These comparative genomic and transcriptomic projects will be key to identifying the genes that underlie color pattern in snakes, furthering our understanding of how and why col-or pattern evolves over time and space. Jeffrey Streicher (University of Texas at Arlington, USA) discussed the difficulties in identifying evo-lutionary lineages and population differentiation in brightly colored coralsnakes from the United States and Mexico. He demonstrated the use of next-generation sequencing to identify microsatel-lite loci rapidly, and by combining these data with DNA sequences, venom variation, and morpholog-ical data, was able to better define evolutionary lineages in these venomous snakes. Anne Bronikowski (Iowa State University, USA) presented data for the differential life histo-ry patterns among proximal populations of garter snakes, and how she was using these to study the tradeoffs between and consequences of these strategies at the molecular level using transcriptomic data. Stephen Secor (University of Alabama, USA) discussed the adaptive rela-tionship between snake feeding habits and their capacity to modulate intestinal form and function, and described his transcriptomic study to examine the molecular bases underlying the rapid postfeeding metabolic, morphological, and func-tional responses of the Burmese python intestine. Snake venom evolution Stephen Mackessy (University of Northern Colorado, USA) opened up the session on snake venom evolution with a broad discussion of snake venom composition, and the evolution of genes that encode snake venom toxins. The utility of us-ing combined proteomic and genomic approaches to understanding the complex interaction of fac-tors which determine the expression of venom proteins was advocated, because both transcrip-tional and translational regulatory mechanisms affect final venom composition. This integrated approach can provide important clues for both drug discovery and more effective treatment of snakebite cases. Darin Rokyta (Florida State University, USA) discussed plans to utilize a high-throughput comparative transcriptomic approach for studying the evolution of venom-gene reper-toires, showing preliminary evidence for the abil-ity of the approach to identify differences between venom-gland transcriptomes of individuals and species. The potential of such data for identifying examples of local adaptation and purifying or pos-itive selection, and for the de novo characteriza-tion of alternative-splicing patterns, was exam-ined. Kenneth Wray (Florida State University, USA) followed with a detailed analysis of the ex-perimental design of the overall venom-evolution project and the identification of genes under posi-tive selection. The utility for applying transcriptomic data to questions concerning co-evolution of predators and prey was also dis-cussed. Summary We expect the extensively annotated complete genome of the Burmese Python will provide a crit-ical scaffold from which the genomes of other snakes (and reptiles) can compared and annotat-ed. Together with the completion of the high-quality King Cobra genome and draft blind snake genome, model species representing the three ma-jor clades of snakes will be available as a first core set of reference genomes from which future snake genomics efforts may be effectively launched. Ap-plications of these first three snake genomes will include a better understanding of extreme physio-logical adaptation in snakes, with applications to the human condition, and will reveal decisive in-formation concerning the evolution of venom tox-ins from ancestral non-toxin proteins. This small focused-topic conference proved extremely im-portant for driving the field forward, and coordi-nating efforts and collaborative work across a broad set of international researchers. We plan on future annual conferences to continue these col-laborative coordinated efforts, and welcome the inclusion of others. Updated information on pro-gress of the group’s sequencing efforts will be communicated via www.snakegenomics.org.  Acknowledgements We thank Illumina for partial support of the meeting. 

Report from the first snake genomics and integrative biology meeting

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